(Image Credit: Contributed)
Short term stay

Rockets add defender Dane Sorensen

Jun 15, 2026 | 11:31 AM

The Kelowna Rockets have added some size and experience to the back end.

The Rockets have acquired the playing rights to 19-year-old defenceman Dane Sorensen from the Victoria Royals in exchange for a conditional 2030 fifth-round pick and a conditional 2027 sixth-rounder originally owned by Seattle.

The 6-foot-1, 183-pound left-shot blueliner spent last season with the Sioux Falls Stampede and the Brooks Bandits, helping Brooks win a BCHL championship.

Regan’s Take: And so it begins.

With the new landscape shifting, the Kelowna Rockets are already dipping into the player pool, bringing in a defenceman who feels very much like a “one and done” in Rockets colours.

Dane Sorensen is NCAA-bound in two years, so he’ll come in, make his mark this fall, and likely be off to college hockey when that path opens up.

It’s also a pretty meaningful addition on the back end, especially with the graduation of defenceman Mazden Leslie, and the expectation that both Keith McInnis and Parker Alcos, both 19-year-old defencemen this season could be looking at NCAA opportunities for their 20-year-old year.

Different era, different roster cycle. And this is the reality of it now, you don’t wait for the future, you go get it when you can.

Sorensen put up a goal and four assists in 13 playoff games while averaging close to 19 minutes a night in the championship series against the Nanaimo Clippers.

Before that, the Los Angeles product also won a U.S. 18U National Tier I Championship with Shattuck-St. Mary’s.

There’s already a familiar connection in Kelowna too.

Sorensen previously played with Rockets goalie Harrison Boettiger on the Shattuck-St. Mary’s 14U AAA team back in 2021-22.

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