Things that make me go hmm...

• The WHL handed down a one game suspension to Winterhawks forward Brendan Leipsic. The punishment fits the crime. While some Portland fans wouldn't even acknowledged it was a spear - trust me it was. I often wonder if some consider an infraction to be serious if one player collapses to the ice in distress. The fact is in this situation, Goulbourne is not a diver. He wouldn't have crumbled to the ice after the spear was applied. I can't say that about others who I won't name on this blog entry.
• Moving on. By my count the Kelowna Rockets will lose five players from this years squad when they take the ice for the 2014-2015 season. Myles Bell, Jordon Cooke and Marek Tvrdon will be joined by Ryan Olsen and Damon Severson who are both signed players by Winnipeg and New Jersey respectively. Last season the team lost four players....five if you throw in Henrik Nyberg who left the team in November. The team should be strong again next season. 
• The biggest change for the Rockets heading into next season is in goal. After two years as a starter, Jordon Cooke will move on allowing Jackson Whistle to assume the #1 duties. With Whistle taking over as the starter, who is the West Kelowna residents back up? Is Jack Morrisey ready to join the team full time? Morrisey was a 5th rounder from 2012.
• One player I hope the Rockets land this off season is Colorado born defenceman Cal Foote. Foote is the Rockets second round pick in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft. Foote is the son of ex-NHL'er Adam Foote.      
•  The Rockets have just one pick in the first 66 selections in Thursday's WHL Bantam Draft. The team will pick last in the opening round, 22nd overall. After that, Director of Player Personnel Lorne Frey will sit around and wait until selecting again in the fourth round. The Rockets don't have a second and third round pick after giving up a 2nd rounder to Vancouver for Marek Tvrdon and a third rounder to the Giants in the Jackson Whistle deal.  
• This is what Lorne Frey had to say about the upcoming draft. "All we are trying to do is get four or five players in this age group that can possibly make our team. If we can do that we are pretty happy campers." 
• The last time the Rockets picked last in the opening round of the WHL draft was 2004. That season they took Luke Schenn 20th overall. 
• When the puck hits the ice in September, like this year, four 20 year-old's will return attempting to snag one of three spots. Cole Martin, Colton Heffley, Carter Rigby and Tyrell Goulbourne are the  four returnees. 
• It will be interesting to see if and when the Philadelphia Flyers offer Goulbourne an NHL contract. They technically don't have to this summer considering the Edmonton product wasn't taken until the 2013 draft. 
• The WHL will hand out its annual awards Wednesday in Calgary. Jordon Cooke is the Western Conference nominee for goaltender of the year while Nick Merkley is the Western Conference nominee for rookie of the year. At last years awards banquet, four Rockets nominees were shut out including Bruce Hamilton (Top Executive), Ryan Huska (Top Coach), Zach Franko (Sportsmanlike) and Rourke Chartier (Scholastic).