Things that make me go hmm….

Jan 10, 2024 | 8:00 AM

It is trade deadline day in the WHL. The biggest 20-year-old fish in the pond, in our humble opinion, is Seattle Thunderbirds defender Jeremy Hanzel. Will he be in the T-Birds lineup tonight when they visit the Kelowna Rockets, or will the 6th-round NHL draft pick of the Colorado Avalanche be moved? I would be surprised if he remains where he is. Sorry, I’ve seen him play far too often not to appreciate what he brings to the table. I’d suggest he sticks out more this season than when he played in the WHL championship team that was loaded with talent. Now one of the few great pieces left from that squad, Hazel’s 44 games of playoff experience is invaluable for anyone wanting to make a significant run. Is he better than Parker Berge, whom the Everett Silvertips acquired from Regina? You bet he is. I would suggest Hazel is worth a first-round prospect pick, which may be a little too steep for many teams to stomach. Are first-round picks a thing for overage players? I remember the Portland Winterhawks acquiring Craig Cunningham from the Vancouver Giants in 2010, and yes, the G-Men did obtain a first-rounder, two players, and a second-round selection.
It isn’t often a team announces a trade a day after the WHL deadline. It happened with the Kelowna Rockets in January 2009 when they had to wait for the NHL’s Calgary Flames to let the cat out of the bag. A day after the WHL deadline was over, then Flames GM Darryl Sutter announced that first-round draft pick Mikael Backlund was joining the Rockets. Backlund had been playing for Sweden during the World Junior Hockey Championships before being assigned to Kelowna. That season, the team also acquired forward Ian Duval from the Calgary Hitmen and goalie Mark Guggenberger from the Swift Current Broncos. Backlund is now second all-time in games played by a Flame, suiting up in his 949^th game last night against Ottawa. Jarome Iginla, Tij Iginla’s dad, is the franchise leader with 1,219.
High-five to the Rockets for deploying the team bus last night after the Seattle Thunderbirds lost control on the slippery highway on the Connector and slid into the ditch. No one was hurt, thankfully. RocketFAN will have more on the story when we get reaction from the T-Birds once we arrive at the arena this afternoon.
Tij Iginla is knocking on the door of 30 goals. It is an impressive total for a player who is just 17. Scoring over 30 goals in your draft year is very difficult, with only two Kelowna Rockets players able to accomplish that feat at such a young age. Ryan Wade put up 32 goals in the 1995-96 season, prompting the Calgary Flames to draft him in the 8^th round in 1996. Kole Lind scored 30 times in the 2016-2017 season, which was enough for the Canucks to draft the then 17-year-old in the second round. It took Lind 70 games to score his 30^th. For Wade, it came during the non-internet era, so it’s unclear when he hit that benchmark. Iginla has played in 37 games this season.
It is unusual to have three kids who have played in the Western Hockey League, but for Jeff Finley it is a reality. Eldest son Jack played in Spokane; Mason suited up for Edmonton while Max is currently in his first season with the Moose Jaw Warriors. Mason was traded this week, for a second time to Tri-City after starting his career with the Calgary Hitmen. Jack was dealt from the Chiefs to the Winnipeg Ice in 2021. With two of his sons traded in junior hockey, the 56-year-old father has likely had long talks with his off-spring about dealing with being moved to different teams. Finley also has a daughter, Logan, who is a fan of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights, and specifically d-man Kaedan Korczak.
Speaking of Korczak, did we all believe a few years back that the now 22-year-old would have played more games at the NHL level than former teammate Lassi Thomson? Korczak has 26 games under his belt, all with the Golden Knights who chose him in the second round back in 2019. Thomson, a first-round pick of the Ottawa Senators in that same draft, has dressed in 19 games at the NHL level.
Kelowna Rockets forward Andrew Cristall is streaking. The 18-year-old is riding an 18-game point streak. It is the second longest of the season only behind Moose Jaw Warrior d-man Denton Mateychuk, who went 23 straight games with a point earlier this season. How does Cristall stack up against other former Rockets when it comes to point streaks? The team record is 21 games with at least a point, set by Tyson Barrie in the 2009-2010 season. Kole Lind had a 20-game point streak in 2017-2018. The longest point streaks last season in the WHL was shared by Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats and Logan Stankoven of the Kamloops Blazers. Both players had 35-game point streaks.
