Rockets Director of Player Personnel Lorne Frey is in Calgary for Thursday's Western Hockey League bantam draft.
Frey says he has decided on one of two players he will select with the Rockets second pick overall in round #1.
Obviously I am not at liberty to say who those two players are, but Frey believes both will be impact players in 3 years time.
That means at 17 they should be more than just a 4th line player - a Justin Keller type - who scored 25 goals as a seventeen year-old rookie.
Frey says you can expect more American born players than ever before taken in this draft with the majority being selected in the later rounds.
Frey says he has decided on one of two players he will select with the Rockets second pick overall in round #1.
Obviously I am not at liberty to say who those two players are, but Frey believes both will be impact players in 3 years time.
That means at 17 they should be more than just a 4th line player - a Justin Keller type - who scored 25 goals as a seventeen year-old rookie.
Frey says you can expect more American born players than ever before taken in this draft with the majority being selected in the later rounds.
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Portland Winter Hawks fans don't despair.
Word out of Calgary - the site of the WHL bantam draft - has the Hawks still in the mix in persuading highly touted Luke Moffatt from signing a players contract with that team.
Last week it was reported that Moffatt gave the Hawks the cold shoulder when he was approached by the team outlining their intentions on selecting him with the first pick overall.
If the Hawks do pick Moffatt you can be guaranteed he'll quickly be in the Hawks lineup for a series of exhibition and regular season games.
If Moffatt infact is struggling with the idea of major junior, it would be in the best interest of the team that draft's him to put him into game action right away, or in essence slamming the door shut on him venturing off to play U.S College hockey.
As an underage player, WHL team's can play a 15 year-old in just 5 regular season games.
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WHL teams are busy these days talking to parents of players eligible for Thursday's draft.
Team's obviously want a commitment from the parents that their kid will play in their organization if they are selected in the draft.
Yet Lorne Frey tells me sometimes it's the parents who you don't make contact with that prove to be a help rather than a hindrance.
Tyler Myers is a great example.
The Rockets never talked to the kid because they didn't think he'd even be around when they pick him in the 1st round in 2005.
Myers dad was so impressed that the Rockets just left the family alone that when he was picked to play in Kelowna, his dad had no hesitation in allowing his son to play in K-Town.
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I spoke to an Eastern WHL scout in Calgary about the chances of Luke Moffatt being the first player selected in Thursday's draft.
He said, "Even Ray Charles could find this guy".
That should tell you that Moffatt is the consensus #1 of players eligible.
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In an earlier blog I detailed the career of Brock Trotter, a Manitoba kid who was on the Rockets 50 man protected list who is now playing at the University of Denver.
Frey told me that Trotter attended the Rockets training camp at 16, but in the best interest of the player the coaching staff at the time thought it would best if he played a year of hockey closer to home to develop and mature.
I guess Trotter was in tears when the Rockets told him they didn't have room for him back then.
He really wanted to play major junior!
One year later the Rockets had room for Trotter but this time the tables were turned and it was the player-not the team that said no.
Trotter went on to play in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League in Dauphin before playing in the U.S Hockey League.
This past season he led the U of D in scoring. No wonder the Rockets have carried a significant number of 16 year-old on it's roster over the last couple of years.
Had they done that with Trotter in 2002-2003, he'd be an overage with the hockey club this upcoming season.
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The Edmonton Sun has a list of who they think are the top 12 players for Thursday's draft:
1) Luke Moffatt, forward, Phoenix, Arizona
2)Kevin Sundher, forward, Burnaby, B.C.
3) Mark Pysyk, Defenceman, Edmonton
4) Brad Ross, forward, Lethbridge
5) Alex Theriau, defenceman, Burnaby, B.C.
6) Connor Redmond, forward, Burnaby, B.C.
