Rockets' acquire stud d-man

If you are playing for a contending team, shouldn’t you expect trades by management in an effort to bolster your chances of winning? The answer is obviously yes, but that doesn’t make it any easier when a close knit team like the Kelowna Rockets is forced to say goodbye to two of its popular players. Jesse Lees and Austin Glover care greatly for their teammates and is reciprocated by the 23 they leave behind. When those two players were told after Wednesday night’s game that they had been traded, shock set in, not only for Lees and Glover but for their teammates too. It is truly the ugly side of junior hockey because we are dealing with such young men. These are not professionals. For many it’s the first time they have been traded, while for their teammates, it is the first time they have experienced the harsh reality of a buddy being dealt away. Tears are shed. Hugs were exchanged. I am sure the question of; why them or why us was utter many times. It is the part of sports that fans love, but when you see firsthand how it affects everyone involved, it isn’t much fun. It really isn’t. A trade like this is both cruel and exciting.
Without question the Rockets are a better team today than they were prior to the start of this road trip. The players, while hard to accept the loss of two friends, will realize that soon. Josh Morrissey is the key player in the deal. The Rockets get one of the best defenceman in the WHL who brings instant offense from the blue line. The first round pick of the Winnipeg Jets scored 28 goals last season with the PA Raiders and was a first team all-star in the Eastern Conference. The Calgary resident, the older brother of Kelowna Rockets rookie goaltender Jake Morrissey, will also play for a second straight year at Christmas for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships.

Can you imagine Josh Morrissey and Madison Bowey quarterbacking your power play? If hockey fans in the Okanagan aren’t already excited about their teams’ 25-4-3-0 start, they should be now.

For me, the acquisition of a premiere player by General Manager Bruce Hamilton is a bit of a surprise. Why? Over my 15 seasons with the organization, obtaining a big fish via the trade route hasn’t happened. Oh sure, picking up the rights to Chuck Kobasew from Prince George or persuading Duncan Keith to leave Michigan State after Christmas are solid calculated moves, but landing a marquee player while dealing away individuals on its current roster isn’t common place around these parts. In 2004, the team added two nice pieces with the acquisition of Simon Ferguson and D.J King from the Lethbridge Hurricanes. In 2009, the team again added depth with separate deals with Moose Jaw for Ian Duval and Riley Grantham. They also had the benefit of landing Michal Backlund after the Calgary Flames elected to move their prospect to major junior after the World Junior Hockey Championships were over.

The Morrissey deal is swinging for the fences and hitting it out of the park without giving up a highly coveted 1^st round bantam pick in return. In my books, that is impressive trading. If Hamilton was asked to give a first round pick in return rather than the 2^nd and 3rd round picks, maybe the deal would have been off the table?

While Morrissey is the star studded player acquired in this trade, it will be interesting to see what Gage Quinney brings to the team. Born in Las Vegas Nevada, Quinney can only add more depth to a 19 year-old age group which already consists of Jackson Whistle, Madison Bowey, Tyson Baillie, Cole Linaker and injured d-man Mitch Wheaton. Quinney's father is an ex-teammate of Kelowna Rockets head coach Dan Lambert.

So what kind of day was it for the Kelowna Rockets? On so many levels it was a sad day full of emotion. But in the end, the players on this year’s team will know that its GM is out there, fighting for them, in an effort to bring the type of success this organization has enjoyed only once in its 24 year history. 

