What you say? We can't?

 

Here is my theory.

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The Kelowna Rockets played some calorie-free games down the stretch. What does that mean? With nowhere to go in the Western Conference standings and eight regular season games against teams below them in the standings to close out the season, they played good enough to win (8 of those 9) but they weren’t forced to play at an elite level or pace. Head Coach Kris Mallette astutely recognized this and attempted to mimic higher intensity situations in practice that would make his team more battle tested and ready for a first round opponent in the Seattle Thunderbirds.

But like changing the formula of Coca-Cola, it’s just not the same thing. Real game action is the only way to truly get up to speed on how well coached and how well top teams are able to execute against you.

I’d suggest it took the Rockets two games in this series to catch up to the pace, physicality and mental resolve needed to play with the big boys.

I’d suggest the Rockets can play better. The Rockets power play has resurrected from the dead and leading scorer Colton Dach is still without a point in this series. He has to break out eventually. 

The scores in this series don’t lie. A 6-0 loss in game one. A 7-3 setback in game two, which despite losing by four, was better than the night prior. It was hard to see through the disappointment of not getting a split at ShoWare Center. A game three loss at home had the Rockets score the opening goal and set the table for a terrific finish in a tied hockey game (1-1) until Mark Liwiski’s ill advised high hit that resulted in a four goal third period by the visitors and a 5-1 home ice loss.

Again, game three was a step towards the better before a game four victory in overtime without Liwiski (suspended) and Pavel Novak (undisclosed). It’s playoffs kids. Injuries are on the down low. Get with it!

What I’ve seen is the Rockets play improved hockey throughout this series. Game one was terrible. Game two was just ok, but game three was a sign the ship was turning away from rough waters. In an elimination game last night, going down 2-0 on the scoreboard wasn’t ideal, but the way they came back to tie it before Adam Kydd’s goal sent us to Seattle for game five was impressive. 

It’s suggested the Rockets got up to speed too late in this series. That may be true. Down 3-1, the Rockets must win out or the season is over.

The 2021-2022 edition of the Kelowna Rockets heard the naysayers last fall, where the word ‘can’t’ was used several times when it came to – they ‘can’t’ win 40 games or they ‘can’t’ be one of the top teams in the Western Conference or they ‘can’t’ make the playoffs.

 The word ‘can’t’ is being used against them again.

 They ‘can’t’ come back and win this series.

 If they continue this trend of getting better game-by-game, I’d suggest the 2021-2022 edition of the Kelowna Rockets indeed can!

