Photo credit: Allen Douglas

By Regan Bartel

Best of seven now a best of five

No star, but Caden Price shone brightly in road victory

Mar 31, 2024 | 12:27 PM

Caden Price deserves an NHL contract.

The Kelowna Rockets’ best defenseman showed why last night.

The 18-year-old was terrific with a three-assist effort in a game two – 3-1 road victory over the Wenatchee Wild.

“Caden was amazing,” assistant coach Josh MacNevin told RocketFAN after the game. “That was an NHL game that he played. His stick was phenomenal. He was physical when he needed to be. He made the right plays. He made them early. He got pucks to the net.”

Price may be playing with a bur under his saddle these days and is using the extra motivation after seeing Seattle Kraken second-rounder Lukas Dragicevic sign an entry-level deal with the NHL team last week. The deal was announced after the Tri-City Americans failed to earn a playoff spot. While undoubtedly happy for his colleague, who could eventually be his teammate down the road, if Price continues his excellent play, one would think he will be signing on the dotted line sooner rather than later.

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“He was just great,” MacNevin added with Price forced to log huge minutes with the one-game suspension served by d-man Carter Kowalyk after a slew-foot penalty Friday night. “With [affiliated player] Lachlan Staniforth not really knowing our systems, it was tough to put him on the ice. We had a chat with him about his lack of ice time, but he is going to play down the stretch for us as his career progresses, but it is a tough ask for him to come in and play with one practice.”

Price now has five points in two playoff games, which is good for 4^th in WHL scoring. The laser-focused player has hit no less than three goalposts, so those totals could be even higher if lady luck was on his side.

Meanwhile, Saturday’s win, the Rockets’ first road victory since the 2017 post-season, was the result of solid defensive play, something that both teams ignored in a game one 8-6 decision for the Wild.

“It is playoff hockey. You need to play [defensive] that way and limit their chances,” MacNevin said. “When we had breakdowns, Jari [Kykkanen] was there. The score wasn’t indicative of how he played in game one, and he was excellent tonight. We bought in tonight.”

What wasn’t excellent was the Rockets’ power play in game two, going 0 for 5 and having three consecutive chances in the third period to make it 3-1, but couldn’t find the back of the net. Luke Schelter’s empty-net goal was the final nail in the coffin, tying the series at one win apiece.

“We made some adjustments on our entry [into the zone], and we had a lot of chances,” MacNevin added. “[Daniel] Hauser was good tonight. There are things we can do differently to turn up the heat a little bit, so we will be working on that and getting it locked in for the rest of the series.”

After being burned for four power-play goals in game one, much like the flow of the game, which turned from firewagon to structurally sound a night later, the road team took one penalty after forward Max Graham received the lone penalty for shooting the puck over the glass.

“It was unbelievable wasn’t it,” MacNevin marveled at his team’s ability to play within the rules. “In the playoffs, you have to be willing to put the team first. We have to understand what cost us in game one, which wasn’t disciplined, and going out and being in the right position, not chasing from behind and using your stick and getting into battles where you are a step behind. Man, the guys bought in and it was great to see.”

The series is now a best-of-five, with the next two games at Prospera Place on Tuesday and Wednesday night.

“We are excited to be back home and introduce these guys [players] to some Rocket fans,” MacNevin concluded.

“Let’s get tropical here,” he said with a chuckle. “We need that seventh man with their support.”