News, quotes and anecdotes

I asked Kamloops Blazers head coach Guy Charron on the Rockets closing the gap on his team for first place in the BC Division. 

“I would like to see the roles reversed. The Rockets should be the hunted, not us. Their record in the last 20 odd games is as impressive as our 14 game undefeated streak at the start of the season. The Rockets defensive core and goaltending, their scoring is a big difference. They (Rockets) have explosive people and now they are getting consistency and secondary scoring.”  

The Rockets have opened the scoring in 13 games during a 15 game home ice winning streak. The team record for consecutive wins on home ice is 18, while the franchise record (Tacoma/Kelowna) is 24 straight wins at home.
  

Kelowna Rockets captain Colton Sissons shared his thoughts on his team being named to the CHL Top 10 rankings this week.  

“It’s kinda nice, but I hope we don’t get caught up in it. At the end of the day we want to be number one, not number eight in January.  We know we are a strong team and now everyone else knows about it too”.     

This NHL scout shared his thoughts on draft eligible Madison Bowey:

“He has done what he is supposed to do. He continues to rise. His biggest asset is his skating and if he makes a mistake he has the speed to recover quickly in his own zone. He tries different things when he shouldn’t but to me it shows he can be creative.”

Another NHL scout has these views of draft eligible d-man Mitch Wheaton.

“The more I see him the more I like him. He is the type of player that doesn’t make mistakes.  He doesn’t go out of his comfort zone and makes a great tape to tape pass. He’s a very, very good prospect in that what you see is what you get.”  

How does 20 year-old Dylen McKinlay view the upcoming WHL trade deadline? Does it concern him more in his final year in the league?

“Maybe a bit more this year because we have four (20 year-olds) guys here. I really try to not think about it. We have all the talent and the guys to do it here. I can’t really see where we need an improvement. We are solid throughout our whole lineup and we feel good about the team we have here”.     

Colton Sissons is without a doubt the Rockets top face-off man. How is his mind set as he takes a face-off in the defensive zone with his team protecting a one goal lead?

“As soon as Husk (Huska) calls my name to get out there, I get right over to the face-off right away before the other guy is set. I am ready for the puck to drop and I am looking at the hand of the linesman and twitching at the sight of the puck being dropped”.    

I asked Vancouver Giants head coach Don Hay about his team trading away players as they rebuild their roster?

“I don’t like that word. We use the word re-loading. The cupboard is bare and we just haven’t had someone step up and replace what Brendan Gallagher brought for us”.

Would it have been wiser to trade Gallagher rather than keep him as a 19 year-old?

 “Your goal is always to make the playoffs. You owe your fans some things too. That’s kind of the new way of doing things. We have never had to move player to replenish. We feel with three first round picks (two by trade), we are moving in the right direction.”