Rockets put regular season on ice

• The 2021-2022 edition of the Kelowna Rockets will be remembered for playing one of the best team games - ever. While having individual skill, I'd argue the success was a direct result of playing for each other. With eight players with 40 or more points, it's a clear indicator that no one player was doing the heavy lifting.  With 250 goals scored, the team ended the regular season 9th in that category. That's a significant jump from the 2018-2019 team that scored 169 times - or 81 fewer goals. I use that comparison because it is the last time the team played a full 68 game regular season. The 2018-19 team had just four - 40+ point producers. Attention to defending was praised and applauded while offensive expression was discouraged. It often translated into overthinking and poor execution in an effort to get out of trouble. This season, head coach Kris Mallette has tried to stress the importance of defensive structure while loosening up the reins in the offensive zone. The 42 wins came as a direct result of making good decisions with the puck, calculated decision in the d-zone and transitioning it up ice without expending copious amounts of time and energy getting it out of danger. 
• The Rockets won 25 times on home ice this season. It's the second most wins in the Western Conference behind only Everett, who won 26 times in front of the home town crowd. With only 6 regulation losses at Prospera Place, only Everett again was better with 4 setbacks.  
• Colton Dach delivered. In his first season with the Kelowna Rockets, the just turned 19 year-old was the team leader in scoring. Considered a pure shooter coming into the season (he was 7th in the WHL in 2021-2022 in shots with 274), I envisioned him scoring goals, but honestly, his ability to set up teammates was likely even more impressive. What Dach did so well was winning puck battles in the corners or along the end boards and finding teammates in good scoring areas. Another aspect of Dach's game that may go unnoticed is how steady he is on his skates. He never falls down. I'd suggest his edge work is among the best on the team and his stability on his skates is exceptionally good. Another aspect of Dach that I like is his up tempo personality. In a time when many players are quiet/reserved and to themselves, the Fort Saskatchewan product is a lively personality that dressing rooms need. He isn't a dead head. Dach is focused and dialed in when it counts, but he is able to joke around with his teammates and keep them loose. In my experience with Colton Dach, in an interview setting or just observing him around his teammates, I have nothing but good things to say about his influence both on and off the ice. 
• Pavel Novak led the Rockets in home goals with 21, which was three better than Colton Dach and Andrew Cristall. Dach was the team leader in home points with 54 and finished the season on a career high 9 game point streak. I'd again suggest Novak could be a massive difference maker in a playoff series with Seattle with his ability to provide secondary scoring and not playing on what would be considered the teams number one line. He should get better matchups that allows him to thrive. This will be a physical series though, where courage will be needed to play in traffic. Perimeter play will be the easy way out - but it will also lead to an early playoff exit. 
• Jake Lee played in his final WHL regular season game Saturday night. It was his 142nd with the Rockets and 277th overall. Despite scoring just twice in his final 23 regular season games, my sense is the 21 year-old was concentrating more on defending, transitioning the puck up ice and trying to be a threat to score on the power play. It appeared to me he was dialing it down a notch when playing even strength. I think that's the smart move heading into the playoffs, where Lee will play huge minutes and will be busy defending against a T-Birds team that can come at you in waves. Lee is my pick for defenseman of the year for logging tons of ice time and anchoring the blueline.  
• John Babcock earned the best +/- rating on the Rockets roster this season. It is a big deal for a defender to go through a rookie season +28. Trust me, it could be worse. Look at Medicine Hat defender Dru Krebs, who was a league worst -58.  Babcock will turn 18 this Sunday. 
• Andrew Cristall had a magically season didn't he? A record breaking 28 goals for a 16 year-old and tying the franchise record for points by a 16 year-old with 69. Moving alongside Shane McColgan and surpassing him once (more goals), Cristall will garner a lot of attention from the T-Birds in the playoffs playing on a line with Mark Liwiski and Colton Dach. In a conversation with a few scouts over the weekend, they will be watching Cristall closely in this opening round series in an effort to get a better read on him when he becomes draft eligible next season. In fact, the number of scouts watching games, specifically this series, will be large with one telling me the other series in the Western Conference are irrelevant and not worth dissecting, with the balance of power so heavily tilted towards Everett, Kamloops and Portland, little can be gained by watching draft eligible players in those respective series. I am not sure that is accurate but an interest observation nonetheless. 
• The Rockets played in 30-one goal games this season. The team earned points in 23 of them which tells you pressure packed hockey was the norm all season long. 
• The one stat I loved this season was the teams ability to lock it down in the third period. With just 55 goals surrendered in the final frame, only Winnipeg (51) and Portland (52) were better and keeping the door shut. 
• It was interesting watching things unfold Saturday night for playoff positioning in the Western Conference. With all the hype over a log jam for the 8th and final playoff spot and the prospect of a play-in game to decide things, it all fell flat when Victoria was eliminated with a loss to Spokane and Vancouver and Prince George made post season despite losses to the Blazers and Rockets respectively. To think, the Royals were 4 seconds away.....FOUR...from potentially earning a playoff birth this season. Instead of playing conservatively with the power play in a game in Kamloops April 8th, they surrendered a shorthanded goal in a 4-3 loss when Matthew Seminoff put the dagger into the Royals hearts at 19:56. When points are pivotal down the stretch and even a single one counts, it was best to play for the tie that night then go for the win. 
• 53. That was the number of points needed to earn a spot in the playoffs in the Western Conference this season. It is the fewest points since Portland earned a playoff birth in 2002-2003 with only 51. Tri City also had 51 points in 1996-1997 and was off to the playoffs despite only 22 wins that season. 

