Uptick in offense needed

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Andrew Cristall led the way with 39 goals. Carson Golder had 31, with Gabriel Szturc (24) and Adam Kydd (20) chipping in consistently. Sadly three of those four may have moved on to pro and university hockey, meaning the power play, which generated 29 percent of the teams’ goals a season ago, could take a significant hit.

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It wasn’t the lack of production amongst the forwards that hurt the team a season ago, on their way to a 27-win campaign, but it was a lack of production generated from the d-core that stood out.

Of the eight defenders who ended the season with the team, that group found the back of the net just 23 times.

By comparison, Prince George d-man Hudson Thorton had 23 goals alone, and was named a second-team BC Division all-star.

Of the returning d-man, 20-year-old Jackson DeSouza leads the way after a career-high six goals in 2022-2023. That tied for the team lead with fellow defender Elias Carmichael, who was dealt to the Red Deer Rebels in early May for a third-round WHL bantam pick.

Caden Price, who was chosen in the third-round of June’s NHL Draft by the Seattle Kraken, found the back of the net five times, and Ethan Mittelsteadt, who came over in the Colton Dach trade in January, found pay dirt four times.

Twelve times last season, the Rockets managed to lose a game by a single goal. Turn those losses into wins, a 27-win campaign turns into a 39-win season. You could argue those one-goal losses, specifically at home early in the season to Seattle, Everett, Winnipeg, and Moose Jaw were devastating to the team’s psyche. The loss to the Warriors came with 18 seconds left in regulation time, while the setback to the Ice, the eventually Eastern Conference champions, came with 23 ticks left on the clock.

To be fair, the teams goal totals would have been higher, if not for the trading of then captain Colton Dach. The teams leading scorer in 2021-2022 (29+50=79), had Dach remained in Kelowna Rockets colours, he would have made everyone around him better. Management did the right thing in dealing him to the Seattle Thunderbirds for a coveted first-round WHL prospect pick, with the trade making even more sense after he sustained a shoulder injury for Team Canada at the world juniors that kept him out of lineup until February 18th when he suited up for his new team against the Victoria Royals.

While last years totals are concerning, typically, players increase their goal totals from one year to the next. This season should be no different. The best example may be Dylan Wightman, who scored 11 more goals, going from 4 to 15 in his 19-year-old season. That +11-goal differential tied him with leading point producer Andrew Cristall for the best year-over-year uptick in goal scoring. Cristall, a second-round NHL draft pick in June, had 39 goals this past season after finding the back of the net 28 times as a raw rookie.

With Max Graham going from 10 to 13 goals and Marcus Pacheco also hitting the 10-goal mark after a quiet rookie season where he scored just three times, you’d expect the team to have more success in the offensive zone this season.

Look for newly acquired Tij Iginla to have a hug hand in attacking the opposition net, and like Iginla who hasn’t even played a game with his new team, 17 year-old Hiroki Gojsic is anticipated to get front line minutes after jumping ship by leaving the Penticton Vees of the BCHL and plying his trade in the WHL.

The Rockets, clearly, need more offensive input from its younger players this season, and if that indeed happens, it will take a lot of pressure off of Jari Kykkanen, who will be anointed as the teams’ starting goalie with the departure of Talyn Boyko to the pros.