The Wenatchee Wild have a neat pre-game promotion. It allows fans to watch the pre-game warmup from the home bench. How does it work? If you buy a ‘birthday package’ you are afforded the luxury of getting up close and personal with the players. It is a cool concept, and even the Wild players do a nice job of interacting with the onlookers as they watch intently. It is first come, first serve though, as you can’t have several groups celebrating birthdays crammed on the bench for a closer look. The lucky birthday person also receives a personal birthday greeting up on the video board from a Wenatchee player. Is this a Wenatchee thing or a U.S Division thing? I haven’t seen it anywhere but at the Town Toyota Center.
One more from Wenatchee, where the anthem singer the other night was terrific. The singer has serenaded the crowds both times the Rockets have been the visitors. Who is he? Known as ‘Big J’, he is exceptional at both the Canadian and American national anthem. Word has it, ‘Big J’ is a former Zamboni driver. As a colleague told me this week, ‘He is incredible every time’. RocketFAN can’t agree more.
The Kelowna Rockets have allowed 15 shorthanded goals against this season. The team record is 23 set in the 1996-1997 season. By contrast, in 2016-2017, the team didn’t allow one shorthanded goal against.
Last week, RocketFAN had the privilege of speaking to not one, but two American-born players chosen in the WHL US Priority Draft. We elected to chat with 16-year-old Edmonton Oil Kings d-man Blake Fiddler. Fiddler is the son of Vern Fiddler, who wore Kelowna Rockets colours for three seasons before being eventually traded to the Medicine Hat Tigers as a 20-year-old. Fiddler was born in Nashville, Tennessee when his father played in the NHL with the Predators. We asked him about his dad’s influence on him. “It helps to have someone I can lean on,” he said. “He has been through it, and it is good to have him to help me on my way. If I have a bad game, he will let me know. He is also giving me tips on what I can improve on.” Fiddler likes his ability to skate and calls himself a two-way defender. RocketFAN liked what we saw, with his composure standing out as an asset for a young player. Fiddler was chosen with the first overall pick in 2022. The Rockets picked Jackson Gillespie 17^th in that same draft.
The Rockets selected Kalder Varga in the 2023 U.S Priority Draft, and he too joined the team last week for practice. Varga is expected to make the jump to the WHL next season. Born in Chicago, Illinois, we asked Varga about the U.S. winning gold at the world juniors “It was great. All those great players. All those guys are so nasty,” he added. “The team was stacked, so it was good to see that they brought back the gold.” Can Varga envision himself someday playing for his country at the high-profile event? “That would be a cool opportunity. It is a great tournament. My dad [John] played in it, so it would be a team to make.”
In last week’s column, I mentioned the Kelowna Rockets will celebrate their 2,000 regular season game on March 6^th against the visiting Tri-City Americans. The team played its 1,000^th regular season game on February 27, 2009, against the visiting Red Deer Rebels.
Max Graham’s sister is making some waves in women’s hockey. Gracie Graham, 18, is playing for Canada at the Women’s U18 Worlds in Switzerland. The Canadian team is 3-0. Gracie Graham, unlike her older brother, is a defenceman. Canada beat Finland 10-0 on Tuesday and is off to the quarterfinals. Gracie Graham is a teammate with Kaitlyn Mallette, 16, the daughter of Kelowna Rockets head coach Kris Mallette at RINK Hockey Academy.
At 1567 words, it is time to close the barn doors for another week. If you have a question that you want answered on how the team deploys players or some other observation that tweak your interest, let us know right here on RocketFAN. We stumbled on a thread on a Rockets fan message board that questioned the coaches decision to sit young players. I think an article on RocketFAN on that vary subject Tuesday morning answered a lot of queries. Remember, we are not scared to ask the tough questions to clean up a misunderstand on why decisions are made to deploy the best possible team on the ice.

Things that make me go hmm….

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