Landen Hilditch commits to RPI
The '05 defensemen out of the BCHL brings a big presence and strong defensive play
In what would be the first of many to come in the first few months of 2023, RPI picked up a commitment from defensemen, Landen Hilditch, an ‘05 currently playing with the West Kelowna Warriors of the BCHL.
The name Hilditch might actually ring a bell to some: Landen’s father, Todd played for the Engineers back in the late 80s/early 90s (also as a right-shot defenseman).
This will be Landen’s first full year in the BCHL (he played four games at the tail end of the 21-22 season) and while at first glance, his scoring numbers might not be popping off the page, but there are a few explanations. For one, he is still on the younger end of a strong junior league. He has plenty of time to keep developing offensive qualities (shooting, etc.).
The second reason is he has been deployed in a more defensive role in his time in the BCHL. In a game last December, one Neutral Zone scout put it as he “didn’t overcomplicate the game by keeping it simple and limited mistakes. Dumped the puck out or in when necessary and didn’t force pucks into dangerous areas. Defended well as he had early box outs and let his goaltender see the puck all night.”
In the games that I have watched, Hilditch’s defensive ability is pretty clear. He uses his size well to win puck battles, and from there, he helps transition to offense quite smoothly through good breakout play.
So it’s probably a little too simplistic to just dump all defensemen into either the “offensive or defensive-minded” characteristic, but it can be a useful tool for ensuring that a blue-line has good balance. If we project forward, we already have the guys like Smolinski and Ardanaz who fall more into that offensive-minded category. But a couple years down the line, many of the our more defensive-minded blueliners will have graduated. That’s why it’s important to get someone like Hilditch in the team to make sure you aren’t giving up odd-man rushes every time you lose the puck.
We are currently expecting Landen to enroll in Fall 2025, but until then we wish him the best of luck in juniors! Congrats again to him and his family!