Cody and TJ A Step Closer To A Dream

Is it any coincidence the Kelowna Rockets top two players in the final month of the regular season, were selected at the NHL draft?
I was pleased to see both Cody Almond and teammate Torrie Jung selected this weekend.
Ok I am a bit biased, but when you travel with these young men over the course of the winter, you can either dislike them or cheer for them.
For me it's hard not to like these two class acts, so cheering for them is automatic.

• Cody Almond
  

I have had the privilege of witnessing ever game Cody Almond has played in his young Western Hockey League career. I see so much potential, yet don't see it often enough.
But remember he's young, and with that comes inconsistency.
Even though Almond was not considered a rookie this past season, in some respects he really was. He played just 21 games (one over the league limit to be designated a rookie) in his sophomore season, on a team that frankly wasn't very good.
Yet I saw Cody emerge in the late stages of the regular season, when the team was in survival mode in an attempt to make the playoffs.
Who was the Rockets best player down the stretch, with Chris Ray out of the lineup with an injury?
It was Cody.
Let's let the numbers do the talking here.
Of the 15 goals Almond scored in 2006-2007, nine were scored in the final month of the season. That translated into 9 goals in his final 15 games of the regular season.
Not bad!
It may have been that stellar play, when his team needed him the most that put him back in the favor of NHL scouts?
The Minnesota Wild obviously took notice.
Almond would put up 17 points in the Rockets final 15 games, which wasn't good enough to lead the team to the playoffs, but good enough to win the scoring title.
Cody Almond likely doesn't read this blog, but if he did, my message to him as an observer would be simple.
You have the ability to step up and be a leader, both in the dressing room and on the score sheet. You've proved without a shadow of a doubt you can be a point a game guy if you have the right mindset.
Come prepared mentally for the start of training camp, and the offensive totals will follow. You were able to hide in the shadows of Keller,Card, Cumiskey and Comeau in your rookie season, and expectations were low in year two.
Now with the draft over and done with, it's time for Cody Almond to show the Wild and the Western Hockey League that he is the real deal!

• Torrie Jung
  

I remember when Torrie Jung decided to join the Rockets for training camp last fall.
When I asked the coaching staff what they thought of the Naniamo resident, the word cocky came out of coach Jeff Truitt's mouth.
But it wasn't cocky in a bad way.
Truitt said Jung has the type of personality that he wished more of his players had. Jung is outgoing, extremely talkative and has a confidence about him that is desperately lacking in some of his teammates.
Unlike most rookies who appear to be shy and lacking confidence around adults, Torrie Jung is the exact opposite.
Of the rookies on last years team, I'd have to say I have gotten to know Torrie the most out of that group.
When Kristofer Westblom was injured February 3rd against Vancouver, Jung had no choice but to face the fire. Yet he did so in such a professional and focused manner. He became the Rockets workhorse in the final two months of the season playing in 19 consecutive games, all of which were pressure packed as the Rockets battled Chilliwack for the final playoff spot.
Maybe those final 19 games of the regular season were enough to convince NHL scouts to draft a goaltender, who saw limited duty playing in just 13 games in the first four months of the season?
It is Jung's performance in the last two months of the season, that have many Rockets fans unconcerned about a potential trade should the team move Westblom elsehwere. Torrie Jung proved it last season to the Prospera faithful, that he indeed is the goaltender of the future.

Cody Almond and Torrie Jung have experienced the darkest of times in a Rockets uniform after missing the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. It will also be Almond and Jung who will be key pieces of the puzzle in getting the Rockets back to respectability.

Congrats Cody and Torrie for being recognized at the NHL draft. While the hard work begins now to earn a pro contract, you've taken a huge step in your goal of playing at the elite level.
Now go out and get it!

One other Rockets note:
Former Rocket Jesse Schultz had his rights traded from the Vancouver Canucks to the Atlanta Thrashers on Saturday. in exchange the Canucks get Jimmy Sharrow in the deal. Maybe Schultz will have to postpone plans of heading over to Europe?