After a bit of a shaky start in his first game minding the Junior Senators’ net, Rorke Applebee has established himself as one of the top goalkeepers in the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL).
In 20 games, the Châteauguay, Québec native has posted a fine 15-2-3 record with two shutouts, both by the score of 1-0 over the Navan Grads and Smiths Falls Bears, respectively. He owns a 2.06 goals against average and a sparking .937 save percentage. Applebee shares the Ottawa goal with Connor Shibley and the two have surrendered just 91 goals, the fewest of any team in the league.
Prior to coming to the nation’s capital, Applebee played for two seasons at Portsmouth Abbey Prep School in Rhode Island, where he was a top student, posting a 2.59 GAA and a .930 save percentage in 2021-22.
Interestingly, he had received feelers from a few junior teams, but Applebee was interested in the Junior Sens.
“I reached out and we started talking,” he recalled. “They invited me to a practice and then to their prospect camp. They told me if I continued to impress them, they’d sign me.”
Needless to say, Applebee had a strong camp. That, in turn, earned him the confidence of the OJS coaching staff.
“From the first minute that I saw Rorke at camp, the thing that stood out was his confidence,” Ottawa coach Kyle Makaric said. “The ability to stop the puck was obvious, but his work ethic, poise and that little bit of swagger, give him an edge.”
Standing at 6-0, Applebee is not particularly big for a goalie. He focuses on remaining square and relies on his athleticism and reflexes to make read-and-react saves. He has tried to pattern himself on the styles of Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators and Elvis Merzlikins of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
“Jaros has great technique and he just makes himself look so big in the net,” Applebee said. “Merzlikins is much taller but he’s very fluid and he’s always on top of the puck.”
For his part, Makaric compared Applebee’s style to that of three-time Stanley Cup winner Marc-Andre Fleury, who now plays for the Minnesota Wild.
“Rorke is very quick and he can go from post-to-post as well as anyone,” the coach said. “His ability to read the play his very good and he finds ways to make saves on bang-bang plays. He’s so difficult to score on and he’s made so many momentum changing saves it’s like a highlight reel. Our team gets so much energy from that.”
Like so many successful netminders, Applebee said having the fewest goals against in the league is more of a reflection of the team than the players who patrol the crease. He noted that the coaching staff stresses accountability up and down the ice.
“Everyone really understands their role and the structure of our system,” he explained. “My teammates pretty much give me a chance to stop most shots. Our opponents rarely get shots when I have no chance to make a save. I don’t measure my own success on goals against average; it’s about winning games.”
Though ability is paramount, so much of goalkeeping comes down to mental toughness. Pressure is a by-product of playing the position and when the man standing between the pipes makes a miscue it is that much more magnified.
Applebee works regularly with Ottawa’s goaltending coach, Stéphane Levere, on that part of the game. The two talk goaltending, pore over game film, discuss plays and focus on, well, staying focused.
“Stéphane stresses how important it is to be locked-in and prepared,” Applebee noted. “It’s all about having the mental fortitude to move on and get past a bad goal. He actually has created drills that are designed to be frustrating. It’s all very insightful. He’s helped me a lot.”
Applebee is ready to put that all to the test in the upcoming CCHL playoffs as the Junior Senators chase a fourth straight Bogart Cup.
“We’re already in post-season mode,” he said. “The coaches have us treating each game like it’s a playoff game to get us in the mindset of ‘must win.’ I’m super excited for the playoffs. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to come here.”
