Thursday, May 3, 2018

Rockets do no 'Wong' by selecting skilled forward

Trevor Wong
It is anyone's guess what Trevor Wong wants for a gift when he turns 15 tomorrow, but the product of Vancouver, BC may have received an early birthday gift. The 5'8, 135 pound forward was chosen in the first round of Thursday's WHL bantam draft.
Wong was taken 18th overall by the Kelowna Rockets, a team that took a gamble on a prospect who has already verbally committed to playing NCAA hockey in Denver down the road.
It should come as no surprise that Wong is getting attention from teams both north and south of the border. Despite being small, many are comparing him to NHL hall of famer Paul Kariya. Sure, Wong's father, Ed, is of Chinese decent and his mother is Indonesian, but the comparison has more to do with where both grew up (Kariya was born in North Vancouver) and how the two are undersized yet are mesmerizing with the puck.
Here are a few takeaways from my conversation with Trevor, who is competing with St. George's (the prep team he plays with) at a hockey tournament in Philadelphia this week. I also spoke to his father Ed, who seemed awfully pleased his sons WHL playing rights are owned by the Kelowna Rockets.


  • Trevor's father Ed called it a 'proud moment' when I asked him to describe his thoughts about his son being taken by the Rockets.  
  • Ed Wong is no stranger to the Western Hockey League. Born in Moose Jaw Saskatchewan, he went to the University of Manitoba before moving to Vancouver in 1992.  
  • While Trevor Wong has committed to NCAA Denver, it appears from my conversation that they have not closed the door on the WHL. 
  • Wong was invited down to Denver in November to take a better look at the program and the facilities there.
  • Ed Wong admitted that he talked to several WHL teams, but the Rockets were not one of those teams.
  • Trevor told me 'it was pretty cool' to be drafted by the Rockets and he has heard 'nothing but good things' about the organization.   
  • The Rockets selected 11 players in the 2018 WHL bantam draft. Of those 11, 7 were forwards, 3 were defenceman and one was a goalie.  

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Regan. I am sure you meant no malice when you played on Wong's name. Wong=wrong. FYI asians have been bullied and harassed because of their foreign names. Too many times foreigners and natives actually can't tell the difference between Wong or wrong. I hope you also pun names like "Ron" or "Brad" you have to be fair. "Rockets do no ron by selecting forward" Or "Rockets do no Brad by selecting forward" too. I am not trying to be hypersensitive but I am sure Trevor has heard the stupid racist jokes and have his name used in a negative, demeaning manner.

Regan Bartel said...

I've met both Trevor and is father. Great people. I would never make fun of race....ever. I hope to others it doesn't read that way. If it does, my apologies as that was not my intent.