Dowzak Breath's Better/Westy M.I.A

• I was surrounded by familiar faces on the first day of Kelowna Rockets main camp. While the team has brought in no less than ten rookies to battle the veterans, it was nice to see those smiling faces that you enjoyed getting to know as members of the hockey club last season.
• One of those familiar faces was a ripped Tysen Dowzak. A shirtless Dowzak has put on some significant muscle this summer, and is down from last years playing weight of 225, to about 215. While the 10 pound drop in weight may sound significant, the additional muscle will make Dowzak that much quicker.
• Dowzak underwent surgery this summer. No, unlike reality tv's Gene Simmons who underwent an awful face lift, Dowzak underwent surgery to alleviate a problem of nasal congestion. Can you imagine playing the game of hockey at a high level, and being unable to breath properly through your nose? The surgery alleviated that problem.
• Cody Almond stood out on day one of main camp. The 3rd year forward always had the puck, and seemed selfish with it, which isn't a bad thing. Goal scorers are traditionally selfish to a certain degree, because they are not scared to shoot it. Justin Keller, Jesse Schultz and Chuck Kobasew were all cut from the same cloth. All three were trigger happy, and Almond is now realizing that if you have a shooting lane, get rid of it with a quality shot on goal.
• Veteran Torrie Jung is one of six goaltenders at camp. In Monday's on ice session, he again showed why he can be an elite goaltender at this level. He just never gives up on pucks. Jung was terribly out of position on a scoring chance, but somehow was able to keep it out. The never say die approach Jung brings to the ice makes him a solid starter, even if he has just 33 games of WHL experience under his belt.
• Veteran goaltender Kristofer Westblom will likely be M.I.A this week as he attends a funeral back home. Westblom is anxious to get back on the ice after knee injury last season. For the record, Westy was at camp on Monday.
• It may have been the red hockey pants that did it, but I couldn't help but notice rookie Kyle Verdino during Monday's session. Verdino played a simple game back on the blue-line and was never out of position. The 16 year-old Phoenix resident may be a little heavy at camp, but will get accustomed quickly to what type of shape you need to be in to compete with the big boys at the major junior hockey level.