At the age of 16, he was a talented first baseman who played on his high school varsity team as a freshman. Still, when Rogowski was drafted into the OHL, he had to make a quick decision on whether he was going to stick with baseball or commit his later teenage years to trying to pursue a hockey career.
That decision to chase the dream of being drafted in the NHL clearly paid off.
Another tough decision came to Rogowski in the past few months. He is committed to attending the powerhouse Michigan State Spartans in the NCAA but has decided to return to the OHL for a third season of Major Junior hockey before moving on to the NCAA for the 2027-28 season.
Because he is still new(ish) to hockey, he is looking to get more reps in a bigger role before heading up to challenge himself at a higher level for the 2027-28 season.
“I could go to [Michigan] State and maybe be a third or fourth line guy, and sure, I would get stronger, but I don’t think I would get the puck touches I need,” said Rogowski.
“As a newer hockey player, I think I can benefit from a playoff run, hopefully with 80+ games. I think the 80 or more games are going to give me more growth than the 30 games with fewer minutes. So, the way I see it, I can play 30 games 10 minutes a night, or I can play 80 games at 20 minutes a night. It’s just more puck touches and more game reps. I think it’s just a better opportunity for me to grow my game.”
“Finding that scoring touch is going to be a big part for me this year and finding that consistency night in and night out. I want to be a physically dominant player who is also a threat in the offensive zone in every game,” he added.
Being that player who can be a threat in the offensive zone in every game puts Rogowski in more of a top-six type of player mould. That is exactly what he is trying to accomplish this coming season and wants it to be how he is known going forward.
“A lot of people think I am just a bottom-six guy, and I think there’s a lot more there,” he said.
“There’s a lot of offensive poise that is still developing, and sure, right now maybe it looks like that, but hopefully at the end of this year there’s top-six potential that everyone can see. I think there’s just a lot more there offensively.”
Rogowski finished the 2025-26 season third in scoring for the Oshawa Generals. He scored 15 goals and added 27 assists for 42 points in 46 games played (0.91 PTS/GP). In his sophomore OHL season, he nearly doubled the 23 points he put up in his first year.
Now, Rogowski is currently playing for USA’s Team Blue at the World Junior Summer Showcase (WJSS). He is going into the camp with an underdog mentality. He wants to make a case to be a player the USA will select for the World Junior Championships in one of the next two tournaments.
On the USA Team Blue roster, Rogowski scored two goals so far through the WJSS. He gave his group a 3-0 lead en route to their 6-1 victory over Sweden, and he scored against Finland helping USA Blue to a 5-1 win.
Team USA will use a centralized roster for the rest of the tournament, with their next matchup against Finland on Wednesday, July 29th at 12:00 p.m. PT.
