Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Scoring by committee a must

Who will score goals for the Kelowna Rockets this season?

"With the type of system I would like to implement, you will see some more offence coming from the back end. I think it will be by committee". 

Head Coach Kris Mallette will look down the bench and won't see Matthew Wedman, Nolan Foote, Kyle Topping or Pavel Novak.

Wedman, Foote and Topping are playing pro hockey while the team was unable to secure a visa for Novak.

"We want to see Dillon Hamaliuk come back the way he ended and started the season with renewed confidence," Mallette added.

The 20 year-old was excepted to play pro hockey this season after signing a three year entry level contract with the San Jose Sharks. But the NHL team typically doesn't like to rush their prospects and believe Hamaliuk's up and down season shows he needs more seasoning.

"Dave Kope, another player that we acquired, he can score goals. Big years are going to have to be had by a bunch of our 19 year-old's. Mark Liwiski, Alex Swetlikoff, you are hoping that these guys gain a lot of confidence early and ride it out for this shortened season."    

How much fire power have the Rockets lost from a season ago?

Over 200 points, with 19 year-old d-man Kaedan Korczak the top returning player after racking up 49 points in 60 games.

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