Notes, quotes and anecdotes

Riley Stadel - Shoot the Breeze Photography

• The Alberta road trip before the Christmas break is officially underway. An early morning start had the team eating breakfast in Revelstoke at around 10:30 am . We were greeted by mild temperatures as the snow began to quickly melt. It created slushy walking conditions as the coaching staff and players attempted to enter the restaurant without getting our shoes and socks wet. Rubber boots would have been a good choice. A few movies later and we arrived in Canmore Alberta for lunch. Not as much snow, but the temperatures were a balmy 7 degrees. The meal was followed by an impromptu snowball fight outside of the establishment. It all started innocently as players walking outside the restaurant were sabotaged with snowball fire coming from teammates and a coach near the entrance to the team bus. I may have thrown a softball size snowball or two. When in Canmore, do what Canmorians like to do. As we made our way out of the Rockies we witnessed a skiff of snow along the foothills, which is extremely rare for this time of the year.  
• This Alberta road trip includes a stop at the historic Medicine Hat Arena on Friday night. It will be the last time the Rockets play a game in that building, barring the playoffs, as the Tigers move into a new facility in September 2015. I have great memories in that building including my first 5 seasons as the play-by-play voice of the Swift Current Broncos. I saw many a Broncos win in that building but it was other incidents that stand out. I will never forget Broncos forward Dody Wood getting into a fight during warm up with Tigers Clayton Norris. I was also ushered out of the broadcast booth in Medicine Hat after a bomb scare involving the two teams'. The game was postponed and finished a few days later.             
• It was great to touch base with Kelly Guard on the weekend when he made a stop in Kelowna. The MVP from the 2004 Memorial Cup was behind the bench as an assistant coach with the Prince Albert Raiders. The Raiders head coach is Marc Habscheid, Guard’s coach with the Kelowna Rockets for two seasons in 2002-2003 and again in 2003-2004. “I can honestly say, I would have never have thought of that happening. It has come full circle. I love it. He is a good mentor and a good coach and I am learning a lot from him”, Guard told me Saturday night. I asked the now 30 year-old if Habscheid has changed since he knew him as a player who was able to get the best out of his team. “As a goalie, I just stayed away and played. I wasn’t around the bench much. I was playing lots so I wasn’t on the bench to see what was going on. He is pretty calm back there. He has that confidence in him that the players feed off of”, Guarded added.
• In speaking to 16 year-old rookie forward Dillon Dube this week, he told me he was born in Golden BC. Dube’s home town is Cochrane Alberta but he spent his early years in Golden and aspired to play for the Golden Rockets, the junior 'B' team located there. Who would have thought Dube would one day play for the Rockets, but for a WHL team of the same name located in the Okanagan.
• It was interesting to observe the demeanor of the two coaches Friday night in the Prince George Cougars 4-3 win over the Kelowna Rockets. It was Mark Hollick's team, the Cougars, that was winning after building up a 4-2 lead, but if you looked at Lambert on the Rockets bench, he appeared to be under control despite the two goal deficit. Hollick is without question a yeller. The guy must need a losange after games end.     
• It felt like a Kelowna Rockets reunion Saturday night at Prospera Place when the PA Raiders paid a visit. Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid was joined by assistant Kelly Guard on the bench and ex-Rockets 20 year-old Colton Heffley was in the visitors starting lineup. It is well document how Habscheid decided to leave the Rockets – on top – after leading the team to a Memorial Cup title. I asked Habscheid if, in hindsight, he should have stayed longer rather than leave the team after that triumphant victory? “I look back at it and no matter what, how can you win it for the first time at home again? Hopefully they win many more times, but you can never win at home for the first time. To repeat that and try to duplicate those feelings and the rise from where we were are memories that are etched forever. It would have been hard to come back because you always want to top that. It is impossible to top that.” Habscheid concluded.    
• The Lethbridge Hurricanes have fired Drake Berehowsky. So who is behind the bench tomorrow night when the Rockets face the Hurricanes? Maybe I will go back in time and do a pre-game interview for former Lethbridge bench boss Brian Maxwell, who is back with the team in a secondary role this season. Maxwell and Darth Vader have a similar tone of voice. Ok, not exactly. Maxwell doesn't breathe heavily when he speaks but his voice makes any radio broadcaster envious.   
• What I'm interested in seeing is how the Rockets respond with the loss of their top scorer and best defenceman. Who picks up the slack on the road trip for Rourke Chartier and Madison Bowey? The two players that come to mind are Tyson Baillie and veteran 20 year-old Cole Martin on the back end. Baillie has the second most goals on the team with 19 and must perform at a high level on this road trip to make up for the loss of  Chartier’s hot stick. Without Bowey on the blue line, Martin may see some time on the power play, and while the 20 year-old won’t manufacture many goals, what he can do is make smart passing plays to the awaiting hands of forwards who find themselves in good scoring areas.
• The power play has to be better if the Kelowna Rockets want to head into the Christmas break on a high. Over the last six games, the team has scored just 5 goals on 32 opportunities for an efficiency rate of just 16 percent. That is down significantly from the teams 26.9 percent efficiency rate, which is the best in the 22 team circuit. What’s working in the Rockets favour? They have the best road record in the WHL with 13 wins – one loss and two overtime losses on opposition ice this season.  
• The trip starts with a game in Lethbridge Wednesdday night against the second worst team in the WHL. The Hurricanes have only 6 wins this season – having lost 8 times on home ice this season. The best game of the road could come Friday night when the Rockets face the Tigers in Medicine Hat. The Tigers have lost only three times on home ice this season and only the Rockets have allowed fewer goals on home ice than the Tigers...who are a stingy bunch lead by 20 year-old goaltender Marek Langhammer. Like Rourke Chartier and Nick Merkley, the Tigers possess their own dynamic duo in Trevor Cox and Cole Sanford. Both players have over 40 points this season. 
• Gas in Calgary is 93.4 cents a litre! What??? 

