Ray Heads to Waterloo/Do You Want to Buy the Rockets?

• Kelowna Rockets captain Chris Ray is off to school. Ray has decided to attend the University of Waterloo in the fall, meaning he will be handing in his Rockets jersey for a Warriors one - Waterloo Warriors that is! Ray found little interest in his services after he graduated from the WHL this season. The Westbank, BC residents only taste of the pro's came during a NHL tryout last fall with the Vancouver Canucks. Ray was one in a line of Rocket captains that were never selected in the WHL bantam draft. Ray joins Ryan Cuthbert and Josh Gorges as players never selected in the draft, but wore the coveted 'C'. The trend in Kelowna will likely continue this season, as undrafted James McEwan appears to be the early favorite to be named the Rockets leader.


• So you want to buy the Kelowna Rockets do ya? With so much talk about the sale of the Kamloops Blazers, I had to ask GM and majority owner Bruce Hamilton if he'd take a look at offers. The answer? "I have no interest in selling". Hamilton says he has people speaking to him daily about getting in on the ownership of the hockey club. Hamilton says it will continue to be a family run business, and if shareholders want to sell their portion, family members have first dibs on buying those shares. It's frankly the way it should be. It was Hamilton and family members that stuck their heads out when they obtained a franchise in 1991 and landed in Tacoma. They took a hit financially for several years, and likely at the time couldn't have found a buyer if they had wanted to sell. Despite some tough times, they grunted it out and are now prospering financially at Prospera Place.


• A new scoreclock at Rockets home games this season? Maybe! Hamilton says he will be meeting with R.G Properties this fall to talk about a possible upgrade. Hamilton isn't making promises, but a new score clock at center ice could be in sooner rather than later.


• The Rockets won't be playing any 15 year-olds during the teams exhibition tournament in Edmonton, nor it's two pre-season games prior to the start of the regular season. Hamilton says he'd like to have 25 or 26 players at the Edmonton tournament, workable numbers to see who can make the roster and who can't.


• Hamilton has many things on his mind these days regarding his own team, plus he has to worry about his only son Curtis moving away from home for the first time. Curtis Hamilton is off to the Saskatoon Blades training camp on August 27th, and is a sure bet to make the Blades as a 16 year-old. You can bet, Hamilton and his wife will be making many a trip to 'Toon-Town' this season to see the younger Hamilton in action. How cool is it that Bruce's son is playing on the same team that he played junior hockey for?


• Hamilton didn't shy away when I asked him about his dealings with Marc Habscheid in an effort to bring the former head coach back to K-Town. Hamilton says he spoke to Habschied before the draft, and was definitely a candidate for the coaching job.


• Special thanks to Everett Herald Sports Writer Nick Patterson for some kind words on the Everett Herald website when speaking about this blog. He didn't necessarily say good things about the blog per-say, but more so about the guy making the spelling and grammar mistakes. Now if my employer and the Rockets just felt the same Nick! Thanks again.