Preparing for the playoff push

• You knew it was going to happen. You could sense it. It's like the motorist you spot in your rear view mirror as you traverse your vehicle along Highway 97 from West Kelowna and begin the ascension over the W.R Bennett Bridge. The crazy driver you've spotted behind you is weaving dangerously in and out of traffic at a high rate of speed and you know eventually one of two things will happen. They will either cause a serious accident or a member of the RCMP will pull them over and slap the maniac behind the wheel with a ticket for dangerous driving. For the Kelowna Rockets, you could sense two subpar efforts Tuesday and Wednesday in Prince George, followed by a lossy goosy win over the hapless Vancouver Giants would eventually catch up to them. It did. On cue, in the rematch Sunday afternoon against a team 36 points below them in the standings and riding a season high 8 game losing streak to make matters worse, a lack of  urgency finally caught up to the Rockets in a 3-2 loss. The home team came out gangbusters in the first period but couldn't score, then slept through the second where the Giants popped in two quick goals :50 seconds apart. Realizing that their 6 game winning streak was in jeopardy, they played with pepper in the final 20 minutes but ran out of time against a team that was literally fighting for their playoff lives. 
• They say winning comes with a price. You get sucked into a sense of complacency when things come too easy. Wins in Prince George did that. Maybe it started the week prior when the Rockets dismantled the Cougars and Royals on consecutive nights? Let's hope a late season hockey lesson was learned. The final exam isn't that far away. In fact, it starts April 22nd against the Seattle Thunderbirds. My belief is the 2021-2022 edition of the Kelowna Rockets will be ready when test time rolls around in less than two short weeks. 
• What was really on the line this weekend for the Rockets was finishing fourth, which would have given them home ice advantage against the T-Birds in the opening round of the playoffs. If all of the top seeds in the Western Conference advance, outside of the T-Birds of course, Kris Mallette's team will have to learn to win on the road regardless with four of seven games in a series being played away from Prospera Place. That said, I would rather have the luxury of playing a seventh game in front of a hometown crowd as opposed to earning a do-or-die victory at the accesso Showare Centre, but you can't cry over spilled milk now. What's done is done. The loss against the Giants on Sunday and the T-Birds win over Everett assured the two teams will finish fourth and fifth with Seattle earning the luxury of having home ice advantage.
• All was not lost on the weekend. The good? Despite a loose 8-4 win Saturday night over the G-Men, it was the teams' 40th of the season. The Kelowna Rockets are one of only eight teams across the league - one of five in the Western Conference - that have reached that mark. It's an impressive achievement considering we played an abbreviated season last spring which saw the Rockets suit up for only 16 of 22 games. Playing consistent hockey for essentially six months is no small feat when many suggested the team would struggle to earn 30 victories with the loss of marquee d-man Kaedan Korczak and 20 year-old Dillon Hamaliuk to pro hockey.  
• I heard a smart hockey man say this week, 'sometimes you are so close to the glass, you don't see the entire picture'. It is so true. You need to step back sometimes to realize that everything is ok. It's good. This team will be ready and locked in for post season play because they are so darn hard to play against. The coaches scrutinize every move and mistake and are always asking for more. Even as a broadcaster, I get caught up in believing that good isn't good enough. Maybe it's what I've witnessed in the past that concerns me. I remember the 2017-2018 edition of the Kelowna Rockets that won 43 times only to lose an opening round playoff series in four straight to the Tri City Americans. In a blink of an eye, the season was over. Done. The empty feeling of having such a great regular campaign only to exit so quickly left everyone stunned. I don't want this group experiencing what Dillon Dube, Kole Lind, Cal and Nolan Foote and Carsen Twarynski went through when the Americans scored the game winning goal - in game four - with :55 seconds left in the third period. As the higher seed, the Rockets were eliminated.
• Andrew Cristall did it. I didn't think he would, but he is the new franchise leader in goals by a 16 year-old. By putting 26 pucks past WHL goalies this season, he moved past Shane McColgan and Nick Merkley for top spot among raw rookies in the same age group. All three scored their 25th goals against the exact same team - the Vancouver Giants. McColgan set the new record during the 2009-2010 season with his 25th goal in his 70th game. Merkley tied it in his 66th and final game of the regular season in 2013-2014. Cristall did it quicker, taking 58 games to earn goal #25 to tie the record and goal #26 in the same game to break it.  
• It will be interesting to see what type of impact Andrew Cristall makes in the WHL playoffs. Sixteen year-old's often do little, but as we've learned this season, the pride of Burnaby is no ordinary player. Neither was Nick Merkley, who put up 17 points in 14 playoff games as a 16 year-old in the 2014 post season before the Rockets lost out to Portland in five games in the Western Conference final. It was a different story for McColgan though. In his 16 year-old season, despite scoring 25 times, he found the back of the net just once and added three assists in 12 playoff games against Everett and Tri City. I'd suggest the talent pool around Merkley was much better than what Shane McColgan witnessed in the spring of 2010. 
• Who is the Kelowna Rockets most valuable player? If you evaluate performance solely on points and second half production, then Colton Dach is your man. The 19 year-old has 16+36=52 since the team returned from the Christmas break. Take note though, Andrew Cristall has scored the most of anyone on the roster since opening gifts under the Christmas tree with a whopping 20 goals and 50 points. Let's make the waters even muddier when I tell you overage forward Mark Liwiski has the second most goals - 18 - since he enjoyed egg nog with family back in Dauphin, Manitoba in mid-December. If I had my way, it isn't a point producer that would get my MVP vote. It would be a player that prevents goals. Tayln Boyko is my pick. When the 19 year-old arrived on the scene and made his Kelowna Rockets debut back on November 10th against Kamloops, a quiet confidence took over the entire group. 
• When the T-Birds and Rockets meet in the opening round, more players than not will make their WHL playoff debuts. Even veteran players like Mark Liwiski (played in play-in game vs. Kamloops) and Tyson Feist, two 20 year-old's, will be void of any real post season experience. Jake Lee will hit the ice against his old team with 11 games under his belt, all when he was a member of the Seattle Thunderbirds. Lukas Svejkovsky will have the luxury of having the most playoff games on either side - after dressing in 22 games during the Vancouver Giants run to the WHL championship in 2019. 

