Regan’s Rant: What I’m seeing

That would be completely fabricated.

Now that the numbers are more manageable, though, I have a much better feel for who has a legitimate shot at making this year’s team.

And at the end of the day, that’s where my interest lies.

I’m interested in what the Rockets are going to look like this season. What happens two or three years from now? I’ll leave that to the professionals.

Let’s talk about what’s in front of us.

The cheese graters stand out

There are four players among the 30 still in camp wearing full cages.

Call them cheese graters.

They stick out like a sore thumb when almost everyone else in the rink is wearing a half visor.

Among them are 15 year old Madden Daneault and 16 year old Will Keltz.

Both will make this team, but things aren’t going to come as easily as they did a year ago. Junior hockey is a different animal, and the talent level gets significantly better once you’re playing against older, stronger players every night.

I’ve spoken with Daneault on the phone, but it was nice to shake his hand after practice and officially introduce myself.

He comes as advertised.

The confidence and interpersonal skills for a 15 year old are impressive, and they should be, considering the abilities he has.

But the word I’d use with Daneault is untapped.

As good as he already is, he’s going to get better as he matures and learns what works and what doesn’t at the WHL level.

The biggest thing I want to see from him is that he doesn’t try to do too much.

That’s always the temptation for a young player who knows he’s good.

Force a play. Try to beat one more guy. Make the spectacular pass when the simple one is sitting there.

The encouraging part so far is his composure with the puck. He’s not rushing around trying to prove he belongs.

And perhaps most importantly, he seems to make the players around him better.

That’s a pretty good starting point.

How much hype is too much?

Kelowna-10 did a video feature with Daneault after practice Tuesday, and that could be released as early as this weekend.

In the meantime, Daneault comes into the season with plenty of hype. He was the first player selected in the WHL Prospects Draft and is eligible to play up to 34 games this season.

And that brings up an interesting question for the Rockets.

How much do you put Daneault in front of the fans and the media, and how much do you let him develop away from the spotlight?

He’s 15. He was the first player taken in the WHL Prospects Draft. He’s already going to have attention on him.

But there’s another side to this.

If you’re trying to sell tickets, why wouldn’t you want fans to see one of the most exciting young players in the league?

It makes me think about the Ruck brothers in Medicine Hat two seasons ago. Did the Tigers try to shelter them from the attention, or did they embrace the hype and let fans see what they had?

What’s the right way to handle a player like Daneault?

I’m not sure there is one.

What does Gerwing’s assignment say?

For what it’s worth, Daneault is playing on a line with Owen Folstrom and 20 year old Dawson Gerwing.

And that makes Gerwing interesting to me.

He’s fighting with five other players for one of three overage spots, and my sense is that his size, strength and overall physical presence could be exactly what a line like that needs.

Put a big body alongside two players who can create some space, and there could be some possibilities there.

Let’s not put the cart before the horse. We haven’t even played a preseason game yet.

But I’ll be watching that combination.

Folstrom needs a good start

I wasn’t watching Owen Folstrom closely at training camp because, quite frankly, I didn’t have to.

He sticks out.

He plays with pace. He skates well. He doesn’t need much room to separate himself from a defender and get a shot on net.

For me, it’s pivotal that Folstrom feels it early in his third season.

Offensive success early in the year can snowball. Confidence is a funny thing in sports. When you’re feeling it, you tend to make better decisions, and when you’re making better decisions, good things tend to happen.

I’ve written this before, but Folstrom is my most improved player candidate, or at least the player I’m most interested in watching this season.

I think 20 goals is realistic.

The question is whether he gets enough power play time to give himself a legitimate shot at getting there.

You need to see the ice really well to earn that opportunity.

So now we watch to see whether the coaches give it to him, and whether he can take advantage of it.

Gerwing came to camp ready

Let’s get back to Gerwing.

By all accounts, Mr. Big and Tall arrived at camp in tremendous physical condition.

In team testing, he’s among the top performers and was only edged out by rookie Cole Braunshausen in the Knox Mountain climb. Ok, it’s technically called the ‘Apex Hill Run’, but you get the idea.

