Steelers Media
Rowen Albert wears jersey number eleven for the Burnaby Steelers, but what fans may not know about him is that he comes from the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation reserve in Saskatchewan.
His father and older brother introduced him to hockey, and ever since he started going to his local rink at the age of four, he has been hooked.
Growing up, if he wasn’t playing hockey on the outdoor rink at his house, he was inside watching it on television. Most of his family still lives in Saskatchewan, and he visits them during the off-season.
His favourite Indigenous player is Seattle Kraken blueliner, Brandon Montour. The 2024 Stanley Cup Champion with the Florida Panthers is of Mohawk descent and spent part of his childhood in Ohsweken, a village located on the Six Nations of the Grand River reserve.
The left-shot forward left Saskatchewan to play hockey in Edmonton when he was nine years old. He admits to feeling isolated in Alberta, “racist remarks were said around me with people not knowing I was Indigenous.”
He claims playing in the PJHL and living in British Columbia has been nothing but a positive experience. The 19-year-old has four points through the first five games of the season and recently played against former teammates Caige Starr and Tayvian Delorme on the Coastal Tsunami. “We talk during the season, but there are no friends on gameday,” he says with a chuckle.
That game against the Tsunami was a game the Steelers paid tribute to all those impacted by residential schools. His team wore their orange Snoopy jerseys and had a ceremonial faceoff with a member of the Spirit of the Children Society, an Indigenous non-profit organization working to empower and strengthen Indigenous families.
For Rowen, September 30 is a day to acknowledge everything that has happened. To continue to learn and grow the relationship. Having a game dedicated to it is special. “I want people to acknowledge it and take it seriously,” he admitted.
“Be proud of who you are. Keep pushing through the hard times,” he says when asked to share a message with young Indigenous athletes dreaming of playing hockey.
