Okanagan Rockets strong on local talent for B.C. Major Midget Hockey League season

A team with a distinct local flavour and feel will represent the Valley in the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League this season.

The Okanagan Rockets trimmed their roster to 20 players on Monday after a three-day Icebreaker tournament at the CNC, with a dozen of them being products of the Kelowna or West Kelowna minor hockey associations.

New head coach, Eric Blais, a former KMHA team coach and association head coach — along with Kelowna-bred general-manager Braeden Pistawka, and assistant coach, Devon Sandvold, another local product — have assembled a group of 15-17-year-olds which they believe “will be in the mix” among the top teams in the BCMMHL this season.

“We’ll be a team to reckoned with — no question — says Blais,” who will stick to the formula that led to his Kelowna midget Tier 1 teams claiming back-to-back provincial titles. “We have a lot of speed and skill up and down the lineup and the personnel capable of maintaining a high-energy game.”

The Rockets will have six players returning from the team that finished fourth in the 11-team provincial loop last season with a 23-12-5 record, but it will be an older group than usual as only two 15-year-olds are on the roster to start the new season.

“A part of me would like more 2001s (15-year-olds), but then we also wanted to put together the best team possible, so this is the way it shook down,” said Blais, whose team will open the 40-game schedule of the 11th season in the league Sept. 24 at the CNC against the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds.

DEFENCE

Seth Barton (1999) — Returning to the Rockets after being a late release from the B.C. Hockey League’s Nanaimo Clippers earlier this fall . . . Steady defensive rearguard with some offensive flare.

Cody Schiavon (2000) — Another returnee from last season’s Rockets . . . Will be an affliliate player for the Salmon Arm Silverbacks of the BCHL . . . Shutdown D with some offensive upside.

Wyatt Head (1999) — A graduate of the KMHA’s Tier 1 midget team that earned a provincial silver medal last season . . . Offensively gifted with great vision . . . An AP for the West Kelowna Warriors.

Jameson Murray (1999) — Another Kelowna product who was paired with Head last season at the midget Tier 1 level . . . Played six games with Okanagan Rockets last season . . . Another offensive defenceman.

Riley Lambert (2000) — A recent arrival to Kelowna from Mission, Lambert played with Yale Academy’s Elite 15 team last season . . . A 6-foot-2 stay-at-home blueliner listed with the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League.

Joel Aitken (2000) — Making the jump from the KMHA’s Tier 2 Rockets . . . Quick, strong-skating defensive defenceman who is meeting the challenge of a steep learning curve.

FORWARDS

Chase Stevenson (1999) — A West Kelowna product returning to the Rockets for a second season . . . He broke his collarbone early at the Vernon Vipers’ (BCHL) camp and will rehab with the major midget team . . . There’s a good chance he’ll be returning to the Vipers during the season . . . Tenacious forward who has an uncanny knack around the net.

Colton Bilodeau (2000) — Back with the OK Rockets after attending the Vipers’ camp in his hometown . . . A big (6-foot-1, 180 pounds) centre who provides time and space for his linemates.

Hayden Courtney (1999) — Another KMHA graduate who finished the 2015-16 season with the Okanagan Rockets (15 games) . . . A power forward who uses his six-foot, 185-pound frame effectively along the boards.

Jordan Robinson (1999) — Expected to be one of the leading offensive players this season, the West Kelowna product got a long look with his hometown Warriors this fall . . . Played three seasons at the Okanagan Hockey Academy and was member of Team BC that played at the Canada Winter Games.

Dylan Prpich (1999) — Coming to the Rockets from the OHA in Penticton where he was one of the Red team’s top point-getters with 41 points in 36 games . . . The Priddis, Alta. native is 5-foot-7 fireplug who hits like a six-footer . . . Extremely skilled, smart and with an adept touch around the goal.

Jeffrey Karpowich (1999) — Won a provincial gold medal with the Kelowna Tier 1 Rockets two seasons ago and added a silver with the team in 2016 . . . Versatile and energetic small forward who is above average on faceoffs.

Tanner Bahm (2000) — A Dawson Creek product who played two seasons with Okanagan Hockey Academy teams . . . A 200-foot-responsible forward who can play up and down the lineup.

Max Kryski (2000) — Younger brother of former OK Rocket and current Kelowna Rocket, Jake Kryski . . . Played last season with at the OHA after a season with the Pursuit of Excellence in Kelowna . . . Smallish, (5-foot-6, 150-pounds) but responsible and skilled forward.

Rayman Bassi (2000) — Another graduate of the KMHA Tier 1 Rockets who played six games with the OK Rockets last season . . . Skates well, battles hard along his right wing and is expected to contribute significantly to his new team’s offence.

Palmer Jenkins (2000) — One of the surprises at the OK Rockets’ camp . . . Played last season with the KMHA’s midget Tier 2 team . . . Big, strong forward who manages the puck well.

Mitchell Gove (2001) — The Summerland product played last season for the Bantam Prep team at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton . . . A physically solid (5-foot-9, 170 pounds) and very responsible two-way player.

Brandon Della Paolera (2001) — One of only two 15-year-olds on the team, the six-foot forward has a high skill level in all areas. Very coachable . . . The Osoyoos product played last season with the South Okanagan bantam Tier 3 team.

GOALTENDERS

Nik Bregeda (1999) — Started the past season with the West Kelowna midget Tier 2 team and finished with the Rockets when Liam Hughes went down with an injury . . . A steady 6-foot-3 netminder.

Owen Partrick (1999) — Another solid netminder who is coming off a strong playoff run with the Kelowna midget Tier 2 Rockets.

The Okanagan Rockets have four committed players still at WHL camps and should know by next week whether they’ll stick with the junior teams.

Lucas Cullen of Kelowna, a fifth-round (95th overall) pick in the 2014 WHL bantam draft of the Calgary Hitmen, is still in camp in Calgary. He tallied 25 points in 18 games as a 16-year-old centre last year with the Rockets.

Eli Zummack, another Kelowna minor hockey grad, finished with 52 points in 37 games with Rockets last season and is having a strong pre-season with the Spokane Chiefs. He was a second-round (36th overall) bantam pick of the Red Deer Rebels in 2015.

Keltie Jeri Leon graduated from the KMHA bantam Tier 1 Rockets and went on to play two seasons in Penticton with the OHA. He’s looked good in the pre-season with the Tri-City Americans. The 6-foot, 190-pound forward was picked by the Americans in the fifth round (93rd overall) in 2015.

Wyatt McLeod, a seventh-round (143rd overall) pick of the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2015, played defence last season with the Pursuit of Excellence Prep team, contributing 16 points in 36 games. He’s a Dawson Creek minor hockey product.

Coach Blais doesn’t expect any of the four to be back with the Rockets this season.

“We have to concentrate on moving forward without them,” noted Blais. “But if any of them happen to come back to us, it will be a nice bonus.”

Meanwhile, Blais thought his team “looked pretty good” for most of the four games at the 14-team Icebreaker Tournament on the weekend. The team, starting with 30 players on the roster on Friday, finished with a 2-2 record — defeating POE (5-1) and Edge Academy (1-0) and losing 9-4 to the OHA Whites and 5-4 to the OHA Reds after leading 4-1 with about 15 minutes remaining.

Blais, coming off two seasons as an assistant with Team BC, conceded that his new team has much to work on before the season opener, while he himself is easing back into the role of head coach.

“I concentrated more on the individuals than the team on the weekend, so now the real work begins for the players. They can expect more intense practices than what they’ve been used to,” said Blais. “As for me, I was just getting my feet wet behind the bench. But I’ll be hitting the pavement running starting this week.”