Photo credit: Steve Dunsmoor
1000 words: no more, no less
Cristall/Price familiar with Hockey Canada
Apr 17, 2023 | 6:00 AM
- It isn’t rare to see the Kelowna Rockets representing Canada on the international stage. What is odd is witnessing players wearing Team Canada colours at the Under-18 World Championships in late April, which is one of two high-profile events this age group competes in during the calendar year. The more prestigious is the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup in August, which describes itself as a tournament involving the best under-18 players in the world. In this event, involving Kelowna Rockets forward Andrew Cristall and teammate Caden Price, players are named who either didn’t have their CHL teams qualify for the playoffs or were eliminated quickly in the opening round. The 22-man roster, which will be guided by former Kelowna Rockets head coach Jeff Truitt, does not require players to compete for a roster spot.
- If Cristall and Price weren’t happy with their play against the Seattle Thunderbirds in the opening round, and their stock dropped slightly for June’s NHL draft because of it, this is a tremendous – second chance – to show NHL scouts that they were better than what they showed against the Western Conference regular season championships. Cristall scored a goal in game four but was held to one point and a -4 rating, while Price scored in game one and earned an assist in game three. I think both players believe they could have made more of an impact. The tournament starts this Sunday.
- NHL Central Scouting releases its final rankings tomorrow. Stay tuned.
- The last Kelowna Rockets player to suit up for Canada in this event, being held in Switzerland, was Kaedan Korczak in April of 2019. It was the year the team missed the playoffs for the second time in franchise history. Again, typically the Rockets don’t have players participating in this spring tournament thanks to long, extended playoff runs.
- With just eight teams competing for the WHL title, better known as the Ed Chynoweth Cup, three players come to mind with ties to the Kelowna Rockets. Colton Dach, who captained the Rockets at the start of the season before being traded is suiting up with the Seattle Thunderbirds. Dach was acquired by the Rockets from the Saskatoon Blades for Trevor Wong. The now 19-year-old, Wong, who won’t turn 20 until May 4th, is playing in a second-round series against the Red Deer Rebels. The Prince George Cougars also have Kelowna Rockets content as alumnus Carter Rigby is an assistant coach with the BC based team. Portland, Kamloops, Winnipeg, Red Deer nor Moose Jaw have many connections, outside of Red Deer’s Kalan Lind (Kole Lind’s younger brother) and Ryder Korczak (Kaedan Korczak’s younger brother) suiting up for the Moose Jaw Warriors.
- Portland, Saskatoon, and Prince George all face an uphill climb in their second-round WHL playoff series. Down two games to none, the Blades face the ugliest scenario, dropping back-to-back home games, with the series shifting to Red Deer this Tuesday and Wednesday. Saskatoon lost just six times on home ice during the regular season, yet has now dropped four of six games at Sask-Tel Centre in the 2023 post-season. Playoffs are indeed a different animal.
- Steve Papp remains in the mix when it comes to the officiating staff in the WHL playoffs. Papp was on the ice in game two of the Blazers-Winterhawks series on Saturday night at Sandman Centre. The pride of Kelowna will call it a career at season’s end. I hope he has a shot at being one of the WHL referees at the 2023 Memorial Cup in Kamloops next month. That would be a great way to ride out into the sunset.
- When the Stanley Cup playoffs begin tonight, the Kelowna Rockets will be well-represented. The franchise will have seven former players participating to win hockey’s highest honor. On that list is: Luke Schenn of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars, Damon Severson of the New Jersey Devils, Leon Drasiatil of the Edmonton Oilers, Alex Edler of the LA Kings, and Josh Morrissey of the Winnipeg Jets. Brett McLean is an assistant coach with the Minnesota Wild. Schenn already has two Stanley Cup rings after winning both with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and again in 2021. Schenn, who has playoff experience with four different teams, has played 19 of 31 postseason games with the Lightning. In four seasons with the Leafs, from 2008 until 2012, Schenn, who is now 33 years old, did not play in one single NHL playoff game. Ouch.
- Alex Edler will play in his 90th career NHL playoff game tonight when the LA Kings face the Edmonton Oilers. Edler, who played his 1000th NHL game earlier this season, will turn 37 on Friday.
- His name was Ethan Bowen. The Chilliwack product was the Kelowna Rockets’ first pick, in the second round of the 2017 WHL Prospects Draft. Originally drafted in the 7th round of the 2020 NHL draft by the Anaheim Ducks, it appears the about-to-turn 21-year-old has quit hockey. Elite Prospects shows he didn’t play at all during the 2022-2023 season after suiting up for the Chilliwack Chiefs (BCHL) the year prior with a belief he would play in the NCAA with the University of Vermont. Ethan Bowen’s older brother, Ryan, now 24, played just seven games with the Rockets in 2018-2019 in an effort to earn one of three 20-year-old spots. Those were eventually won by Dalton Galley, acquired from the Medicine Hat Tigers for a 10th-round prospects pick in 2020, Lane Zablocki, obtained in a trade with the Victoria Royals for a fourth-round selection, and d-man Schael Higson, who was acquired from the Brandon Wheat Kings in a trade for d-man Brayden Chizen and a fifth-round draft pick.
- Tyler Spurgeon tells RocketFAN, he isn’t retiring from hockey just yet. Turning 37 years old last week, the Edmonton product has one more season left on a contract to play in DEL-2, the second-tier hockey league in Germany. Spurgeon, who captained the Kelowna Rockets, is the only player from the 2004 Memorial Cup championship team that is still playing at the pro level.
- We officially said goodbye to Dustin Salisbury during a staff function in the Okanagan sunshine Friday afternoon. Salisbury was my op during Kelowna Rockets radio broadcasts during our inaugural season on 104.7 – The LIZARD. I wish him the best wherever his career takes him. It was nice to have Dusty at the controls for all 73 games (72 regular season and one pre-season game) this season.
- You likely didn’t know Andy Eide, but he was a journalist who covered the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds before the NHL’s Seattle Kraken were born. Sadly, he passed away last week, but left an impression on many. https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/hockey/beloved-andy-eide-dead-at-53-helped-facilitate-a-hockey-market-when-there-wasnt-an-nhl-team/
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