Photo credit: Steve Dunsmoor

By Regan Bartel

Power forward needs to step up

Needing max effort from Graham

Oct 19, 2022 | 6:00 AM

Kris Mallette expressed concern this season about others stepping up in order for the Kelowna Rockets to have success.

That means third or fourth-line players a year ago, must have career seasons offensively with increased responsibility and elevated ice time.

The head coach was looking at several players to add scoring punch to a team that lost Pavel Novak, Jake Lee, and Tyson Feist during the off-season.

On that list is 18-year-old Max Graham, who has yet to find the back of the net this season.

“Max works extremely hard. He is very physical and hard to play against”, Mallette told RocketFAN. “The biggest thing for him is taking a breath when he gets the puck on his stick”.

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Last season, the Kelowna resident, one of three on the roster that includes Rilen Kovacevic and Dylan Wightman, had 10 goals in 64 games after being acquired in a summer trade for Alex Swetlikoff.

“In a two-on-one against Victoria, he has a great chance to get a shot off and he tries to make a pass that is two feet off the ice, to a guy on the back door. He has to get a little more selfish”, Mallette added.

Graham has just five shots on net through eight games, the lowest total on the team among forwards outside of rookies Will Munro, Ethan Neutens and Grady Lenton.

“He needs to be aware of the surroundings. You can’t just skate straight into somebody and not be prepared for where the puck is at”, Mallette said. “You can’t get to your spot without awareness of where the puck is or may be going. He just needs to slow down his thought process, and then figure out the next play mentality”.

Born in Whitehorse, four of Graham’s 10 goals last season came against Victoria, one of the weakest teams in the Western Conference. That said, the talkative forward had a two goal game against the Tips, in Everett, back in December of last season.

Graham and the Rockets host the Brandon Wheat Kings tonight in a rare tilt between the two teams.

With the pandemic playing havoc with the WHL schedule over the last few seasons, Brandon hasn’t visited Prospera Place since November of 2018.

Nolan Foote had two goals in the win and Lassi Thomson was the third star (2 assists) in a 4-3 victory over the Wheat Kings during their last visit. Luka Burzan, the second star with two goals for the Wheat Kings, is now 22-years-old and is starting the season with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

This is game six of eight consecutive games for the Wheat Kings on the road, having already made stops in Prince George, Vancouver, Victoria and Kamloops.

The Rockets are playing game two of three consecutive on home ice.

Look for 20-year-old Talyn Boyko to start in goal after being sent back to the WHL by the New York Rangers on Monday.

Captain Colton Dach, who has played nine career games against the Wheat Kings, all as a member of the Saskatoon Blades before being traded to the Kelowna Rockets last season, won’t play as he recovers from an upper body injury.

Can’t make it the game? 104-7 The Lizard has the pre-game show at 6:35 pm and the play-by-play at 7:05 pm.

The Rockets host the Winnipeg Ice on Saturday before heading out on the road for two games in Portland October 28th and 29th.