No style points in one goal win

Shoot the Breeze Photography

• Is it a sign of the type of impact 16 year-old Dillon Dube will make over his WHL career? Let's hope so. The Kelowna Rockets rookie forward has two goals in 6 career games. Both goals have been game winners. The slick skater scored the lone goal Saturday night - the Teddy Bear goal - in the Rockets 1-0 win over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders. Jackson Whistle made 27 saves for his 4th shutout of the season and 7th of his career. In a game that had a playoff feel, the two teams' combined or just 10 shots before Dube scored, allowing the 47 hundred fans to litter the ice with Teddy Bears. The win put the wraps on a four game home stand for the Rockets, who managed two wins and two losses. Those victories came against Saskatoon and Prince Albert. The two setbacks were against the Regina Pats and Prince George Cougars.
• You won't see too many games at Prospera Place ending with a 1-0 score. Both goalies deserve some credit for that, but both power plays were frankly awful.  Both units went 0 for 4 and the best chances to score came from the team defending with only four skaters. The Rockets, who own the best power play in the WHL, were just 1 for 13 on the weekend with the man advantage and have just 5 goals in 32 chances (16%) in their last 6 games. Had the power play been 'on' against the Cougars Friday night, they would have won the game.
• After an emotionally filled game the night before against Prince George, this game had no-where near the same snarl. These two teams' showed very little hatred towards one another with little pushing and shoving after the whistle. Was it the fact both teams' were playing their third game in four night's? Whatever it was, the game took just 2 hours and 9 minutes to play as both teams' took just four minor penalties. 
• It looked like the Raiders were content with squeezing out a win against the Rockets. It was low risk hockey. They didn't want to get into a high scoring affair with the home team it seemed.  The Raiders had sufficient chances to score though, with none better than Reid Gardner's sharp angle shot in the third period that went passed Whistle and narrowly missed the post.  
• Another reason for the lower scoring affair was the lack of quality chances by the dynamic duo of Nick Merkley and Rourke Chartier. Both players had an off night, and frankly, are they not allowed to have a free pass from leading the charge every once in a while? The tough part for the Rockets is a lack of secondary scoring right now. Cole Linaker has 1 goal in his last 11. Rookie Tate Coghlan hasn't scored in 23 games and Tyson Baillie has one goal in his last 7 games. Kris Schmidli has one goal in his last 8 and Tomas Soustal has no goals in his last 9 games. Granted, these players, outside of Baillie, won't score on a consistent basis but the team needs someone chip in offensively more often. Being a one trick pony offensively with Chartier and Merkley leading the charge is flirting with danger.    
• I thought Raiders overager Colton Heffley had a strong game against his old team. It couldn't have been easy playing against so many familar faces after being traded earlier in the week. Heffley played defence with partner Josh Morrissey and had no less than three shots on goal. The 20 year-old was noticeable upon his return to Prospera Place and was featured in the starting line up thanks to Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid. 
• The loss snapped the Raiders 7 game road winning streak.
• When was the last time the Rockets earned a 1-0 win on home ice? It was March 12/2011 when Adam Brown made 33 saves in a win over Kamloops. There was no score through 65 minutes. The game had to be settled in a shootout.
• The Rockets now prepare for a five game road trip next week which will see them play in Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer. The trip opens Wednesday in Lethbridge and consists of 5 games in 8 night's. 

Rockets game notes vs. Cougars

Shoot the Breeze Photography

Tonight’s Preview: The Kelowna Rockets play game three of a four game home stand tonight against the visiting Prince George Cougars. This is the fifth of eight meetings between the two teams’ this season. The Rockets are 4-0-0-0, having won all four games in Prince George by a combined score of 27-9. In all four games, the Rockets have scored no less than 6 times. The Cougars will make three more visits to Prospera Place on December 30^th, January 3rd and February 9^th. The Rockets are coming off a 5-1 win over the visiting Saskatoon Blades Wednesday night. Rourke Chartier scored his league leading 30^th and 31^st goals of the season while Nick Merkley (1+2=3) and Madison Bowey (0+3=3) had three point outings. Jake Morrissey, making his first start of his career on home ice, earned the win improving to 3-0-0-0. The Rockets host Prince Albert tomorrow night. Following these two games this weekend, the Rockets concluded the pre-Christmas schedule with five straight games on the road. They include dates in Lethbridge (Dec 10), Medicine Hat (Dec 12), Calgary (Dec 14), Edmonton (Dec 16) and Red Deer (Dec 17).  

