Photo credit: Steve Dunsmoor

By Regan Bartel

Mr. Versatility

Max Graham is Rockets version of a Swiss Army knife

Dec 29, 2023 | 8:00 AM

Max Graham can do about everything.

The 19-year-old can skate, score, hit and when agitated, can drop the gloves and fight.

The Kelowna resident, who was technically born in Whitehorse Yukon before his family moved to the Okanagan, doesn’t come with an ego either, choosing to earn the ice time he has been given.

“I will play wherever the coach puts me,” Graham told RocketFAN. “We have pretty good depth on our team this year, so wherever anyone is playing, we always have a solid lineup.”

No one has asked him to play goal, but if pestered, the likable personality would likely strap on the pads to help his team.

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This season, his third in the Western Hockey League, Graham has seen time on the top line with captain Gabriel Szturc and leading scorer Andrew Cristall, and then has been moved off that unit to join other teammates further down the lineup.

“Maybe once in a while you find it hard, having chemistry with some guys and then you have to be moved apart,” he added. “The line I’ve been playing with Dylan Wightman and Marcus Pacheco, I think we complement each other.”

Sitting sixth in team scoring with 17 points in 32 games, the power forward is on pace to record a career-high 36 points this season, including 15 goals. If that is attained, it would surpass the 33-points he earned in the 2021-2022 campaign.

Though Graham’s impact isn’t always measured on the scoresheet, his recent play has helped spark the Rockets to eight wins in its last 12 games.

“When we play simple, we have success,” he said. “When everyone buys in, that is what is going to give any team success, and for the most part we have been doing that, and have to keep doing it moving forward.”

Graham is one of only two forwards on this year’s team never chosen in the WHL Prospects draft. Graham is joined by Dylan Wightman who didn’t have their names called on draft day. Graham was eventually listed and then signed a WHL standard player contract with the Everett Silvertips on January 29, 2020. He was later traded to the Kelowna Rockets in August of 2021 for forward Alex Swetlikoff, then 20 years-old, and a 6th-round bantam pick.

“Our organization knows a lot about Max,” said GM Bruce Hamilton at the time of the trade. “Lorne Frey and Terry McFaul were both high on him, Lorne had talked about listing him a couple of years ago and we missed our chance. He’s a guy that Everett listed out of Kelowna Minor Hockey and has turned into a real player. We’re really excited to have him join our team.”

One of five-2004-born players on the roster, Graham has a good chance to play for the team next season too, earning one of three highly coveted overage spots.

Not looking too far into the future though, Graham and his teammates are focusing on tonight’s home game (104.7 The Lizard pre-game show starts at 6:35 pm) against the Kamloops Blazers, a team they met Wednesday night, and ended up losing 3-2 in the first of eight meetings between the two arch-rivals.

“Coming into this season, no one is thinking about the past,” Graham said, well aware of his teams’ lack of success against the Blazers, winners of four consecutive BC Division championships.

“We have a whole new team. They have a whole new team.”