The bar has been raised

The save!!

Oh my. Wow,. Holy smoke. Terrific. Just some of the words that came out of my mouth last night in watching the Kelowna Rockets rough up the Victoria Royals in a 5-0 win. This was relentless. It was wave upon wave of pressure hockey. The forecheck was as good as I've seen. No player lacked effort. The use of teammates was as good as I've seen and the bar has clearly been raised with this performance. Granted, this was against a lesser opponent, but that's what it should look like if you indeed - quietly - consider yourself a better team. You should be executing and not playing down to the level of the opponent. You should be dictating the play. I'd argue the Rockets were significantly better Saturday night against the Royals then they were a night prior in a 9-2 victory over Prince George. This game should be used as a reference point of how good this team can play. 

• Decision making. It was at about a 9 out of 10 last night. Examples? On the penalty kill, Turner McMillen has a puck deep in the corner. Being pressured, he calmly passes the puck to Jake Lee, who is situated three feet away. Lee, promptly, returns the pass to McMillen who fires the puck all the way down the ice. Small detail right? Like butter, it looks calm, composed, smart and was beautifully executed. Another example? Tyson Feist has the puck at the Rockets blueline. He wants to pass it cross-ice to his d-partner. He second guesses and alertly concludes if the pass is made it will be picked off and an offense chance will be created by the Royals. Instead, the veteran d-man skates up ice on right wing, making the wise play instead of the dangerous one. That was another example of how smart and dialed in the team was in last night's victory. 
• Rookie Jari Kykkanen earned his first career WHL shutout. His best save, while wearing new pads and gloves, came when Royals forward Brayden Schuurman tried to go glove-side on a breakaway  (photo evidence above). Kykkanen made the stop - his best in his young career. It was the Rockets first home ice shutout of the season. The other two have come on the road in Vancouver and Prince George.  
• The Rockets allowed a season low 15 shots on net last night. The previous low was 18. 
• Andrew Cristall, like his team, was playing at his optimum level. Finding the back of the net for his 24th goal of the season, the 16 year-old is one goal shy of the franchise record for goals by a 16 year-old, which is 25, set twice by Nick Merkley and Shane McColgan. Cristall moved past Merkley for points as a 16 year-old. Cristall has 59, Merkley had 58 in year one. McColgan had 69 points as a rookie in 2009-2010. 
• Jake Lee is back!! That's great news for the Rockets and not so good for the opponent. Goals in back-to-back games gives him 16 on the season. Lee is clearly the Rockets D-Man of the Year, edging out Captain Tyson Feist for that honour. The last d-man to score that many goals was Cal Foote, when he found the back of the net 19 times in 2017-2018.
• Colton Dach has 19-multiple point games this season. With 25 goals and 6 more games to play, surely 30 is attainable. I'd be hungry for it. I'd hope he is too.  
• Adam Kydd picks up an assist last night, but his best work was in his own end. His hustle and determination was impressive. I have him easily earning an overage spot with the team next season. And yes, his 11+16=27 in 33 games also doesn't hurt.  
• Finally the Rockets gained some ground in the standings. Seattle doesn't slip often, but a one goal loss in Portland makes the race for 4th place in the Western Conference a smidge tighter. The T-Birds have a 6 point lead with the Rockets having two games in hand.  But we saw this song and dance against Kamloops. The Rockets had games in hand, but didn't take advantage of it. Do they drop the baton again?  They get a mulligan - using a golf term here. If you want to right a wrong, here is your chance!
• The Rockets have points in 15 consecutive home games. The last regulation loss came to the Prince George Cougars (February 16th), who have handed the Rockets two of its 5 losses at home this season.
• The Rockets have scored 5 or more goals 15 times this season on home ice. 
• What's next? It's the Rockets last 'hotel stay' road trip of the regular season when they visit the Prince George Cougars in back-to-back games Tuesday and Wednesday. These are rescheduled games from January 11th and 12th when the Cougars were dealing with COVID.
• Here's one for ya. The last time the Rockets played a game in April up in Prince George was 22 years ago. April 7, 2000 in an opening round playoff series. The crowd that night? Five thousand, 977. Rockets Assistant Coach Quintin Laing played in that game. His 15 year-old son, Hunter, is now a draft pick (2nd round - 33rd overall in 2021) of the Cougars and may play against the Rockets this week.