Rockets the Road to Now

A Recap of the 2014-15 Season

Before the puck was dropped for the Kelowna Rockets’ first Western Hockey League game last season there were many questions needing to be answered. The most pressing was how would all the holes be filled?

The defending regular-season champions were now missing goaltender Jordan Cooke, the previous season’s team MVP; Myles Bell, the team’s top scorer for the past two seasons; Damon Severson, an NHL calibre defenceman; and Ryan Huska, their head coach of the past seven years.

The New Boss

Dan Lambert took the helm for his rookie season as a WHL head coach, stepping up from the assistant position under Ryan Huska.

He started his WHL career with a decisive 6-1 win over the Kamloops Blazers and finished it with an overtime loss to the Oshawa Generals in the Memorial Cup final. Lambert has moved on to take an assistant coach position with the Buffalo Sabres. Under his guidance the Rockets finished with 112 points in the regular season.

The Captain, Madison Bowey

One of areas where the Rockets looked strong on paper was in the back end and second-year captain, Madison Bowey, drove home that point on his return from the Washington Capitals’ camp. He scored 11 points in his first four games and finished the season with 60 points and a plus-38 in 58 games.

Drafted by Washington Capitals in the second round (53rd overall) of the NHL entry draft in 2013, he’s not expected back in the Rockets lineup for the 2015-16 season.

The Departed

Last season was an unusual one for the Rockets in that, uncharacteristically, there were lots of trades.

The first player to find a new home during the season was Carter Rigby, a former rookie-of-the-year for the Rockets, and a winner of the Rockets’ humanitarian-of-the-year” award.

He had a big night against the visiting Swift Current Broncos with two goals and one assist. That was good enough to interest the Broncos in taking him with them after the game. Jesse Lees, Dalton Yorke, Kris Schmidli, Colton Heffley, and Austin Glover were also traded during the year.

A Difference Maker

The Rockets added many new faces to the lineup in the season, but none bigger than Leon Draisaitl.

The German native, and a 2014 first-round pick (third overall) of the Edmonton Oilers, joined the Rockets at the trade deadline after being sent down by Oilers to the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders. He was subsequently traded to the Rockets.

Draisaitl played 32 regular-season games, scoring 19 goals and amassing 53 points in 32 games. He was named the Memorial Cup MVP. He too isn’t expected to return to the Rockets’ lineup as a 20-year-old.

The Prince Albert Connection

Josh Morrissey was the other big name to join the Rockets from Prince Albert. He played as a defence partner with Madison Bowey on the gold medal-winning Canadian World Juniors team. Signed by the Winnipeg Jets, he also isn’t expected to return to the Rockets as a 20-year-old.

Also coming from Prince Albert was Gage Quinney, who was one of the big surprises for the Rockets in the regular season, the playoffs and at the Memorial Cup.

Adding a Character Guy

Acquired from the Tri-City Americans for a conditional draft pick, Rodney Southam, a former teammate of Rourke Chartier, quickly became a favourite of the fans and his teammates.

Southam scored seven goals, added 11 assists and recorded 75 penalty minutes in 53 games with the Rockets.

When the Going Gets Rough

The Rockets’ main strength was a skill game, but with that said, there were enough Rockets ready to step up when their opponents tried to intimidate them.

Riley Stadel, the converted D-man to winger, is a big case in point. Stadel racked up 77 penalty minutes, one more than tough guy Tyrell Goulbourne.

The Weird and Wacky

Jake Morrissey, brother to Josh, met Saskatoon Blades goaltender, Nik Amundrud, at centre ice to join in the melee.

Both goalies were given five for fighting and game misconducts. That forced the Rockets to bring in backup goaltender Sam Bobyn‚ the 17-year-old son of team doctor, Mike Bobyn, to finish out the game.

The most surprising aspect of the night was that both Rockets’ main goaltenders had been sidelined with injury, pressing Bobyn into service.