Season Series scoring breakdown vs. Cougars:

Period:      1     2    3   OT   Total

Rockets:   9    12   6      0      27 

Cougars:   3     2   2      0       7

·          The Cougars have opened the scoring in three of the four games.

·          The Rockets have out-shot the Cougars in three of the four games.

·          The Rockets have a power play goal in all four games (13/27 or 48.1%). The Cougars are 3 for 20 (15%). 

First to 30: Rourke Chartier became the first Kelowna Rockets player to reach 30 goals in under 30 games. Chartier has 31 goals in 28 games after scoring twice on Wednesday. That breaks the old mark of the quickest player to 30 goals, set by Brett McLean, who scored 30 goals in 30 games in the 1997-98 season. Here are other Rockets players to reach 30 goals in a short period of time. 

1)     Rourke Chartier: 30 goals in 28 games (2014-2015).

2)     Brett McLean: 30 goals in 30 games (1997-98).

3)     Jamie Benn: 30 goals in 36 games (2008-2009).

4)     Jason Deleurme: 30 goals in 36 games (1997-98).

5)     Chuck Kobasew: 30 goals in 39 games (2001-2002).   

The Saskatoon Sniper: Rourke Chartier had 18+10=28 in the month of November. In 14 games, Chartier scored a goal in 12 of them. The 18 year-old had points in 13 of those 14 games. Chartier had 9 multiple point games in the month. Chartier had 6-3 point games and three-two point games. By comparison, last seasons’ WHL scoring champion Mitch Holmberg had 12+14=26 in November. The only player to record more points over the last five seasons in the month of November is Portland’s Brendan Leipsic. Leipsic had 9+21=30 in November 2012.

Walking wounded: 

Tanner Wishnowski: missed 29 games   Mitch Wheaton: missed 25 games

Dillon Dube: missed 25 games                Dalton Yorke: missed 12 games

Austin Glover: missed 11 games            Joe Gatenby: missed 7 games

Justin Kirkland: missed 6 games            Jake Morrissey: missed 6 games. 

Jesse Lees: missed 3 games                 Cole Martin: missed 1 game

Total # of games = 126 man games lost to injury. (Unofficial)

World Junior Bound: Congratulations Madison Bowey and Rourke Chartier for being two of 29 players named to Team Canada’s training camp roster for the WJHC. Kelowna Rockets forward Kris Schmidli will participate in the upcoming World Junior’s with Switzerland. Rockets majority owner Bruce Hamilton is a member of Team Canada’s management team.

Bowey on the Blueline: Madison Bowey is 6^th all time in Kelowna Rockets d-scoring with 145 career points. Bowey has 49 career goals and 96 career assists = 145 points. Here are the franchise leaders:

1)Tyson Barrie: 228        4)Josh Gorges:152

2)Burt Henderson:186    5) Mike Card:147

3)Damon Severson:167  6) Madison Bowey:145      

This and That: The Rockets traded 20 year-old Colton Heffley to the PA Raiders on Tuesday for a 4^th round bantam pick…Rourke Chartier was named the WHL Player of the month for November…Nick Merkley is rated 22^nd by the International Scouting Service for this June’s NHL draft….The Rockets have been held to three goals or less only 7 times this season….Nick Merkley has 15 multiple point games….Rourke Chartier has been held off the score-sheet four times this season…In case you are wondering, the Rockets have not been shut-out in 104 consecutive games. The last time the Rockets were held without a goal was March 3, 2013 in a 3-0 loss in Kamloops…Tyrell Goulbourne hit the 100 point plateau for his career with a goal Wednesday night…The Rockets are rated 2^nd in the CHL Top 10 rankings this week for a second consecutive week…Nick Merkley is rated 22^nd by the International Scouting Service.  

