(Image Credit: Steve Dunsmoor)

By Regan Bartel

D-man delivering with big minutes

Parker Alcos finding his fit

Feb 27, 2026 | 6:01 AM

The trade deadline move that brought Parker Alcos to the Kelowna Rockets was made with the spring in mind.

But for Alcos, it was also about starting over in the middle of a season and figuring out, quickly, where he fit.

So far, it has felt natural.

After arriving from the Edmonton Oil Kings at the deadline, the Rockets’ blue line has already started to feel like home.

“It’s been great. Obviously, it was pretty tough the first time being traded and meeting new faces within the staff and the players,” he told RocketFAN. “Ever since I’ve been here, they’ve treated me like I’ve been here for a while, and it’s been great so far.”

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That comfort showed up almost immediately, especially alongside fellow defenceman Keith McKinnis. The two were put together in Alcos’ very first game with Kelowna, and the pairing has stayed together ever since.

“First game we were paired up together and I think ever since then it seems like we’ve had good chemistry.”

For a player joining a team chasing something meaningful late in the year, finding that kind of fit right away matters. It lets a defenceman focus on his game instead of constantly thinking about where he should be, who he should be with, or how cautious he needs to play.

Alcos’ game is built around movement and pace, but he is quick to describe himself as more than just an offensive defenceman.

“I’d consider myself a two-way defenceman overall. I think the strength of my game is my skating, so it’s allowing me to move up and down the ice.”

That ability to play in both directions is one of the reasons he continues to stay on the radar of the Vancouver Canucks, who drafted him and remain closely involved in his development.

The feedback from the organization has stayed steady.

“They think over the years it’s been great, and obviously you’re just trying to keep it going in a steady incline to make that next step to the next level.”

That next step is what this season has become about.

Since Alcos arrived, Kelowna has put together one of its most consistent stretches of the year. The wins have followed, and so has a growing belief inside the room about what this group is capable of.

“Obviously, with big intentions this year of going to the Memorial Cup and all that, so it’s good to see that we’ve been doing less on the losses and more of the winning.”

Being the Memorial Cup host is something that hangs over this team every day. It is part of every conversation outside the dressing room. Inside it, Alcos says the approach has not changed.

“I wouldn’t say pressure. I think we just need to play with our strengths and do what works and do what we’ve done in the past that has worked.”

What surprised him most after arriving in Kelowna had nothing to do with systems, structure or video sessions.

It was the people.

“Even off the ice, it’s a really close group of people. Everyone’s friends with anyone. There are no little groups or little pockets of people. It seems like everyone is good to hang out with everyone.”

For a player walking into a new room halfway through the year, that matters. It speeds everything up. It makes it easier to speak up, easier to fit in, and easier to trust the guy beside you when the games start to tighten.

And they are tightening.

With just over a dozen games left in the regular season, the calendar starts to feel different. The days blur together. The standings change quickly. Every result seems to carry a little more weight than the last one.

“I think when you’re in it, it feels slow. But in the long run, when it’s over, it feels like it went by really quickly. I think that’s the same case every year. Every game seems like it goes by really quickly when it’s over.”

The Rockets head into a home-and-home set with the Wenatchee Wild tonight at Prospera Place, then turn around and see them again Saturday night in Wenatchee. Two games against the same opponent, right in the middle of a tight Western Conference race.

Those are often the most awkward games to manage, especially against a team sitting outside the playoff picture.

“I feel like it’s obviously tough playing every game, but especially those ones.”

It is not just about winning twice. It is about handling the emotion, the adjustments and the familiarity that builds almost instantly when teams see each other back-to-back.

Kelowna has already seen how quickly those games can turn emotional, particularly against the Kamloops Blazers.

“First game was pretty obvious how we didn’t like each other, and it was good to come out with those points from that week. That was big for us to move up in the standings overall.”

For Alcos, that edge is just part of the game. The rivalries may change from league to league and city to city, but the feeling does not.

Back in Edmonton, it was different opponents.

“Calgary or Red Deer.”

But the emotion behind it is the same.

“I think it’s just within the game. Every team in any league has their rivalry. It just happens.”

For Alcos, this stretch is another quiet checkpoint in what has already been a big season. A new city. A new room. A new partner on the back end. And a chance to prove, night after night, that the trade deadline move was about more than simply adding depth.

It was about finding the right fit at the right time.