Just Relax, We Got Your Back

Dressed to sit on the bench as backup, Bobyn, a Kelowna Minor Hockey Association graduate, faced just two shots in the final 11-plus minutes of work.

Rourke Chartier skated him to the crease letting him know that they had his back and to enjoy the moment.

Do Two Nicks Equal a Scrap

Two very unlikely combatants, Nick Merkley and Nic Petan, finished sixth and seventh respectively in WHL scoring and were relied on heavily for their offensive prowess.

Merkley, who would be drafted in the first round by the Arizona Coyotes, led the Rockets with 90 points in his sophomore year. Paired with Rourke Chartier, the two formed a dynamic duo.

The Goal Scorer

Nick Merkley set them up and Rourke Chartier knocked them down.

The two formed quite the combination. If not for injuries they likely would have finished No. 1 and 2 in the WHL scoring, positions they held for quite a while. Chartier became the first Rocket to score 40 goals in 40 games and he finished the season with 48 goals in 58 games.

The Policeman

Tyrell Goulbourne had a well-earned reputation of being a very tough player who opponents would rather not find out just how tough he really was on a personal level.

Riding shotgun for the dynamic duo, Goulbourne not only gave Merkley and Chartier room to weave their magic, but his speed and offensive skill complemented what became known as the GMC line. Many a night the other team left the ice feeling like they had been run over by a truck.

Mr. Depenable

Where to start with Cole Martin, the kid from Texas?

He played four seasons with the Rockets and missed only eight games in that span. Martin was a plus-143 over the four seasons and had his best offensive year in his 20-year- old season, scoring seven goals and adding 32 assists.

The seven goals more than doubled his previous three-year total (three). And very few players got by him with the puck and in on the goaltender.

Between the Pipes

Taking over the No. 1 role from Jordan Cooke was a tough act to follow, but Jackson Whistle stepped up big time in goal, playing in 50 games, recording 34 wins, four of them with shutouts.

Opportunity Knocks

Michael Herringer is proof that taking advantage of the opportunity put in front of you can make a world of difference.

Prior to his trade from the Saskatoon Blades via the Victoria Royals, he played only one game and part of another in three WHL seasons. With the Rockets he played 14 games, winning 11 and recording two shutouts. A product of Comox, B.C., Herringer finished off every playoff series with the win other than the WHL final.

The Fans

The fans of Prospera Place have been spoiled of late.

It’s been three consecutive seasons now that the Rockets have posted 100-point-plus points in the regular season. They’ve won two WHL regular-season titles and a league championship in the process, while icing some of the best players in the league.

The Rockets Win the WHL Championship

Finishing second overall in the regular season, two points back of the Brandon Wheat Kings, the Rockets swept the Wheaties in four straight games, with the final victory taking place at Prospera Place.

Click the image below to view the Rockets winning the WHL Championship.

The Memorial Cup

The Rockets, making their fifth appearance at the Memorial Cup (they won it in 2004), had a rather rough time in the round robin portion of the tournament in Quebec City.

They won only one of three games, but that was good enough two earn a berth in the semifinal against the host Quebec Remparts.

The Semi-Final

In a wild one, the Rockets knocked off the Remparts 9-3 to earn a trip to the Memorial Cup final against the Oshawa Generals. The semifinal game was marred by angry fans littering the ice with beer, popcorn and whatever they could find to throw.

The Final Game of the Season

When it was all over the Rockets were one goal short of winning the Memorial Cup, falling 2-1 to Oshawa in overtime.

Five of the top 10 players in scoring at the tournament were Rockets. Leon Draisaitl, selected as the most valuable player, finished with seven points, while Tyson Baillie and Madison Bowey had six to go along with five apiece from Gage Quinney and Nick Merkley.

Every Ending is a New Beginning

Rourke Chartier leads the team in the handshake congratulating the Generals followed by Rodney Southam, two of the players that will likely lead the Rockets on the quest for the Memorial Cup of 2016.