Rockets searching for their next game-breaker

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That kind of player doesn’t come around often.

Holding the key to the first-overall pick

Rockets searching for their next game-breaker

1h ago

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Enough talk. Time for action

As they say in Everett, 'Let's play hockey!

Apr 10, 2026

The last time we saw it here might’ve been Andrew Cristall.

Cristall arrived undersized, but he backed it up quickly. Drafted by the team, 8th overall in 2020, he scored 28 goals as a 16-year-old, matching the number he wore on the back of his jersey. He wasn’t the biggest player on the ice – far from it – but he might’ve been the smartest. He saw plays before they developed. He lived in the offensive zone. That’s where his magic was.

Was he perfect? No. His game had warts. But his skill with the puck outweighed everything else. You could build around that.

That’s what the Rockets are chasing again.

And they’ll get that chance today.

The WHL Prospects Draft goes this afternoon, with the Rockets on the clock at 5 p.m., holding the first overall pick – something this organization hasn’t had since 1991, when they were an expansion franchise as the Tacoma Rockets.

Thanks to the trade with the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the Caden Price deal, Kelowna controls that top selection. That gives them a chance, maybe their best in years, to find that next “unicorn.”

And make no mistake, players like Cristall are unicorns.

Even the top forwards in this year’s draft class might not reach that level. That’s not a knock, it’s just reality. Cristall led the WHL in scoring as a 19-year-old. That’s rare air. With the new landscape, 200-game WHL careers for top picks may soon be the exception, not the rule.

But this draft still offers intrigue.

Names like Madden Daneault, and Parker McMillan are right there near the top. High-end talent. Real upside.

But the one that stands out – especially from a Kelowna perspective – is forward Brayden Jugnauth.

He checks a lot of boxes.

Local kid. Just turned 15 in April. Played for the Okanagan Rockets this past season and was named Top Forward at the Telus Cup. According to Elite Prospects, his game is built on processing speed and shooting ability.

That combination? That gets your attention.

And here’s where it gets even more interesting. The WHL continues to open the door for young players to make an impact sooner. Underage players can now play up to 34 games. We saw it this past season with the Regina Pats, with Max Schultz and Liam Pue. Schultz was the first overall pick in 2025.

So whoever the Rockets take won’t just be a name for the future. He could help right away.

Jugnauth also comes from a hockey family. His older brother, Tyson, just finished his WHL career with the Portland Winterhawks. There’s a foundation there. An understanding of what it takes.

And that matters.

There’s also this: picking first overall usually means you’ve earned it the hard way.

As former Rockets director of player personnel Lorne Frey often told RocketFAN, if you’re picking number one, it’s because you were “sub-par” the season before.

That’s not the case here.

The Rockets finished fourth in the Western Conference this season, with the seventh-most points in the 23-team league. This isn’t a rebuild story. It’s an opportunity story with the loss of leading scorer, Tij Iginla, at the end of this season.

Whether it’s Jugnauth, Daneault, McMillan, or even if the Rockets move the pick and slide down a spot or two, they’re going to get a good player.

But this feels bigger than that.

This feels like a moment where they can find someone who doesn’t just fit in… but stands out.

A player with a bit of swagger. A bit of edge. A player who wants the puck and knows what to do with it when he gets it.

It’s been a while since we’ve seen that in Kelowna from a player drafted by the team.

And the Rockets could really use it again.