Photo credit: RocketFAN
European challenging Rockets' record
Things that make me go hmm…
Dec 6, 2023 | 8:00 AM
- Gabriel Szturc is about to do something special with the Kelowna Rockets. The third-year forward is closing in on becoming the franchise leader in points by a European player. The record is held by Vaclav Varada, who played two seasons with Tacoma/Kelowna in 1994-95 and again in 1995-96 and finished with 173 career points. Szturc, like Varada, was born in Czechia and has 152 career points, which is 21 points back of his fellow countryman. Varada was a prolific scorer with the Rockets, scoring 50 times one season, and like Szturc, played for his country at the World Junior Hockey Championships in 1994. Szturc played for his country, not once but twice, at the prestigious event.
- Andrew Cristall leads the Kelowna Rockets in scoring. RocketFAN asked him the other day to outline what makes Szturc such a good player, and why will he be regarded as one of the best players from overseas to suit up for the franchise. “Coming in here [Kelowna] with a different language, moving to North America, he showed right away he was a good play,” Cristall offered. “He has just bloomed into the player he is today because he is an awesome teammate. That one-timer is such a deadly shot, and he sees the ice so well, which makes it easy to read off each other. It has been fun to play with him over the last couple of years.”
- It is very rare for a European player to spend three seasons with the Kelowna Rockets. Szturc is in year three, which matches Tomas Soustal, who also played three seasons for the Rockets from 2014-2018 before being traded to the Edmonton Oil Kings in his overage season. Soustal played 175 games with the Rockets. Szturc will become the franchise leader in games played by a European player if he suits up for 32 more games.
- A high-five to the Seattle Thunderbirds during Saturday night’s Teddy Bear Toss game. From goal to cleanup took 12 minutes and 14 seconds.
- Can you name the only Kelowna Rockets skater without a penalty this season? The answer – Kayden Longley.
- It was a rare sight indeed when the Wenatchee Wild visited Prospera Place last Wednesday. Behind the Wild bench stood head coach Roy Somer. The 66-year-old from Oakland, California was fashioning a Bolo tie. What is a Bolo tie? It is a type of necktie consisting of a piece of cord or braided leather with decorative mental tips and secured with an ornamental clasp or slide. You don’t see many anymore, becoming fashionable in the 80s and mostly worn by men in western areas of the country. Heck, I had one as a kid growing up on the prairies in Swift Current, Saskatchewan.
- The Kelowna Rockets haven’t met the arch-rival Kamloops Blazers once this season. That won’t stop the two from possibly running into each other during an upcoming road trip through the Eastern Division. The Blazers start the road trip Friday in Regina, while the Rockets play the Pats a day later. The two teams will crisscross one another during the prairie road trip, with the Rockets ending the excursion in Saskatoon while the Blazers complete the trip in Moose Jaw. The Rockets and Blazers meet on the ice for the first time on December 27th at the Sandman Centre in Kamloops before cranking it up again two nights later at Prospera Place.
- The Victoria Royals and Vancouver Giants begin their Eastern Division swings in early January, while the Prince George Cougars have already made the trek, earning 3 wins in 5 games back in late October.
- What is the craziest Kelowna Rockets memory from a game played in Regina against the Pats? The date was December 9, 2009, at the Brandt Centre. The Rockets scored the opening 6 goals and were cruising along with a 6-0 lead midway through the second period. The Pats awoke from the dead and scored five of the next six goals, and at one point the score was 7-5 before Shane McColgan and Brandon McMillan scored to make it a 9-5 final. The two teams combined for 88 shots. Never count your chickens before they are hatched.
- The Rockets have always played well in Regina. RocketFAN will never forget rookie defensive defenseman Cole Martin playing the role of hero with his first career WHL goal when he scored in overtime in the Rockets 3-2 win. It was December 14, 2011, when Carter Rigby, the current Prince George Cougars assistant coach, assisted on the game-winning goal.
- In Seattle Saturday night a familiar name made an appearance on the scoresheet when referee Jackson Kozari officiated a game involving the Kelowna Rockets and T-Birds. Jackson’s father is Steve Kozari, who was born in Penticton and is currently a referee in the NHL with over 1,000 games to his credit. Jackson Kozari is just 25 years old.
- Don’t blame the Kelowna Rockets for watching closely how the Regina Pats season unfolds. The team holds a first-round WHL prospect pick, obtained from the Seattle Thunderbirds in the Colten Dach deal last January. That first-round pick was originally owned by the Pats, who acquired forward Sam Oremba in a trade for that price tag with the T-Birds back in October 2022. If the Pats finish low in the standings this season that is great news for the Rockets, who will be able to use that first-round pick to select higher in the 2024 WHL Prospects draft.
- I wanted to do some research on the number of games Kris Mallette has been the head coach of the Kelowna Rockets. It was made difficult, as Mallette took over on an interim basis in 2014-2015 when then head coach Dan Lambert was coaching at the U-17’s. He was then the head coach of record when then-head skipper Adam Foote missed a game in the 2019-2020 season, in which Mallette guided the team to a 7-3 win in Tri-City. After Foote was fired, Mallette won an additional five of nine games before the season was shut down due to the pandemic. Mallette has coached 194 games in the WHL, and will hit the 200-game coached mark on December 27th against the Kamloops Blazers.
- Mallette was a man of his word when I interviewed him last Saturday in Seattle before the game. We asked him about being traded and wanting to do too much in his debut with a new team. “I fought Darcy Hordichuk in my first game [with Moose Jaw]. I went out with a bang,” Mallette said. Hordichuk, who was no shrinking violet in Saskatoon, tangled 1:36 into the third period in a game that featured four fights on October 28. 1998. Hordichuk had 33 fighting majors that season. Mallette had 25. The two fought three times that season alone.
- Let’s give credit where credit is due. Prince George Cougars GM/Head Coach Mark Lamb acquired forward Zac Funk at the 2023 WHL trade deadline. It isn’t often you can get an elite goal scorer, but the 19-year-old leads the WHL in goals (30) and is second only behind teammate Riley Heidt in points with 51. Sure, the Cougars gave up two second-round draft picks for Funk, but getting essentially two years of service out of him makes for a pretty good deal for the BC Divisions best team. Funk is arguably the best 20-year-old scorer in the Western Conference.
- Andrew Cristall has a new road roommate. “The band has been broken up,” Cristall told RocketFAN after learning the 18-year-old is no longer road roommates with Captain Gabriel Szturc. “I am with Jackson Gillespie now”, Cristall added. “He is good. He is very mature (Gillespie is 16-years-old) and a nice guy. He is organized and neat. It is nice to get rid of ‘Gabby’ who talks by ear off the whole night,” he said with a chuckle.
- The Rockets are back on the bus Thursday headed for Regina. Google maps says the mileage for that trip is 1,356 kilometers. RocketFAN has made the trip many times by bus with the team, but has chosen – twice – to fly to the prairies in an effort to feel fresher upon the five game in eight night road trip. A flight from Kelowna to Regina is just over $500.00 with a four-hour layover in Calgary before getting a connecting flight to Regina. As they say, all that glitters is not gold.
- At 1495 words, it is time to shut the barn doors for another week. Here is a question for you. Do you keep your outdoor Christmas lights on all night? We don’t, as it seems like a waste of energy while most, if not everyone is asleep. If you keep your indoor Christmas tree lights on all night, we can’t be friends, as it’s a fire hazard.
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