Bulmer excited about the NHL draft

Brett Bulmer says he will be spending a lot of time in front of the computer Saturday morning.
This may not sound unusual for your average teenager, but the Kelowna Rockets forward will be logged onto NHL dot com and refreshing the page continuously until he see's his name and the team that drafted him.
Bulmer will be tracking the NHL draft in Los Angeles, California from his home computer in Prince George.
"Obviously its going to be a big stage in my career being drafted into the NHL, so I'm excited for it".
Who's more excited about him being drafted? His parents or the soft spoken 17 year-old?
"I'm pretty excited but I know they are equally excited because they have been there through all of it with me, so it's for them too.
Bulmer attended the NHL Combine earlier this summer and was interviewed by 21 teams.
NHL Central Scouting projects Bulmer could be drafted anywhere from the 3rd to the 6th round.The first round of the draft goes Friday with rounds two through eight on Saturday.

Adam Brown's father contract not renewed

The father of Kelowna Rockets goaltender Adam Brown is looking for work.
Newell Brown's contract as an assistant coach with the NHL's Anaheim Ducks was not renewed.
Brown is being replaced by Mike Foligno.
Newell Brown won a Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007.
Brown has spent the past seven year as an assistant coach in Anaheim.

Duncan is NHL's best d-man

Duncan Keith's whirlwind season has ended with him winning the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenceman.
The Chicago Blackhawks blue-liner beat Washington's Mike Green and Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings in voting conducted by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association.
Keith's year included an Olympic gold medal, Stanley Cup and the Norris Trophy. He registered career highs in goals (14), assists (55) and points (69) and posted a plus-21 rating.

Myers is the man

Tyler Myers is the NHL rookie of the year.
The Buffalo Sabres defenseman picked up the award at Wednesday's annual NHL awards in Las Vegas.
Myers played in all 82 games with the Sabres this season.
Myers was also named to the NHL's all rookie team.
The 20 year-old was the Kelowna Rockets first round pick in the 2005 WHL bantam draft.

Hamilton re-elected

Kelowna Rockets general manager Bruce Hamilton has been re-elected as the Chairman of the Board for the Western Hockey League.

Hamilton will hold the post for another two years.

What this essentially means is Hamilton will be busy representing the WHL at Canadian Hockey League meetings involving the QMJHL and OHL representatives as well as other matters which directly impact the Western Hockey League.

Hamilton was re-elected after voting at the league's annual meetings today in Calgary.

Barrie gets invite

Kelowna Rockets defenceman Tyson Barrie is one of 41 players invited to take part in Team Canada's summer evaluation camp for the upcoming world junior hockey championships.
Barrie is also one of 18 Western Hockey League players taking part in the camp in St. John Newfoundland in August.
Barrie isn't the only Kelowna connection to the summer camp.
Rockets head coach Ryan Huska is an assistant coach on Team Canada.

Keith makes a promise

The Stanley Cup is no stranger to the Okanagan.
Ken Holland brought it back to Vernon when he was the general manager of the 2008 Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings.
Now Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith is going to be bringing the Stanley Cup back to the Okanagan, specifically Penticton, his home town.
Keith stated Wednesday night on Hockey Night in Canada that the cup is coming to Penticton sometime this summer.
Traditionally ever player of the Stanley Cup championship team is rewarded with no less than one day with hockey's 'holy grail'.
When will Keith share the Stanley Cup with the city he grew up in?
Stay tuned.

Keith is a Stanley Cup champion.

Congratulations to Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith for winning the Stanley Cup. Keith and the Hawks used overtime in a game six victory Wednesday night.

2010 will go down as a memorable one for the pride of Penticton. Keith won a gold medal for Canada at the Olympics, has a Stanley Cup championship and has a good shot of taking home the hardware later this month as the NHL's best defenseman.

As Keith said on Hockey Night in Canada following the Stanley up victory, he is indeed bringing the cup back to the Okanagan, specifically to his hometown of Penticton.

It marks the third time in Rockets history that a former alumni has won hockey's holy grail. Travis Moen (Anaheim) and Scott Parker (Colorado) also have Stanley Cup rings.

Huska/Boughner now Team Canada coaching brethren

They clashed as coaches at the 2009 Memorial Cup, now they will both help Canada win gold at the upcoming World Junior Hockey Championships.
Kelowna Rockets coach Ryan Huska and Windsor Spitfires bench boss Bob Boughner were named assistant coaches to Team Canada head coach Dave Cameron.
Huska and Boughner clashed as coaches when Boughner's Spitfires beat Huska's Rockets 4-1 in the 2009 Memorial Cup in Rimouski, Quebec.
Huska admits its ironic the two are now members of the same coaching staff.
"I guess I could say to him that he probably could have shared the wealth a little bit. He knew he was going to have a good team this year (laugh), so he could have helped us out last year. It's a chance to work with some very good coaches at this level."
It's the fourth time in Kelowna Rockets franchise history that a member of the coaching staff will participate at the World Juniors.
Marcel Comeau, Marc Habscheid and Jeff Truitt have also represented the Rockets at the tournament.
This years event is in Buffalo, New York.

Rockets make commitment

The Kelowna Rockets hockey club has set a goal of raising 200 thousand dollars for the orthopedic unit at Kelowna General Hospital over the next five years.
The funds will be raised through the Rockets alumni weekend which takes place each summer and includes a golf tournament and hockey game.
In the past the alumni weekend has raised 109 thousand dollars for K-G-H-'s pediatric and maternity ward.
This years alumni weekend takes place July 22nd to the 25th.

Huska...Team Canada?

Kelowna Rockets head coach Ryan Huska spent Monday interviewing for a coaching position with Canada's world junior team.
If Huska is awarded one of the three coveted spots, he would join Marcel Comeau, Marc Habscheid and Jeff Truitt as former Rockets coaches that have been a member of Team Canada. This years tourney is in Buffalo NY.

Rockets give blessing to junior B team

The Kelowna Chiefs are now official.
Rockets GM Bruce Hamilton has given approval to the KIJHL franchise to play out of the Rutland Arena next season.
The most interesting development in Hamilton's agreement with the Chiefs is his ability to terminate the franchise on January 1st of each year if he doesn't like how its operating.

FYI: Geordie Wudrick did not sign a contract with the LA Kings and is now a free agent.

Troy Mick on the move

Troy Mick is leaving his post as the head coach and general manager of the Revelstoke Grizzlies.
Mick has taken a job as the director of hockey operations and player development with Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy in Kelowna.
Mick will remain a part owner of the Grizzlies.
Mick led the Grizzlies to the KIJHL and BC Championships along with the Cyclone Taylor and Keystone Cups.