Things that make me go hmm....

Kelowna Rockets Wall of Recognition and Achievement

• It's been a while since I've used this space to jot down some observations as we head into the final month of the regular season. I have much to get off my chest after harbouring things inside for so long! Ok, that's a little over dramatic, but hey, I just watched the Academy Awards Sunday night where actors go on stage and look visually shocked when they win. The thought that always crosses my mind is are they really sincere or are they doing what they do best - acting?
• The WHL lost a lot of gifted players to graduation or pro after the conclusion of the 2017-2018 season. A total of 48 players scored 30 or more goals that season. Heading into the last week of February, 22 players have scored 30 or more goals in 2018-2019. 
• The first order of business is for the Kelowna Rockets to clinch a playoff spot. Once that is attained, it's all about looking at personal accomplishments. Could Nolan Foote score 40 goals? The 18 year-old has 31 under his belt with 8 games remaining in the regular season. Jamie Benn, Foote's favourite player, scored 33 times when he was in his 18 year-old season. Has an 18 year-old player wearing Kelowna Rockets colours ever scored 40 goals? Brett McLean scored 44 times in 1996-97.
• It would be nice to see Lassi Thomson set a new record for goals by a European defenceman in a season. With 16, Thomson is three away from breaking Tomas Slovak's mark of 18 set in the 2002-2003 campaign. 
• I often chuckle at the comments made in the media when the opposition coach evaluates the Kelowna Rockets. It often goes against my belief on what the teams real identity is. Are they just trying to be complimentary, or are they really clueless on the strengths and weaknesses of a team that sits uncomfortably in third place in the BC Division standings? Maybe the small sample size doesn't expose ones discrepancies? Whatever it is, the responses are sometimes quite comical. 
• Just think, the Rockets have released/traded or have retired 8 players from their October 1st roster. Erik Gardiner retired. Lane Zablocki, Libor Zabransky, Ryan Bowen and Kyle Pow were released. Wil Kushniryk, Jack Cowell and Braydyn Chizen were traded. That is a lot of turnover this season.
• The Kelowna Rockets This Week, a labour of love of mine (Heard every Saturday evening during the hockey season (6 pm) on AM 1150) allows me to touch base with Rockets alumni, many who are still playing, but several that have hung up the skates to pursue other things in life. My latest interview had me reaching out to Chuck Kobasew. The about to turn 37 year-old is living in Phoenix, Arizona after having to leave the game after suffering a series of concussions. On Saturday's show, Kobasew, who scored 42 goals in just one season with the Rockets in 2001-2002, will talk candidly about how bad his concussions where, so much so, that he had to leave his wife and children for a period of time in an effort to recover. The entire interview can be heard this Saturday at 6 pm on AM 1150. I am pleased to report, while Kobasew does suffer recurring symptoms, he is able to live a relatively normal life. In fact, I spoke to him one afternoon after he had just completed a round of golf. Golf is a sport the father of three has always enjoyed.     
• Congratulations to Gordie Ballhorn for being named to the Canada West All Rookie Team. Ballhorn is in his first season with the Saskatchewan Huskies. We spoke to him a few weeks ago on The Kelowna Rockets This Week. Ballhorn and the U of S will face Tyson Baillie, Cole Linaker and the University of Alberta Golden Bears in the Canada West finals this weekend.
• It was nice to see Luke Schenn make his Vancouver Canucks debut Monday night in a 4-0 win over Anaheim. By all accounts, the 29 year-old played well against the team that sent him to the minors just 8 games into this season after signing him to a contract this summer. To play so well, having not played an NHL game since November is no small feat. The majority of the former Kelowna Rockets defenceman's season has been spent in the American Hockey League.   
• Speaking of alumni...Leon Draisaitl with 38 goals this season? Amazing. I knew he would put up points in the NHL, but I didn't see a 40 goal campaign this soon in the 23 year-old's pro career. 
• Why do the Portland Wintehawks always have the best Europeans, the Everett Silvertips the best goalies and the Kelowna Rockets the best d-men? Discuss.
• How can a player go from 11 points one season to 52 the next? A 40+ point improvement isn't normal. Portland Winterhawks forward Reese Newkirk has done just that. We will see him in back-to-back games when the Hawks visit Prospera Place Saturday and Sunday. By comparison, Nolan Foote is the most improved player on the Rockets roster year-to-year with 13 more points than a season ago. The Rockets do not have a player that has even doubled his point totals from a season ago. The end result is a below .500 record. You need second or third year players make big jumps in point production to be among the elite in the WHL. 
• The Kelowna Rockets won't have a captain this season. The entire 2018-2019 campaign has been played without one. It begs the question, who gives the 'Captains Speech' at the teams year end awards banquet Sunday March 17th? 
• I was looking at the Kelowna Rockets Wall of Recognition and Achievement the other day at Prospera Place. I was asked by a Rockets volunteer if I could choose one player that is not on the wall that I believe should be, who would that be? Great question. Easy answer. Tyson Baillie. Baillie never played for Canada at the World Junior's, nor will he likely play in the NHL. That said, Tyson Baillie was a big game player, scoring crucial goals when it really counted - the playoffs. Over five seasons, Baillie would collect 310 points in 329 career regular season games, but left his best hockey for the post season. Baillie would score an incredible 27 goals in 64 playoff games including 10 on the teams run towards the 2015 WHL championship. Who will forget his overtime heroics against Seattle in 2013? He scored three goals in that epic, game seven win, as the Rockets rallied from a 0-3 deficit. Baillie's compete and love for the game, specifically in his junior days, was off the charts. Baillie will go down as the best 3rd round pick in Kelowna Rockets history. No one is even close. Baillie won't see his mural on that wall because he doesn't meet the criteria. As of 2004, to be added to the wall a player must have: been awarded the MVP of the Memorial Cup/been captain of a Memorial Cup winning team/won a world junior gold medal/won a world championship or won an Olympic gold medal. If Baillie received exceptional status, he would be my pick.