Rockets Science

The Kelowna Rockets played .500 hockey on its eventful road trip through the Western Hockey League’s East Division. After three wins in six starts, the team returned to the Okanagan Valley and now it’s time for the Christmas break in the WHL schedule.

Or, perhaps these few days off are simply the calm before the storm?

The Jan. 10 trade deadline looms on the horizon and WHL teams are readying for the very busy second half of the regular season.

Six games in nine nights
The Rockets began its run through the East Division on Dec. 8 with a raucous 7-5 win in Regina over the Pats, then followed up the next night with a 7-4 loss in Brandon to the Wheat Kings.

Erik Gardiner

The two games marked perhaps the most complete lineup the Rockets have been able to dress all season long with almost every key player suiting up. The only glaring absence was forward Eric Gardiner, who remains sidelined with an upper body injury presumed to be concussion-related.

The Rockets 6-3 loss in Moose Jaw to the Warriors was the first of four games in five nights and Kelowna played without the dynamic trio of Kole Lind, Dillon Dube and defenceman Cal Foote. These core members of the team were invited to the Hockey Canada selection camp in St. Catharines, Ontario for the 2018 World Junior Championship.

Dillon Dube

Without the threesome in the lineup the next night in Swift Current against the Broncos, the Rockets were a lackluster group and dropped a 5-1 decision, its third loss in five nights against East Division foes.

A couple of days later it was confirmed that Dube, 19, who played for Team Canada at the WJC a year ago and earned a silver medal, along with Cal Foote, were named to the national junior team.

Cal Foote

Dube and Foote are gone until at least Jan. 5 when the WJC in Buffalo, NY ends. And, because it is customary for most teams to provide its players a few extra days off upon their return to junior, the pair is likely unavailable until about Jan. 12. If this is the case, the Rockets will play at least seven games without both Dube and Foote in the lineup.

For Lind, the outcome was less favourable as the 19-year-old from Shaunavon, Saskatchewan was among the first wave of cuts made on Dec. 14. Selected in the second round, 33rd overall by the Vancouver Canucks at the 2017 NHL Draft, the verdict at the selection camp was a bitter pill for Lind, although he chose to term it as “heartbreaking”.

Kole Lind

Upon his release by Hockey Canada, he traveled from St. Catharines to Prince Albert in time to suit up for the Rockets on Dec. 15, where he proceeded to score three times in a 7-4 win to give Kelowna a chance to salvage a .500 record on its eastern swing. A 5-0 win in Saskatoon against the Blades on Dec. 16, where Lind chipped in with three assists, moved the Rockets into a first place tie in the B.C. Division with the Victoria Royals.

Both teams have 43 points, but Kelowna enters the Christmas break having played 34 games. Victoria has played 36 times. Kelowna has compiled a record of 20-11-2-1, while Victoria has gone 20-13-3. Both teams return to action with home games on Dec. 27.

Kelowna started the current campaign with a 4-4-1-1 record through it first ten games, an improvement over last season when the team came out of the gate at 3-7 through its first ten. In its last 24 games, Kelowna has posted a run of 16-7-1. The Rockets are 9-3 against divisional opponents.

Second half schedule
When the Rockets return to action after the Christmas break, the team will have 38 games remaining, including three in December.

In January (13) and February (14), Kelowna will experience its busiest portion of the regular season. They conclude their schedule with eight games in March.

The Rockets will face B.C. Division opponents a total of 20 times, with 11 games at Prospera Place and nine on the road. Of its final 22 games of the season, 15 will be played against division rivals.

Next up for the Rockets is a Dec. 27 engagement at Prospera Place with the Kamloops Blazers, then the return match in Kamloops two nights later on Dec. 29. The Victoria Royals visit Kelowna on Dec. 30.

VS the B.C. Division
While the oft heard assertion from coaching staffs suggests there are no easy games, evidence confirms Kelowna has certainly had its way with divisional rivals over the last five seasons.

It’s not even close.

Based on rudimentary calculations from the WHL media website, the Rockets have compiled a regular season record of 144-67-10-4 against B.C. Division teams over the past five years. The records against division rivals are outlined below:

vs Victoria Royals: 28-23-3. Victoria has won two of three against Kelowna this season. The teams meet five more times, with three games in Kelowna and two in Victoria.

vs Kamloops Blazers: 37-19-2-2. Kelowna has won both starts against Kamloops this season. The teams have not met since late September, but will play six more times – three games in each city.

vs Prince George Cougars: 36-16-3-1. Kelowna has won all four games against the Cougars this season with two home and two road decisions. The teams meet four more times, twice in each city.

vs Vancouver Giants: 43-8-2-1. The Rockets have won two of three so far this season against an improving Giants team. However, the Rockets have padded their stats to a large degree against Vancouver in recent years. The teams play five more times this season with three games in Kelowna.

(Editor’s Note: There is a very slight possibility for an error in OTL and SOL calculations, which will be conveniently blamed on the agonizing reality that “loser points” exist.)

Trade deadline
Kelowna will make the playoffs again this season without altering its current roster.

