Photo credit: Steve Dunsmoor

By Regan Bartel

Rockets rise from last year’s struggles

From last place to the chase: Rockets aim high in Prince George

Feb 6, 2026 | 6:00 AM

Oh, how a year can change a hockey season.

With 20 games left in the regular season, the Kelowna Rockets are chasing third place in the Western Conference. They open a crucial two-game set in Prince George this weekend, just three points behind the Cougars. A year ago at this same point, the team was in the basement, quietly hoping the season would end. Now, older, more skilled, and confident, this group has completely flipped the script.

The Rockets have also shown this season that they are a better road team than at home. Kelowna has 16 wins away from Prospera Place, tied with Penticton for the second-most in the Western Conference, trailing only first-place Everett. For a team facing a key road series, it is an important edge.

For head coach Derrick Martin, the moment is big, but his approach behind the bench stays the same.

“Coaches win practice, and players win games,” Martin said. “We don’t need to be inundating their rest time during the intermission with a whole bunch of information. We want them to go and play their game.”

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Kelowna is older, more experienced, and more skilled than a year ago. For the first time in a long time, walking into a rink on the road feels like a real opportunity instead of a long shot.

When asked whether he talks to the team after every period, Martin was clear: yes, but only briefly.

“Typically, yes,” he said. “Whether it’s an adjustment or just a quick reminder, there’s usually something to give your group. At this point, it’s as much a habit as it is out of necessity.”

Those moments are short.

“We try not to be in the dressing room very long, no matter what the scenario is,” Martin said. “We don’t want to overload them. We like to be consistent.”

That consistency has helped build an identity. And Martin believes that identity matters more now than fancy plays or complicated systems.

“There’s beauty in the basics in hockey,” he said. “When you overcomplicate things, that’s when things can go amiss.”

The Rockets have added pieces throughout the season, layering in small details month by month. But Martin is clear about what they are not doing.

“We don’t have to try and become the Harlem Globetrotters of hockey,” he said. “We’ve got an identity. I think it’s more important at this time of the year that we’re seeing our group really embrace that identity and pull towards that identity.”

It is a message that becomes louder with the standings tightening and the pressure building.

“Stanley Cups aren’t won that way. Memorial Cups aren’t won that way. Championships in junior and minor hockey aren’t won that way,” Martin said. “We just want to give this group the best opportunity to be successful.”

That approach will be tested immediately against a Prince George team that knows exactly what is at stake. Two games head-to-head can flip momentum in a hurry.

What makes this Kelowna group different is not just age or talent. It is how much ownership the players have taken in the process.

Martin believes strongly in shared input, even from his leaders.

“I try to be really prideful in being a growth-minded person,” he said. “My door is always open. Whether it’s with me or another member of our coaching staff, I think it’s important that they feel comfortable to share.”

He welcomes ideas. He welcomes conversation. He welcomes challenges.

“I believe in shared ownership,” Martin said. “These guys have to have some input in it. At the end of the day, it’s not about being the smartest person in the room. It’s about the group that drives accountability and holds themselves to the standard we’ve all agreed to.”

Buy-in, Martin says, is what makes any system work.

“You’ve got to know your group. You’ve got to believe in what you’re selling them,” he said. “Everything we teach, we’ve learned from somebody somewhere else. That’s the cool part of the game. You get to learn, and then you get to teach what you’ve learned.”

Inside the Rockets’ coaching room, there are plenty of voices. Longtime WHL coach Don Hay is part of the staff, along with several others who bring different experiences and language to the room. Martin admits there is always some risk that messages can get lost.

“But we spend a lot of time talking and sharing ideas,” he said. “I like to think we’re a pretty united group. When we walk out the door in front of our team, it’s a united front.”

That unity extends to how new players have blended into the lineup since the trade deadline. At this point, Martin says, it feels like those players have been in Kelowna far longer than they actually have.

“This is a special group,” he said. “They’re willing to try new things. They’re willing to ask questions. They’re willing to go out and do what’s asked of them.”

And most importantly for a team chasing a playoff position, they have embraced the structure quickly.

“When you get traded mid-season, there’s always adjustment,” Martin said. “But the guys we brought in are older and more mature. They’ve been quick to learn. It honestly feels like they’ve been Kelowna Rockets the whole time.”

There is a different feeling around the rink this season. Martin feels it. The players feel it.

“We think every night we walk into the rink, we’ve got a chance to win a hockey game,” he said. “That probably wasn’t the case in February of last year.”

With that comes pressure.

“I think pressure is a privilege,” Martin said. “We’re having a lot of fun with it.”

He also sees the change clearly in the players who survived last season’s struggles. There are 11 returnees from last year’s roster. Their faces, he says, look different now.

“There’s a different type of joy,” Martin said. “They come in in the morning knowing it’s going to be a hard day. We work hard. We practice hard. We do video. But there’s excitement coming to the rink.”