By Regan Bartel

15 year-old players showing flair

Top prospect, Eli Barrett, and American goalie enjoying rookie camp

Sep 2, 2023 | 4:03 PM

Let’s call it self-diagnosis.

It is the ability of an athlete to critique one’s game and do it accurately to improve.

Eli Barrett may be only 15, but that self-awareness will serve him well moving forward.

“I don’t think I was very good”, the Kelowna Rockets’ first selection in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft told RocketFAN after Friday morning’s skate. “I can be better”.

A mentally strong player can separate the outcome from the performance and work on areas to fix it.

GM Bruce Hamilton/AGM Curtis Hamilton

Things that make me go hmm...

Dec 03, 2024

Notes, one quote and anecdotes

Things that make me go hmm...

Oct 08, 2024

Notes, quotes and anecdotes

Things that make me go hmm...

Sep 13, 2024

The hope is Barrett has that ability without getting frustrated.

“I need to train, and get better this winter, and I think I will be ready to earn a spot at 16.”

Still a season away from making the jump to the WHL, Barrett will move to Yale Academy this winter after being drafted out of St. George’s prep school, which was founded in Vancouver back in 1930.

Barrett signed a Scholarship and Development Agreement back on June 21st.

Here are some other takeaways from Friday’s mid-morning session:

• It was a small sample size, but we liked what we saw from several players outside of those drafted by the team during the 10:30 a.m. ice session. Forward Maddox Bentley impressed RocketFAN. A Kelowna player who is undrafted had some good looks on the net and skated well during the high paced scrimmage. It is players like Bentley who have made this rookie camp stand out with higher-end skill, and this is an individual who isn’t going away without making an impression. Well done.
• Andrew Cristall and Logan Peskett were the two referees for the mid-morning game. Cristall will likely see only one day of main camp when it opens Sunday before flying out to join the Washington Capitals for training camp. The hope is the team’s leading scorer from last season will get an NHL pre-season game before returning to Kelowna. If that were to happen, the 18-year-old wouldn’t be in the lineup on opening night, September 23^rd against the visiting Portland Winterhawks. The Capitals first tune-up game is on September 24^th against the Buffalo Sabres.
• It looks like Gabriel Szturc will be going to camp with the Tampa Bay Lighting. The 20-year-old has options of going pro, if offered a deal by the NHL team to play in the AHL or the ECHL, or he could return to Kelowna or play pro in Europe. The Rockets are a tremendous option, where he would retain his captaincy and be the team’s top centre. The sense is Szturc really likes Kelowna, is admired by his teammates and Head Coach Kris Mallette is a big fan of the soft-spoken, and always smiling Czechian as a person first, and a player second. That bond between player and coach can be a powerful thing.
• Did you know that Eli Barrett’s grandfather, Lawrence, was the first overall pick in the 1967 CFL draft? Lawrence, who recently passed away (May 29^th), was chosen by the Toronto Argos after playing at UBC. Known as ‘Chip’, Barrett played in the CFL with the Argos and Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Now you know.
• RocketFAN spoke to 15-year-old American-born goalie Oliver Kanat after the morning session. From Los Angeles, the soft-spoken netminder was asked about what he likes in his game. “I think my skating and puck handling has improved a lot”, Kanat said without hesitation. “I try to stay as calm as I can [in net] when the play is scrabbly in front of me and just reel it back in.” Kanat was chosen in the second round of the U.S. Prospects Draft this summer. The Rockets have only had two American-born goalies suit up for them in the past, with Mark Guggenberger from Minnesota and Adam Brown from California earning that honour.
• It was nice to touch base this morning when RocketFAN ran into Monear Abougouche, the father of Kelowna Rockets d-man Ismail Abougouche. Monear says his son is recovering nicely after undergoing shoulder surgery back in March and hasn’t stopped growing. Another inch in height and closing in on 190 pounds is a great sign for a player determined to recover after separation his shoulder in a fight in Edmonton last season. Still not cleared for contact, Abougouche was the Rockets rookie of the year in 2022-2023 after dressing in 50 games.