Game notes vs. Blades

Tonight’s Preview: The Kelowna Rockets play game two of a four game home stand tonight against the visiting Saskatoon Blades. This is the one and only meeting of the season between the two teams’. The Rockets are riding a four game winning streak against the Blades following their last meeting, December 17/2013 in Saskatoon in a 7-1 win. During that four game winning streak over the Blades, the Rockets have 27-7. The last time the Blades beat the Rockets was December 16, 2009 with a 4-1 victory at what was then known as Sask Place. The Blades last win in Kelowna was December 3^rd 2008 when Stefan Elliott had a goal and an assist in a 4-2 win. Jamie Benn had two assists in the setback. The Rockets are coming off a 3-1 home ice loss to the Regina Pats Saturday night. Rourke Chartier scored his league leading 29^th goal of the season in the teams’ third regulation loss of the season. Overall, the Rockets are winless in their last three home games (0-2-1-0). Following tonight’s game, the Rockets host Prince George on Friday and Prince Albert on Saturday. Following those two games this weekend, the Rockets concluded the pre-Christmas schedule with five straight games on the road. They include dates in Lethbridge (Dec 10), Medicine Hat (Dec 12), Calgary (Dec 14), Edmonton (Dec 16) and Red Deer (Dec 17).  

The Saskatoon Sniper: Rourke Chartier had 18+10=28 in the month of November. In 14 games, Chartier scored a goal in 12 of them. The 18 year-old had points in 13 of those 14 games. Chartier had 9 multiple point games in the month. Chartier had 6-3 point games and three-two point games. By comparison, last seasons’ WHL scoring champion Mitch Holmberg had 12+14=26 in November. The only player to record more points over the last five seasons in the month of November is Portland’s Brendan Leipsic. Leipsic had 9+21=30 in November 2012.

Walking wounded: 

Tanner Wishnowski: missed 28 games

Mitch Wheaton: missed 24 games

Dillon Dube: missed 25 games

Dalton Yorke: missed 11 games

Austin Glover: missed 10 games

Joe Gatenby: missed 7 games

Justin Kirkland: missed 6 games

Jake Morrissey: missed 6 games. 

Jesse Lees: missed 3 games

Cole Martin: missed 1 game

Total # of games = 122 man games lost to injury. (Unofficial)

World Junior Bound: Congratulations Madison Bowey and Rourke Chartier for being two of 29 players named to Team Canada’s training camp roster for the WJHC. Kelowna Rockets forward Kris Schmidli will participate in the upcoming World Junior’s with Switzerland. Rockets majority owner Bruce Hamilton is a member of Team Canada’s management team.

Let’s go streaking: Nick Merkley’s 12 game point streak (4+17=21) came to an end Saturday against Regina. Merkley had the 5^th longest point streak in Kelowna Rockets history. Here are the longest point streaks by a Rockets player over the years.

Tyson Barrie: 21 games with a point 2009-2010 (5+28=33)

Zach Franko: 13 games with a point 2010-2011 (9+9=18)

Jesse Schultz: 13 games with a point 2002-2003 (15+8=23)

Jamie Benn: 13 games with a point 2008-2009 (15+10=25)    

Nick Merkley: 12 games with a point 2014-2015 (4+17=21)

Rourke Chartier: 10 games with a point 2014-2015 (15+9=24)

Milestones: Tyson Baillie is 5 assists shy of 100 for his career…Nick Merkley and Kris Schmidli are 6 games shy of 100 for their careers…Riley Stadel is 9 games shy of 150 for his career…Madison Bowey is 7 assists shy of 100 for his career.  

This and That: The Rockets were 15-0-0-0 against Eastern Division teams up until Saturday’s loss to Regina…Nick Merkley is rated as an ‘A’ prospect by NHL Central Scouting for this summer’s draft. Teammate Joe Gatenby and Tomas Soustal are ‘C’ prospect in the November rankings…The Rockets have been held to three goals or less only 7 times this season….Nick Merkley has 14 multiple point games….Rourke Chartier has been held off the score-sheet four times this season…In case you are wondering, the Rockets have not been shutout in 104 consecutive games. The last time the Rockets were held without a goal was March 3, 2013 in a 3-0 loss in Kamloops…Dan Lambert won a Memorial Cup with the Swift Current Broncos in 1989. The game was played against the Blades in Saskatoon. Blades head coach Marcel Comeau, in 1989, was also a coach with the Kelowna Rockets for five seasons…Bruce Hamilton played his junior hockey with the Saskatoon Blades from 1974-1977. Hamilton was an assistant coach with the Blades in 1983-84 under then head coach Darrell Lubiniecki. One of the players on that team was 16 year-old Wendel Clark, who scored 23 goals that season…Tyrell Goulbourne’s next point will be his 100^th of his career…While Rourke Chartier lead the team with 18+10=28 in November, Nick Merkley was next with 4+17=21. Jesse Lees was third in scoring during the month with 5+10=15. Tyson Baillie had 14 points (8+6=14) during the month.