First scrimmage provides good pace

• Goals were hard to come by in the first scrimmage of the day at Kelowna Rockets main camp. The two incumbents, Jackson Whistle and Jordon Cooke, were battling one another at opposite ends of the ice. It was nice to see a smiling Jake Morrissey backing up Whistle while rookie Brodan Salmond was on the bench observing Cooke's antics. Cooke's best save came early in the scrimmage with a nice glove hand save on Rourke Chartier.
• It will be tough for Morrissey or Salmond to make the team. Lets face it, Cooke and Whistle are 1-2 and that won't change. But these two rookies need to remember a spot will open up next season when both are 17 and in only 12 months, one or the other will be wearing a Rockets uniform full time possibly?       
• I had a chance to see 17 year-old rookie Kris Schmidli for the first time. The Swiss born forward didn't stand out in the first scrimmage, but would you if you had traveled half way around the world in an effort to chase your NHL dream?
• Rourke Chartier looked solid in the first scrimmage.Coming off a gold medal effort at the Under 18's, Chartier is wearing #13. Chartier usually wears #12.
• Colton Sissons is participating in main camp, but he won't be here long. Sissons will play pro this season with the Nashville Predators. What I love about Sissons is he isn't mailing it in at Prospera Place. The North Vancouver resident always has 'try' in his game and his work ethic can't but rub off on his old teammates.
• Carter Rigby and Mitch Wheaton didn't participate in the first scrimmage of the day. Those two are recovering from shoulder surgeries this summer.    
• I don't have any results, but all the players I've talked to suggest Rourke Chartier had a solid 5 k run during physical testing. The 17 year-old finished first last year in the run that most players dread. 
• Austin Glover looked good in the opening scrimmage. The 17 year-old looks composed with the puck and looks like a veteran.  He too came back to Kelowna in phenomenal shape. That is a clear message to me that these players are not satisfied with what happened last year - personally - and want to make inroads into more responsibility on the ice.