Photo credit: RocketFAN
Notes, quotes and anecdotes
Things that make me go hmm…
Apr 2, 2024 | 8:00 AM
- Kelowna Rockets Equipment Manager Tim Webster may have a nervous twitch moving forward every time he visits the Town Toyota Center in Wenatchee. Either it was late in the third period, or after game one, an inebriated spectator stole a stick from the Rockets’ bench. The perpetrator was eventually caught, and the stick, used by Captain Gabriel Szturc was returned. Webster had his head on a swivel Saturday night though, in game two and will be on high alert when game five is played in Wenatchee on Friday night.
- While some NHL scouts would consider Wenatchee ‘out of the way’ with the likes of Everett and Portland hosting the opening two games of the playoff series against Vancouver and Victoria respectively, that didn’t stop a few familiar faces from dropping by to catch the action. Washington Capitals Assistant GM Ross Mahoney made an appearance during Saturday’s 3-1 Rockets victory, with Capitals prospect Andrew Cristall scoring the opening goal. Florida Panthers Director of Amateur Scouting, Shane Churla, took in Friday’s opener at Town Toyota Center while Dean Malkoc, the Boston Bruins Director of Amateur Scouting was also watching intently in game two.
- When you are a general manager of a WHL team that fails to make the playoffs, how do you spend the early portion of the off-season? For Tri-City’s Bob Tory, it was a quick drive south to watch the opening two games of the Rockets-Wild series. The trek takes just 2 hours and 22 minutes from Kennewick to the city of close to 35,000.
- It is very rare to see a defenseman leading the Kelowna Rockets in playoff scoring, but third-year defender Caden Price is doing that with five assists. The likable player who has pro written all over him has hit no less than three goalposts in the opening two games. “I think I hit the crossbar in the same spot two games in a row,” he told RocketFAN. “In game one, it would have tied the game at 7-7. I would like to see them go bar and in, but sometimes they go bar and out. I will just keep shooting.”
- Taking a penalty as the visiting team at Town Toyota Center is an interesting experience. A spotlight situated in the rafters shines brightly on the guilty party as he sits in the penalty box. It almost looks like what the police would use on a suspect during an interrogation. Okay, it isn’t that bad, but you get the idea.
- The Kelowna Rockets players carry with them on the road a Bluetooth speaker. It is used to play music as the team warms up or stretches together outside the dressing room 90 minutes before game time. Call it gamesmanship when the in-arena music producer in Wenatchee decided to crank up his music on the sound system, after the Rockets speaker was drowning out his tunes, which at the time were being played at a moderate volume.
- When Jari Kykkanen took to the crease for game one Friday night, the 19-year-old was playing in his 6th career playoff game. “I felt nervous before my pre-game nap, which is odd,” he told RocketFAN. ‘I woke up and I was fine. I got on the ice, and I felt good and felt ready. It was different for game two. I woke up in the morning and felt fine.”
- It was nice to shake the hand of Mike Hurley, the father of Kelowna Rockets forward Ty Hurley. Mike Hurley attended both game one and two in Wenatchee. Hurley was a star with the Tri-City Americans in the mid-90s, before being traded in his 20-year-old season to the Portland Winterhawks. Hurley had the privilege of playing alongside Marian Hossa, as the two won a WHL title and Memorial Cup together. “I went to the all-star game that year in Regina,” Hurley recalled. “A bunch of Portland players were on my team, and the whole talk there was the Winterhawks were going to trade for me. As for playing with Hossa, I was told I was going to play the left-side even though I shoot right-handed and was used to playing right wing. I asked why. I was told Hossa liked to play his off-wing. I ended up playing the left-side on a line with Hossa and Andrej Podkonicky, who was a great Slovakian player. The two of them together were dynamic.”
- The last time the Kelowna Rockets split the opening two games of a playoff series before this one with Wenatchee was in the Western Conference finals in 2017. The T-Birds had home-ice advantage, winning game one before the Rockets earned an overtime victory in game two.
- Despite being suspended for game two, Kelowna Rockets d-man Carter Kowalyk knows what it is like to be playing at this time of the year. In the 2022 post-season, the St. Albert Alberta product played in 15 games when the Edmonton Oil Kings went all the way to the WHL final against the Seattle Thunderbirds.
- Which Kelowna Rockets player had dressed in the most regular season games, yet hadn’t participated in the WHL playoffs before Friday night’s playoff opener? Kayden Sadhra-Kang had 200 games under his belt but didn’t have a stitch of playoff experience despite playing in Lethbridge, Swift Current, and Brandon.
- Head Coach Kris Mallette likes the vibe around his team with the series shifting to the Okanagan for game three and four. “They enjoy coming to the rink. They like going to work. They like to see themselves executing, and everyone having success. That is the kind of environment you want to be in.”
- The last time the Rockets hosted a playoff game was April 4, 2023, when 3,504 fans took in game three of an opening-round playoff series against Seattle. Tij Iginla played in that game as a member of the T-Birds, earning an assist.
- Playoff beards are commonplace at this time of the year. Anyone who can grow even a semblance of one is giving it a try. Goalie Jari Kykkanen has some stubble, undetectable under his mask of course. “I like to have a little bit of a beard, but I have some bald spots,” he admitted. “I live with him, so Michael Cicek should have no problem growing a beard,” Kykkanen offered. “I know in the summer he had a sick mustache, which I am jealous about, so he is a good-looking dude.”
- At just over 11 hundred words, it is time to shut the barn door for another week. If you want to listen to the newest radio station in town, check out OV-103.9. It is owned by Pattison Media-Kelowna, which officially started broadcasting at 6 am this morning. Take a listen. If you love 70’s music, this is right in your wheelhouse.
Comments