Kelowna Rockets

Kelowna Rockets
City	Kelowna, British Columbia
League	Western Hockey League
Conference	Western
Division	B.C.
Founded	1991 (1991)
Home arena	Prospera Place
Colours	Teal, Red, Copper, Black, White
Owner(s)	Bruce Hamilton
General manager	Bruce Hamilton
Head coach	Brad Ralph
Championships	WHL Champions 2003, 2005, 2009, 2015 Memorial Cup Champions 2004
Website	KelownaRockets.com
Franchise history
1991–1995	Tacoma Rockets
1995–present	Kelowna Rockets

The Kelowna Rockets are a major junior ice hockey team based in Kelowna, British Columbia. The Rockets play in the Western Hockey League (WHL), out of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). They play their home games at Prospera Place.

From 2002 to 2009, Kelowna competed in the Memorial Cup tournament a record four times, the most of any other CHL team in a seven-year span. The Rockets captured the Memorial Cup for the first time in franchise history in 2004, the same year they were selected to host the event. In 2015, the Rockets returned to the Memorial Cup a fifth time, losing to the Oshawa Generals in the championship final.

Franchise history

Established in 1991, the team began as the Tacoma Rockets, previously playing in Tacoma, Washington, and playing their home games at the Tacoma Dome. Prior to the 1995–96 season, the team relocated to Kelowna, playing their home games at the city's Memorial Arena. Following the 1998–99 season, they moved into their then-new home arena, Prospera Place. The team's logo pays tribute to the famed Ogopogo monster, of the Okanagan Lake.

1991–94: Early years

See also: Tacoma Rockets

Former Tacoma Rockets logo. Used 1991–94.

The 1991–92 season marks the first season of the Rockets in Tacoma, Washington. Playing in one of North America's largest hockey arenas, the Tacoma Dome, the expansion Rockets blasted their way to one of the most memorable inaugural seasons in the 25-year history of the WHL. Attendance of 14,975 and 15,240 at two heated contests against their then arch rival, the Seattle Thunderbirds, assisted the Rockets in chalking up the highest per game average for a first year expansion team under CHL oversight.

In 1992–93, the Rockets startled everyone in the League by winning 24-straight home games for an all-time WHL record. Tacoma held first place in the West Division for three months and finished with a promising 45–27–0 record. In addition to the winning streak, the Rockets' home record of 30–6–0 and collecting 37 more points than the previous year, proved them serious contenders in the WHL. Once again the Rockets' attendance of 13,769 saw them defeat the Seattle Thunderbirds 4–2 in win number 24 and marked the third-largest crowd in the history of the WHL. Three Rockets ultimately won honours as best in the WHL West — goaltender Jeff Calvert as Most Valuable Player, Michal Sykora as Most Valuable Player and Jamie Black as Most Sportsmanlike Player.

The 1993–94 season marked a year of transition for the Rockets, with the graduation of high-scoring veteran Allan Egeland, solid forward Trever Fraser and goaltender Jeff Calvert. The Rockets' third season also boasted the presence of some of the League's top rookies and a solid base of nine National Hockey League (NHL)-drafted players; six alone were selected in 1994, bringing the total to 13 Rockets drafted in the short span of three seasons. Rockets eventually finished third in the West with a 33–34–5 record.

With a strong finish in the 1993–94 season, the Rockets strove to compete at a higher level of excellence. They began their third season boasting impressive size in defence and the strength of nine NHL prospects. The team also added the skill and talent of one of Europe's top young forwards, Vaclav Varada, who scored 50 points and tied the team's rookie scoring record. Todd MacDonald, a 1993 Florida Panthers draft choice, became the team's top goaltender and was nominated for the position's best in the West award. Veteran Dallas Thompson was named team captain, and the total make-up of the team's roster ultimately propelled the Rockets to a second-place finish in the West.

1995–2004: New ownership

The 1995–96 season saw significant change to the entire Rockets organization: not only the loss of defenceman Alexander Alexeev and captain Dallas Thompson due to age, but the decision to relocate the Rockets to Kelowna, British Columbia. After long deliberation and consideration for the City of Tacoma and the many dedicated fans who supported the Rockets, the 22,000-seat Tacoma Dome was no longer a long-term viable home for the Rockets. Key dates became more difficult to secure, leaving the Rockets in search of home ice for playoffs at the end of each regular season. No future of change for the poor sightlines in the arena brought the Rockets organization to the conclusion the team needed to be moved. There were several viable choices prospected; however, Kelowna's rich history in hockey and the prospect of a new arena made Kelowna the natural choice. With the Rockets' relocation came the acquisition of talent in the form of future first-round NHL draft pick Kyle McLaren and fifth-round pick Dale Purinton, as well as the hometown players Jason Deleurme, Ronny Grimmard and Trevor Lornson.

2004: Memorial Cup Champions

Further information: 2004 Memorial Cup

Kelowna qualified for three-straight Memorial Cup tournaments in the years 2003, 2004 and 2005. They won the Memorial Cup for the first time in franchise history in 2004, coincidentally the same year they were selected to host the event.

