Photo credit: Steve Dunsmoor

By Regan Bartel

Will beats skill

Rockets finding ways by getting in the way

Jan 15, 2026 | 9:00 AM

Hockey games aren’t won on skill alone. They’re won by the players who are willing to get in the way when it matters.

For Kelowna Rockets head coach Derrick Martin, that is where winning starts. Not with skill, but with effort, habits, and how players respond when the game demands more.

“I think of guys being willing to block shots and the expectation we have in our dressing room that you do,” Martin said. “That just shows the buy-in of the group and the care and the character.”

Shot blocking is often the difference between winning and losing. During the Rockets’ current three-game winning streak, they have allowed just five goals against, a stretch Martin says reflects the team’s willingness to sacrifice.

“They shoot pucks pretty hard nowadays,” he said. “When you get up to ice level and see these guys rip pucks, there is a real level of courage that it takes to do that, that sacrifice and willingness.”

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That mindset is not limited to a few players. Martin says it runs through the entire lineup.

“What I like about our group is, from our first forward to our 12th forward every night, guys are committed to doing that. Our defensemen are committed to doing that too.”

Late in games, systems still matter. But when shifts get extended and structure starts to bend, Martin says it becomes something else.

“Composure is one piece, and then there is structure to it,” he said. “Most teams run a box plus one. One guy is pressuring the puck and you are trying to contain a pretty tight box around the front of your net. When you get extended in a shift, it becomes a battle of will more than structure.”

That willingness becomes even more important as the season moves into its second half.

“When you go through the second half and you want to play in the playoffs and you want to play in Memorial Cups, you are going to need guys to step up in different situations,” Martin said.

Versatility is part of that equation. Martin values players who can move around the lineup without losing their impact, something that has helped as new faces have joined the room.

“I can’t really take any credit for that,” he said. “That is all within the people that are in that room and the people that came into that room. There are some nerves when you are walking into a new environment. You have to be a little vulnerable and open to some adjustment.”

The culture inside the dressing room, Martin believes, makes those transitions easier.

“I think our room is a really welcoming room,” he said ahead of the team’s two home games this weekend against the Calgary Hitmen and Prince George Cougars. “At the end of the day, guys want to have fun, they want to win hockey games, and the only way to do that is to become really galvanized as a group.”

For Martin, motivation has to come from within.

“You want people that are intrinsically motivated, not governed by the whip,” he said. “This is a tough career path. You have got to be self motivated, because you are going to get to a level or a place where nobody is pushing you forward.”

That internal drive shows up daily, especially on game days.

“I think this group really enjoys coming to the rink,” Martin said. “There is a level of excitement when it is game day.”

In this league, skill is everywhere. Will is not. And for Martin, when effort and habits meet willingness, the results usually follow.

“It speaks again to the character inside the dressing room and that will to be successful.”