Photo credit: RocketFAN

By Regan Bartel

Summer of change for Kelowna Rockets

Draft lottery and head coaching hire on horizon

Apr 8, 2025 | 12:00 PM

It isn’t urgent, but it’s definitely something the Kelowna Rockets will address this summer. 

At the moment, the hockey club has bigger priorities, like making moves, by trading draft picks at the WHL Prospects Draft, before zeroing in on a new head coach. 

With the Western Hockey League draft lottery on Thursday, that’s the primary focus right now before deciding how to handle that high draft pick. If they’re fortunate like the Prince Albert Raiders, the winners of the last two draft lotteries, moving up to the top spot will once again shift the direction management takes.

Edmonton has the best odds of winning the draft lottery, with the Regina Pats and then the Kelowna Rockets also having a shot at highly touted Regina-born 15-year-old forward Maddox Schultz.   

“It really doesn’t matter,” said Kelowna Rockets general manager Bruce Hamilton when asked by RocketFAN if he’d like a new head coach in place by the end of July. “It is when we find the right guy, and it has to be someone available who will have to come.” 

Roster changes and renovations

Things that make me go hmm...

Apr 01, 2025

Playing with passion amid losing record

Things that make me go hmm...

Mar 18, 2025

Notes, quotes and anecdotes

Things that make me go hmm...

Feb 20, 2025

The vacant head coaching position will likely attract many looking to re-enter the spotlight and hone their craft. While interest is expected to grow as more teams exit the playoffs, the number of resumes or inquiries on Hamilton’s desk should increase significantly by the end of May. 

“We haven’t had a lot of interest yet,” Hamilton said a few weeks ago when teams were still heavily involved in playoff pushes. “Anybody that we are interested in is probably still coaching right now if they are going to be a candidate.” 

Looking back, mid-summer is typically when Hamilton hires new coaches. Jason Smith was announced as the new head coach on July 6, 2016. Brad Ralph, who was virtually unknown in these parts before being announced, came on board late when introduced to the media in August 2015, just weeks before training camp opened. Dan Lambert was promoted to head coach on June 23, 2014, but that early summer hire came after longtime coach Ryan Huska resigned to take a pro-opportunity in the AHL.

One thing is certain: the new candidate will have hardworking assistant coach Derrick Martin by his side. Martin is entering the second year of a three-year deal he signed with the team in August 2024. 

“He took on a sinking ship,” Hamilton said candidly after Kris Mallette was relieved of his duties in early January, just after the trade deadline. “Our team got better [under Martin]. Kris [Mallette] has gone on to a great situation for him, but I think a change was probably needed.”

Mallette is now coaching the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters, who open a second-round playoff series against the highly touted London Knights on Thursday night.

“Sadly, when Derrick took over, we lost two or three premier players right away [Max Graham/Michael Cicek], so he was left with a lot of young guys [players] trying to get them to understand how hard they have to play in this league,” Hamilton said. 

It’s believed Martin eventually taking over the team, though mentoring will be needed before that happens. 

“If we add a head coach to this thing, it will be a premier guy,” Hamilton added. 

“I’m confident we have a great plan,” he said about building a strong host team for the 2026 Memorial Cup next May.

“Our scouting staff has been going hard, and we will continue right through the playoffs tracking every other team where we think there is a player we are interested in getting.”