Fans lined up outside Prospera Place for hours to witness the 2–1 victory for Kelowna in the Memorial Cup's championship game. Every game of the tournament was a sell-out, and an enthusiastic host city cheered wildly as their home team claimed their first Memorial Cup victory in franchise history. The Rockets are the first team since the Ottawa 67's in 1999 to win the Cup on home ice, and the victory marked the second time the Cup's host team has gone undefeated in the tournament, the first being when the Kamloops Blazers hosted and went undefeated in 1995.

Justin Keller scored the game-winning goal late in the third period to defeat Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) champion Gatineau Olympiques. Despite numerous chances on both ends of the ice through the first two periods of play, neither team could find the back of the net until the third. With six-and-a-half minutes gone in the third and Gatineau on the power-play, Jean-Michel Daoust slapped a pass to Guillaume Fournier, who tipped the puck past Rocketes goaltender Kelly Guard for his first of the tournament. Less than four minutes later, however, Kelowna tied the game after a rebound from a Brett Palin slap shot went straight to Randall Gelech, who chipped it in past Gatineau goaltender David Tremblay for his third of the tournament. Kelowna had a chance to take the lead just seconds later, but the shot hit the post.

With 13:38 left to play in the period, Justin Keller streaked in from the right side and tucked the puck between the pads of Tremblay, bringing the largest-ever crowd to attend Kelowna's Prospera Place to their feet. After the game, the CHL announced that more than 1.2 million viewers tuned into Rogers Sportsnet and RDS coverage of the championship tournament, including 410,000 for the final game.

Coincidentally, the Rockets also set the WHL record for fewest goals allowed in a season in 2003–04.

2009: Return to the Cup

Further information: 2009 Memorial Cup

For the fourth time in seven years, the Rockets would play in a Memorial Cup tournament, an appearance record only bettered by the New Westminster Bruins' four appearances in four seasons. Prior to the tournament, during the 2009 WHL playoffs, Kelowna captured the Ed Chynoweth Cup with a 4–2 WHL championship series win over the Calgary Hitmen.

With this series win, the Rockets claimed a spot in the 2009 Memorial Cup tournament, which was hosted in Rimouski, Quebec. In the early stages of the tournament, Kelowna had great success, clinching a spot in the Final. Seeking to find their franchise's second cup title in five years, the Rockets, however, could not convert a win, and as a result, the Ontario Hockey League (OHL)'s Windsor Spitfires went on as 2009 Memorial Cup champions.

2015: Return to the Cup 2

Further information: 2015 Memorial Cup

After five years of failing to qualify for the Memorial Cup, the Rockets broke the slump in 2015 after defeating the Brandon Wheat Kings 4–0 in the WHL finals. They went on to record one win and two losses in the tournament, clinching a spot in the tournament semi-finals. The Rockets then routed the Quebec Remparts 9–3 in the semi-finals, setting-up a game against the Oshawa Generals. Kelowna and Oshawa played hard and forced an overtime. Kelowna then lost the game when Anthony Cirelli, only 1 minute 28 seconds into overtime, banged in a rebound from Carlisle against Jackson Whistle.

Team uniforms

Current uniforms.

Logo used from 1995–96 to 1999-2000

Since 2000, the Rockets' uniforms have featured a logo resembling the legendary Okanagan Lake monster, Ogopogo. Their current third jersey features the monster's head, taken from their shoulder patch design. The team's colours are jaguar teal, athletic red, copper gold, orange sun, black and white. In 2009, their jerseys were slightly modified to fit the Reebok Edge system.

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Points	Finish	Playoffs
1995–96	72	35	33	4	–	338	309	74	4th West	Lost Western Conference quarter-final
1996–97	72	35	35	2	–	298	314	72	4th West	Lost Western Conference quarter-final
1997–98	72	33	35	4	–	234	253	70	5th West	Lost Western Conference quarter-final
1998–99	72	25	42	5	–	224	282	55	6th West	Lost Western Conference quarter-final
1999–00	72	25	40	4	3	193	228	57	5th West	Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2000–01	72	37	23	7	5	259	240	86	1st West	Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2001–02	72	31	26	10	5	257	232	77	4th B.C.	Lost Western Conference final
2002–03	72	51	14	6	1	311	164	109	1st B.C.	Won Championship; Lost Memorial Cup semi-final
2003–04	72	47	21	4	0	185	125	98	1st B.C.	Lost Western Conference final; Won Memorial Cup
2004–05	72	45	13	12	2	215	139	104	2nd B.C.	Won Championship; Lost Memorial Cup round robin
2005–06	72	46	22	1	3	243	188	96	2nd B.C.	Lost Western Conference semi-final
2006–07	72	22	41	5	2	156	245	53	5th B.C.	Out of playoffs
2007–08	72	38	26	2	6	248	215	84	2nd B.C.	Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2008–09	72	47	21	1	3	267	178	98	2nd B.C.	Won Championship; Lost Memorial Cup final
2009–10	72	35	31	2	4	224	225	76	2nd B.C.	Lost Western Conference semi-final
2010–11	72	43	28	0	1	240	201	87	1st B.C.	Lost Western Conference semi-final
2011–12	72	31	31	4	6	217	242	72	3rd B.C.	Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2012–13	72	52	16	3	1	309	178	108	1st B.C.	Lost Western Conference semi-final
2013–14	72	57	11	0	4	310	182	118	1st B.C.	Lost Western Conference final
2014–15	72	53	13	5	1	305	183	112	1st B.C.	Won Championship; Lost Memorial Cup final

