Photo credit: Kelowna Rockets

By Regan Bartel

Horoki Gojsic acquired from Royals

Big get with a great first name

Jun 1, 2023 | 6:00 AM

The Kelowna Rockets have had many players over the years with unique names.

Troy Ofukany, James Hilsendager, Codey Ito, Cody Chikie, Mark Guggenberger, and current d-man Ismail Abougouche are great examples.

Those are tremendous last names, but how about a distinctive first name?

Lassi Thomson, who played one season during the 2018-2019 campaign is RocketFAN’s top choice.

Challenging the Ottawa Senators’ first-round NHL draft pick on the all-name team is newcomer Horoki Gojsic.

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The 17-year-old forward was acquired in a trade with the Victoria Royals on Wednesday for second and fifth-round prospect picks.

Does he [Horoki] like his first name?

“Ya, I do. It is the only one I have”, Gojsic chuckled. “It is a Japanese first name, and I am sure it is popular there. I was named after my grandfather.”

While Gojsic’s mom was born in Asia, his father is from Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Playing this past season with the BCHL champion Penticton Vees, the smooth-skating forward found the back of the net 10 times and collected 21 assists in 33 games.

“I am a power forward with skill”, Gojsic not hesitating when asked to describe his play. “I can put the puck in the net. I can make big hits and be physical wherever I can.”

At 6’3, and weighing just shy of 190 pounds, while sturdy on his skates, the physical size can come in handy in other areas.

“I can use my size to protect the puck. If I see a hit, and a guy is off balance, I am obviously going to follow through. I won’t make a hit to take me out of the play. I will only do it to get the puck back.”

Gojsic says two coaches have helped him develop into the player he is today. It starts with Tyler Kuntz, who coached him at St. George’s, the same school attended by Kelowna Rockets leading scorer Andrew Cristall. Gojsic also credits Mike Grant in his early years for helping develop his skills. Grant most recently was a scout with the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2019-2020.

“He seems like a really good coach”, when asked about his first meeting with current Kelowna Rockets bench boss Kris Mallette. “I had lunch with him, and he is a really good guy. I am looking forward to getting to know him more and for him to push me on the ice.”

Gojsic was highly touted going into the WHL Prospects Draft two years ago but was on the fence on whether the WHL was the right fit to pursue a pro hockey career. Despite the hesitancy, the Victoria Royals selected him with the first pick in the second round of the 2021 draft.

“We’re very excited to be able to acquire a player of Hiroki’s caliber,” said Rockets president and general manager Bruce Hamilton. “We’ve been working on this for a little while, we think that he’s an elite player that will bring something to our team that we don’t have right now. He’s got size and skill, and he’s going to play with our best players.”

That is music to the ears of the grade 11 student, who is completing the school year in Penticton before heading home for two short months.

“I want to approach it with an open mind”, Gojsic hoping to make the seamless jump to major junior hockey. “I just want to work hard every day as that is the only thing I can control.”

It has been a great week for the Rockets and the Gojsic family. Younger brother, Kanjyu, signed a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement with the team on Monday.

“We will be training with each other this summer,” Gojsic excited about working out with his younger sibling. “He is a pretty strong kid. He plays a lot like me, but he is just a little shorter. My dad says he came out of the womb ripped.”

Who knows, maybe down the road the two can play with one another – for the first time ever – while wearing Kelowna Rockets colours.

“That would be awesome”, Gojsic enthralled with the possibility.

“I really haven’t thought about that. Now there could be a good chance, so I am pretty excited about it.”