Photo credit: Steve Dunsmoor
Playing with passion amid losing record
Things that make me go hmm…
Mar 18, 2025 | 6:00 AM
- We’ve reached the final week of the regular season, with the Kelowna Rockets having three games remaining. They’ll face Victoria and Kamloops at home before wrapping up the 68-game schedule with a road matchup against the Vancouver Giants on Sunday. After that, the only event left will be the team’s annual awards ceremony. In the Western Conference, the Rockets are joined by the Wenatchee Wild on the sidelines, as both teams have failed to make the playoffs. In the Eastern Conference, the Regina Pats, Moose Jaw Warriors, and Red Deer Rebels will also miss the postseason, with the Pats failing to qualify for the second year in a row.
- The Rockets are 19 points back of the 8th-place Seattle Thunderbirds for the final playoff spot. In 2007, when the team missed post-season for the first time in franchise history, they came up short by five points, finishing behind the 8th-place Chilliwack Bruins (now the Victoria Royals). That season, you needed 58 points to get in. It looks like 59 will do the trick in 2024-2025. In 2007, the Rockets had three 20-year-olds—Chris Ray, David Schulz, and Clayton Barthel—and won 22 regular season games under head coach Jeff Truitt. On June 12, 2007, Truitt resigned, and just over a month later, Ryan Huska was named as his replacement. Missing the playoffs is always painful, but it stings even more when you’re involved in a tie-breaking or “play-in” game. That was the case in 2019, when the Kelowna Rockets and Kamloops Blazers were tied for the 8th and final playoff spot. In a one-game showdown, the Blazers won 5-1, dealing a blow to their closest rival.
- Playing with passion during a tough losing streak—one where the team has dropped 24 of its last 25 games—can manifest in different ways. In Saturday’s road loss in Kamloops, the Rockets showed their frustration by getting physical with the Blazers. Carter Kowalyk found himself in what turned into a one-sided altercation with Harrison Brunicke, who landed two punches on the 19-year-old’s face with his gloves on, only to back off when Kowalyk, who hasn’t fought anyone since last season’s clash with Zac Funk in Prince George, dropped his gloves. Later in the game, Rockets forward Dawson Gerwing got into a scrap with Rhett Ravndahl, while Hayden Paupanekis also threw a few punches in a rare fight for him. It may have been overly aggressive hockey, but at least it showed the Rockets still had some fight left in them, refusing to go down quietly despite another loss.
- You don’t often see it on the Kelowna Rockets’ defensive core. With a group full of stay-at-home defensemen, few are inclined to rush the puck up the ice. Will Sharpe is the exception. The 18-year-old’s end-to-end rush against the Kamloops Blazers Friday night, which resulted in a goal, was a rare sight, and when he picks his moments, he can become an additional threat to find the back of the net. “His ability to make plays with the puck is exceptional,” Rockets interim head coach Derrick Martin told RocketFAN. “He sees the game well and plays with a ton of confidence. Often, your biggest strengths can also be your biggest weaknesses, and that sometimes gets him into trouble. We’ve seen growth in that area over the last 12 games, with him managing the risk/reward better. He wants to play against the other team’s top players, and to do that, you have to play solid, sound defense.” Sharpe will be drafted this summer; it is just a matter of which round. “He can make something out of nothing,” Martin added, highlighting Sharpe’s ability to generate speed with the puck on his stick and create quality scoring chances. “There’s a difference between getting drafted into the NHL and actually playing in it. For him to play in the NHL one day, he’s going to have to learn to play away from the puck, be heavy, and be harder to play against. That’s why he’s in junior hockey right now. It gives him the chance to build on his strengths and address some areas for improvement, but he has shown an aptitude to learn and take feedback, so all signs point to him being a positive player.”
- After a stop in Red Deer, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Calgary, and Edmonton during a recent Central Division road trip, one thing became abundantly clear: while the WHL strives for consistency, the game is called noticeably tighter in the Eastern Conference compared to the Western Conference. Several times, penalties were called for slashing when the opposing player was clearly embellishing, yet the referees still bit on the calls.
- I don’t usually take the time to watch games outside of the Rockets’ schedule due to the intensity of the Western Hockey League season, but I had the privilege of seeing the Red Deer Rebels play the Calgary Hitmen on a Friday night, just before the Rockets played both teams to start their Central Division road trip. Secretly (until now), I’ll admit that I prefer to watch games alone so I can fully focus on the action. If I’m sitting with someone, I tend to get caught up in conversation during the game, and I can’t absorb everything happening on the ice. Call it antisocial, but I need to concentrate on one thing at a time, without distractions. That night, I really enjoyed getting to see both teams, which made for an enriching experience as I called the action during Saturday and Sunday’s games against teams I don’t get to see on a regular basis.
- Did I eat rink food in Red Deer? Absolutely. I had a cheeseburger, fries, and a bottled water. One word—delicious. I was encouraged to indulge in the ice cream, which is a popular treat at Rebels home games. Unfortunately, I couldn’t. Why? Lactose intolerant.
- With the Kelowna Rockets missing the playoffs, they will be one of six non-playoff teams included in the draft lottery. If they finish with the third fewest points among these teams, they can move up a maximum of two spots in the draft, giving them a shot at the first overall pick. The organization previously held the first overall pick in 1991 as an expansion team, selecting defenseman Adam Smith. In 2007, they also selected second overall, picking American forward Luke Moffatt, who ultimately chose to pursue an NCAA career and never played a game in the WHL.
- The Kelowna Rockets have struggled with a 3-24-2-1 record over their last 30 games. By comparison, the Moose Jaw Warriors are 4-22-3-1 in 30 games, while the Regina Pats has been the best of the three with a record of 6-22-1-1 over that same stretch.
- For the record, I refused to call the Lethbridge Hurricanes arena – VisitLethbridge,com – on our broadcast a few weeks back. Nice Arena. Great sightlines. Solid crowd. I think I used the word ENMAX Centre a few times for nostalgia sake.
- When I was cutting my teeth in the WHL back in the mid-90s, interviewing the head coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes required a bit of nerve. I wasn’t sure whether I was more intimidated by Bryan Maxwell or Bob Loucks. ‘Maxy’ always smelled of cigarettes, while Loucks, with his wrestling background, made me wonder if he might body slam me for asking a dumb question. But the truth is, both of them were actually pretty accommodating, despite their tough exteriors.
- For the record, the arena elevator in Lethbridge is the quickest in the league. Once you press the bottom for which floor you want to access, it feels like you are in a rocket ship. Seattle and Kamloops are in a two-horse race for the slowest.
- ‘Wednesday Night in the Dub’ returns this week when the Victoria Royals make a visit to Prospera Place. The Royals have a lot on the line, sitting two points back of Prince George for the BC Division lead. The Royals last won a banner in the 2016 season by winning 50 games, and earning 106 points, six more than the second place Kelowna Rockets.
- At 1358 words, it is time to shut the barn doors for another week. When we return next week, it all about reviewing what went wrong in 2024-2025 and a look ahead with optimism for 2025-2026.
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