A favourable seeding will likely ensure playoff gates through the first two rounds. That’s valuable annual revenue generation. Many teams across the WHL have not been able to consistently generate multiple playoff gates each season. The Rockets continue to achieve this organizational success.

Regarding player movement in the coming days, it is difficult to determine what the Rockets might feel they need. There is veteran depth on the blueline, with plenty of youngsters gaining valuable playing experience. Offensively, Kelowna is the fifth highest scoring team in the WHL.

Perhaps the roster could use some more veteran depth and muscle, either up front or on the backend? But how much of the future is the organization willing to give up? It’s all speculation until any deals are announced.

Suffice to say there are many pieces in play across the WHL, including the elite talent playing at the World Junior Championship.

Who will be the “buyers” and “sellers”?

Scoring derby
While the Rockets are among the league leaders in team scoring, they do not have a player among the top 20 scorers in the WHL.

Carsen Twarynski

In the 25 games he has appeared, Lind has scored 16 goals and added 26 assists for 42 points. He led the team last season and is headed in the same direction this year.

In 27 games, Dillon Dube has produced 18 goals and 21 assists for 39 points.

Carsen Twarynski, 20, leads the team with 24 goals in 31 games.

Kyle Topping

Kyle Topping, 18, who is one of three Rockets to play in all 34 games, has chipped in offensively with 13 goals and 23 assists to provide important depth scoring.

Leif Mattson, 18, who missed much of the early going with an injury, has scored nine goals and 12 assists in 25 games.

The aforementioned Gardiner, 18, was scoring at a point-per-game clip before being sidelined.

Cal Foote is the top scoring rearguard with six goals and 24 assists in 30 games.

Nolan Foote

Player to watch
Forward Nolan Foote will be an interesting player to watch during the second half of the season.

He produced 19 goals and 16 assists in 52 games as a 16-year-old rookie last season, yet his offensive production has been somewhat inconsistent this year. He has been held pointless in 15 of 30 games, collecting 10 goals and nine assists. He has a plus-5 rating and has accumulated 23 penalty minutes.

Perhaps he simply punched above his weight class slightly last season, but he does remain a very capable, gifted forward. In fairness, the youngster celebrated his 17th birthday just a couple of weeks ago on Nov. 29.

Nolan Foote is certain to be a highly-touted prospect for the 2019 NHL Draft. If he can elevate his game during the second half of the season, the Rockets will be better for his contribution.

The cage match

James Porter

James Porter has taken over as the team’s starter in goal. Porter, 17, has compiled a 13-5-2 record in 24 appearances, along with a 3.49 goals against average and a .895 save percentage. Though his numbers are not awe inspiring and, as mentioned previously in this space, Porter has gained the confidence of the players in front of him.

Roman Basran

The team defence was not great during the majority of the recent eastern swing, as the Rockets allowed 27 goals in the first five games. In the sixth and final game on Dec. 16, Porter blanked the Saskatoon Blades 5-0 for his first career shutout, but he surrendered 13 goals in his three other starts and was chased in both Regina and Brandon.

Behind Porter is 16-year-old Roman Basran, now 4-2 in seven appearances. The lanky netminder is certainly pushing Porter at this point. Basran has compiled a 2.62 goals against average and a .915 save percentage.

Basran was outstanding in relief of Porter in Regina, but surrendered four of five third period goals in a 6-3 loss in Moose Jaw after the Rockets entered the final frame leading 3-1.

While the future certainly looks bright with Porter and Basran continuing to develop into capable WHLers, the current edition of the Rockets may indeed be lending credence to the notion that the best defence is a great offence.

Rockets Fuel…
The Rockets have won ten straight games on home ice, the longest current home winning streak in the WHL…Through 34 games, Kelowna has scored 136 goals, good for an average of four per outing. On the flip side, the Rockets have given up 122 goals, an average of 3.59 per game…The team is 11-3-0-1 at home and 9-8-2 on the road…Against teams outside the B.C. Division, Kelowna is 11-8-2-1…In 147 power play opportunities so far, the Rockets have scored 42 times, good for a 28.6% proficiency. That’s third overall among the 22 WHL teams, behind only Swift Current (33.8%) and Lethbridge (29.1%)…On home ice, the Rockets power play is 18-for-65, tops among B.C. Division teams and fourth overall…Away from home, Kelowna is 24-for-82, good for fourth overall in the league…Kelowna has surrendered 38 power play goals, sporting the 13th best penalty kill in the ‘Dub at 76.7%…The Rockets have been efficient front runners this season. When leading after the first period, Kelowna is 11-1-0-1 and when ahead after 40 minutes, the Rockets are 15-1-0-1. However, the Rockets are 1-10-2 when trailing after two periods…The Rockets have scored nine shorthanded goals, second best overall, and have given up four shorties…Topping, 20-year-old defenceman Gordie Ballhorn and rookie import blueliner Libor Zabransky have played in all 34 games so far this season…The Rockets longest undefeated streak of the season is six games. The longest run without a win is five games…The Rockets have attracted over 5,000 fans for five of its last seven games at Prospera Place.