Photo credit: Steve Dunsmoor

By Regan Bartel

Shorthanded strength meets WHL’s best

Kelowna’s penalty kill surges into B.C Division showdown

Dec 3, 2025 | 6:00 AM

Two of the WHL’s best penalty-killing units meet tonight at Prospera Place, and for the Kelowna Rockets, it’s a spot they haven’t been in for a long time.

Not since 2013-2014, when they led the league at 86.2 per cent, have the Rockets been this strong while shorthanded. This year they’re at 84.7 per cent, sitting second in the league. Only Prince George is better at 84.9, and they’re the opponent tonight.

For almost five straight seasons, the PK struggled. It couldn’t bail the team out when games got tight. This year, it can suddenly. The mindset has changed. The Rockets defend with purpose now, and they take pride in doing it.

Head coach Derrick Martin says the biggest shift started on the coaching staff, with a decision to rethink everything about the PK.

“Don Hay has done a really good job of that,” Martin said. “What is most impressive about Don is that he asks a lot of questions. We’ve switched to a diamond penalty kill. Don hasn’t run a lot of diamond penalty kills. I haven’t run a lot of diamond penalty kills. But we’ve got connections in hockey that have run diamond penalty kills, and he studies the game and wants to learn.”

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The Rockets also leaned on the experience of the people around them.

“To add Brandon [McMillan], who’s been a penalty kill guy in pro, and Josh Gorges, who was one of the best when he played in the National Hockey League, to have those guys add little pieces here and there has been huge,” Martin said.

But no system works unless the players commit, and that’s where the Rockets have changed the most.

“It takes a commitment to block shots,” Martin said. “I think we do a really good job as a hockey team getting in lanes and being willing to block shots, and that’s a courageous thing. I think that is as much of a fight in hockey as fighting used to be for momentum, and our guys do a good job of that. I can’t take a ton of credit for the penalty kill. That’s all Don and the boys.”

The forwards have bought in too. They’ve learned that good defense means more time with the puck. Veterans who handled key minutes late last year are now guiding the younger players through the details.

“Our veteran guys, our guys that played in it at the end of last year, have done a really good job of teaching it,” Martin said earlier this season. “It rewards guys because it gets you the puck more often. Playing good away from the puck gets us the puck more often.”

Tonight’s matchup is simple: both teams defend hard, block shots and pressure the puck. Prince George does it better than anyone right now. Kelowna is right behind them. In a league where offense is up and power plays are faster and more creative, staying above 84 per cent is no small thing.

Martin also knows what this means for the identity of the Rockets. The team has worked to bring back the habits the organization was known for.

“I put a real emphasis on myself to hold true to the Rockets’ legacy and make the people that have walked in this in the past proud,” he said. “I think pressure is a privilege. I put a lot of pressure on myself to be good, but I think everybody in that room does.”

The Rockets learned the hard way over the last few years. Now they’ve found something they can lean on every night. The PK is no longer a weakness. It’s a strength.

And tonight, against the best shorthanded team in the WHL, they get another chance to prove it.