Gerwing also won the weight room battle, bench pressing his way to 49 reps.

You have to like seeing an older player come into camp with something to prove.

He could have arrived thinking, “I’m a 20 year old. I’ve been around. I know how this works.”

Instead, he’s putting in the work.

That says something about his determination, commitment and character.

And when you’re competing for one of those three overage spots, you better be giving the coaching staff reasons to keep you around.

NHL camps are coming

The Rockets are sending six players to NHL training camps, with three of them getting opportunities through free agent tryouts.

Nate Corbet gets another look with the Los Angeles Kings, while European forward Jakub Frolo, who has yet to even set foot in Kelowna after playing for Czechia at the Five Nations, will attend camp with the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes.

Frolo went undrafted this summer, so this is his opportunity to make somebody rethink that decision.

Harrison Boettiger, who also didn’t hear his name called at the NHL Draft, heads to Washington Capitals camp.

The three drafted Rockets attending NHL camps are Peyton Kettles with Pittsburgh, Tomas Poletin with the Islanders and Vojtech Cihar with the Los Angeles Kings.

All three are now 19, so let’s hope, in the worst case scenario, they at least get a preseason game or two.

The downside is that NHL preseason opportunities are becoming harder to come by.

Teams are playing fewer exhibition games as the regular season has expanded to 84 games.

Four preseason games to figure it out

The Rockets have four preseason games, with only two of them at home.

I’m not sure how the coaching staff feels about that, but it seems like enough opportunity for players to make their case in actual game action.

After two games against Kamloops this weekend, the Rockets will play two against the Penticton Vees.

Then we get down to business.

Will WHL fans still be watching for free?

There’s also been plenty of chatter and concern around what appears to be the loss of Victory+ as the WHL’s free streaming option.

For fans, that’s a pretty significant issue.

Being able to watch games from anywhere, home or away, for free was a pretty good selling point.

If Victory+ is indeed gone, the league is presumably trying to figure out what comes next.

The big question is whether the next option will be free.

Several teams have invested significant resources into their webcasts. The Moose Jaw Warriors have been one of the biggest believers in the visual product, while the Victoria Royals have also done a lot to make their broadcasts enjoyable for Western Conference fans.

I don’t have the numbers showing which team was watched the most.

But I’d bet Prince Albert did pretty well, given the number of high end draft picks on that roster and the success the Raiders had on the ice.

Medicine Hat probably did well too, with the Ruck brothers leading the way.

And really, who doesn’t want to watch the best players play?

Update: WHL games are moving to YouTube this season, meaning Kelowna Rockets fans will still be able to hear the Lizard 104.7’s broadcasts while watching the games online.

The Lizard is the official radio voice of the Rockets, with our broadcasts available alongside Rockets games streamed on YouTube.

The WHL says the move is temporary, following uncertainty over the future of Victory+, which carried league games last season.

I failed Math 10. Apparently, I’m over it.

Finally, I’ve decided to do some high level mathematics.

I failed Math 10 at Swift Current Comprehensive High School, but apparently that hasn’t stopped me from trying again.

With Curtis Hamilton now promoted to general manager of the Kelowna Rockets, he is the youngest GM in the WHL.

Hamilton is closely followed by Edmonton Oil Kings GM Michael Chan, who is 35, and Travis Crickard, who took over as GM and head coach in Swift Current this summer at 39.

Crickard turns 40 in January.

So there you go.

I’ve spent a career talking about hockey, failed Math 10, and somehow ended up calculating the ages of WHL general managers.

I’m sure my high school math teacher would be proud.

Apparently, I’m still a Saskatchewanian

Speaking of baseball, I was watching the Jays game with my 23 year old son the other day when I described one of the batters as a “sawed off runt.”

He started laughing and asked if that was another one of my Saskatchewanisms.

It probably was.

The player was short and stocky, but definitely not what you’d call a big guy.

Basically, he was knee high to a grasshopper.

There’s another Saskatchewanism for you.

by Regan Bartel