WHL Championship history

• 2002–03: Win, 4–2 vs. Red Deer
• 2004–05: Win, 4–1 vs. Brandon
• 2008–09: Win, 4–2 vs. Calgary
• 2014–15: Win, 4–0 vs. Brandon

Memorial Cup finals history

• 2004: Win, 2–1 vs. Gatineau
• 2009: Loss, 1–4 vs. Windsor
• 2015: Loss, 1–2 vs. Oshawa

Current roster

Updated February 1, 2016.

#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace	Drafted
24		Tyson Baillie (A)	C	R	29	2010	Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta	Undrafted
4		Gordon Ballhorn	D	L	27	2012	Wetaskiwin, Alberta	Undrafted
11		Jordan Borstmayer	RW	R	26	2013	St. Brieux, Saskatchewan	Eligible 2016
14		Rourke Chartier	C	L	28	2011	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan	2014, 149th Overall, SJS
22		Braydyn Chizen	D	R	26	2013	St. Albert, Alberta	Eligible 2016
18		Tate Coughlin	RW	R	27	2012	Victoria, British Columbia	Undrafted
19		Dillon Dubé	RW	L	26	2013	Golden, British Columbia	Eligible 2016
25		Callan Foote	D	L	26	2013	Englewood, Colorado	Eligible 2017
5		Danny Gatenby	D	L	26	2013	Kelowna, British Columbia	Eligible 2017
28		Joe Gatenby (A)	D	R	27	2012	Kelowna, British Columbia	Undrafted
30		Michael Herringer	G	L	28	2014	Comox, British Columbia	Undrafted
7		Lucas Johansen	D	L	27	2012	Port Moody, British Columbia	Eligible 2016
23		Justin Kirkland	LW	L	28	2011	Camrose, Alberta	2014, 62nd Overall, NSH
26		Cole Linaker	C	R	29	2010	Edmonton, Alberta	Undrafted
16		Kole Lind	RW	R	26	2013	Shaunavon, Saskatchewan	Eligible 2017
10		Nick Merkley	C	R	27	2012	Calgary, Alberta	2015, 30th Overall, ARZ
31		Brodan Salmond	G	L	26	2013	Calgary, Alberta	Eligible 2017
6		Jonathan Smart	D	R	25	2014	Kelowna, British Columbia	Eligible 2017
15		Tomas Soustal	C	R	27	2014	Sternberk, Czech Republic	Undrafted
17		Rodney Southam (C)	RW	R	28	2014	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan	Undrafted
3		Riley Stadel	D	L	28	2011	Surrey, British Columbia	Undrafted
21		Devante Stephens	D	L	27	2012	White Rock, British Columbia	2015, 122nd Overall, BUF
27		Calvin Thürkauf	C	L	27	2015	Zug, Switzerland	Undrafted
1		Jackson Whistle Injured Reserve	G	L	29	2012	Kelowna, British Columbia	Undrafted
9		Tanner Wishnowski	LW	R	27	2012	Cooks Creek, Manitoba	Undrafted

Team records

Team records for a single season
Statistic	Total	Season
Most points	118	2013–14
Most wins	57	2013–14
Most goals for	338	1995–96
Least goals for	156	2006–07
Least goals against	125	2003–04
Most goals against	314	1996–97

Individual player records for a single season
Statistic	Player	Total	Season
Most goals	John Varga	60	1993–94
Most assists	Allan Egeland	76	1993–94
Most points	Allan Egeland	123	1993–94
Most points, rookie	Shane McColgan	69	2009–10
Most points, defenceman	Burt Henderson	74	1995–96
Best GAA (goalie)	Kelly Guard	1.56	2003–04
Goalies = minimum 1500 minutes played

NHL alumni

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Franchise scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed WHL regular season.

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	P/G
Brett McLean	C	308	166	209	375	1.22
John Varga	LW	254	154	179	333	1.31
Jason Deleurme	RW	341	141	172	313	.92
Allan Egeland	C	213	138	172	310	1.46
Marty Flichel	RW	269	101	200	301	1.12
Kiel McLeod	C	290	123	138	261	.90
Ryan Wade	C/RW	303	124	131	255	.84
Tyler Mosienko	C	338	81	151	232	.69
Tyson Barrie	D	256	51	177	228	.89
Colin Long	C	229	76	147	223	.97
Updated at the completion of the 2014–15 season

See also

• Tacoma Rockets
• 2004 Memorial Cup
• List of ice hockey teams in British Columbia

External links

• Official website of the Kelowna Rockets
• Official website of the Western Hockey League
• Official website of the Canadian Hockey League

Preceded by Kitchener Rangers

Memorial Cup Champions 2003–04

Succeeded by London Knights