Photo credit: Brian Leisse

By Regan Bartel

Kayden Sadhra-Kang glad to be back in BC

Newest Rockets’ d-man ready to lead by example

Dec 4, 2023 | 8:00 AM

Getting traded is never fun.

Typically it comes as a surprise, unless of course, a disgruntled player asks for a change of scenery.

For 20-year-old defenseman Kayden Sadhra-Kang, who was informed he was being dealt to the Kelowna Rockets by the Brandon Wheat Kings last Thursday, moving back home to British Columbia came out of nowhere.

“It was quite a shock,” Sadhra-Kang told RocketFAN (Audio interview: https://omny.fm/shows/rocketfan/kayden-sadhra-kang) before joining his new team in Langley, but being unable to suit up against the Vancouver Giants due to his late arrival to the arena. “As a 20-year-old, it is pretty rare to get traded, so I wasn’t expecting much. Now here I am, and I have to keep going from here and hopefully play good hockey.”

Being traded is nothing new for Sadhra-Kang, who was originally drafted by the Lethbridge Hurricanes in 2018, was traded to the Swift Current Broncos, and then sent to Brandon before landing here in Kelowna in a trade involving fellow overage d-man Jackson DeSouza.

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“In the previous times I have been traded, I have played the day of, so it was different watching my new team play [against the Giants].”

The 6’4 defender did make his debut Saturday night though, in a 3-2 road loss against the Seattle Thunderbirds.

“There are always questions why [you’ve been traded], but it’s a business,” Sadhra-Kang offered about playing for his fourth WHL team. “The best advice is to keep going, keep playing, because you can’t change the past.”

With 159 career WHL games under his belt, the well-spoken blueliner is keenly aware of what makes him successful on the ice.

“I consider myself more of a defensive defenseman,” he offered, with 5 goals and 41 points in his junior career. “I am a shutdown guy. I won’t let the top-line score, and maybe once in a while add some offense to the team. At the end of the day, just doing my job and playing defense.”

The pride of Richmond, Sadhra-Kang is a lanky defender, who can use a long stick to separate opposition forwards from the puck.

“I definitely have a good poke check,” he said. “I try to use that mainly and then throw some hits, play physical, and rub guys out.”

Sadhra-Kang, whose father died when he was seven, is the step-son of Robin Bawa, a former Kamloops Blazers forward who became the first player of South Asian descent to skate in the National Hockey League.

“He supported me a lot in my career, and he told me you get traded, so be it. Just play the best hockey you can and prove to people why you deserve to be in the league.

“I haven’t seen much video, but I have searched up his stats. I have seen a few of his fights, but he was pretty good in junior.”

Bawa was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame in 2020.

Sadhra-Kang says playing his final season in Kelowna should be an easy transition, being familiar with several of his new teammates.

“I obviously know Ben Thornton from Brandon, and I played with Ty Hurley in Swift Current,” he added. “I know both [John] Babcock and [Andrew] Cristall being in the city and playing hockey with them.”

Rockets Head Coach Kris Mallette can relate to Sadhra-Kang’s experience. He too was traded, but as a 19-year-old d-man from Kelowna to Moose Jaw before suiting up for the Warriors as a 20-year-old.

“There are a lot of requirements to be a 20-year-old in his league,” Mallette said. “You need to be a good leader. The experience you bring. Getting the right overage players on your team is imperative. You can’t have guys that are just here to play out their last year. We want guys that want to help win right now and leave a legacy on what the Kelowna Rockets are and how we do things.”

“I was introduced to hockey at a young age,” Sadhra-Kang recalled. “My parents just threw me on the ice. I don’t know if I liked it right away, but I got used to it.

“I started watching it, and I now love it.”