7) Charles Inglis, forward, Winnipeg
8) Ryan Aasman, defenceman, Medicine Hat
9) Brent Martin, forward, Spruce Grove
10) Eric Fleming, forward, Airdrie
11) Quinton Howden, forward, Winnipeg
12) Duane Muench, forward, Saskatoon
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Former Rocket Brent Howarth is off the Royal Bank Cup in Prince George. The 20 year-old and his Manitoba Hockey League Champion Selkirk Steelers beat the SJHL Champion Humboldt Broncos last night in the 4th overtime capturing the Anavet Cup in the 7th and deciding game.
Last night's marathon game ended at 12:50 am local time.
Portland Winter Hawks fans don't despair.
Word out of Calgary - the site of the WHL bantam draft - has the Hawks still in the mix in persuading highly touted Luke Moffatt from signing a players contract with that team.
Last week it was reported that Moffatt gave the Hawks the cold shoulder when he was approached by the team outlining their intentions on selecting him with the first pick overall.
If the Hawks do pick Moffatt you can be guaranteed he'll quickly be in the Hawks lineup for a series of exhibition and regular season games.
If Moffatt infact is struggling with the idea of major junior, it would be in the best interest of the team that draft's him to put him into game action right away, or in essence slamming the door shut on him venturing off to play U.S College hockey.
As an underage player, WHL team's can play a 15 year-old in just 5 regular season games.
________________________________
WHL teams are busy these days talking to parents of players eligible for Thursday's draft.
Team's obviously want a commitment from the parents that their kid will play in their organization if they are selected in the draft.
Yet Lorne Frey tells me sometimes it's the parents who you don't make contact with that prove to be a help rather than a hindrance.
Tyler Myers is a great example.
The Rockets never talked to the kid because they didn't think he'd even be around when they pick him in the 1st round in 2005.
Myers dad was so impressed that the Rockets just left the family alone that when he was picked to play in Kelowna, his dad had no hesitation in allowing his son to play in K-Town.
______________________________
I spoke to an Eastern WHL scout in Calgary about the chances of Luke Moffatt being the first player selected in Thursday's draft.
He said, "Even Ray Charles could find this guy".
That should tell you that Moffatt is the consensus #1 of players eligible.
_______________________________
In an earlier blog I detailed the career of Brock Trotter, a Manitoba kid who was on the Rockets 50 man protected list who is now playing at the University of Denver.
Frey told me that Trotter attended the Rockets training camp at 16, but in the best interest of the player the coaching staff at the time thought it would best if he played a year of hockey closer to home to develop and mature.
I guess Trotter was in tears when the Rockets told him they didn't have room for him back then.
He really wanted to play major junior!
One year later the Rockets had room for Trotter but this time the tables were turned and it was the player-not the team that said no.
Trotter went on to play in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League in Dauphin before playing in the U.S Hockey League.
This past season he led the U of D in scoring. No wonder the Rockets have carried a significant number of 16 year-old on it's roster over the last couple of years.
Had they done that with Trotter in 2002-2003, he'd be an overage with the hockey club this upcoming season.
___________________________________
The Edmonton Sun has a list of who they think are the top 12 players for Thursday's draft:
1) Luke Moffatt, forward, Phoenix, Arizona
2)Kevin Sundher, forward, Burnaby, B.C.
3) Mark Pysyk, Defenceman, Edmonton
4) Brad Ross, forward, Lethbridge
5) Alex Theriau, defenceman, Burnaby, B.C.
6) Connor Redmond, forward, Burnaby, B.C.
7) Charles Inglis, forward, Winnipeg
8) Ryan Aasman, defenceman, Medicine Hat
9) Brent Martin, forward, Spruce Grove
10) Eric Fleming, forward, Airdrie
11) Quinton Howden, forward, Winnipeg
12) Duane Muench, forward, Saskatoon
____________________________________
Former Rocket Brent Howarth is off the Royal Bank Cup in Prince George. The 20 year-old and his Manitoba Hockey League Champion Selkirk Steelers beat the SJHL Champion Humboldt Broncos last night in the 4th overtime capturing the Anavet Cup in the 7th and deciding game.
Last night's marathon game ended at 12:50 am local time.
I listened to the Humboldt Broncos radio guy who had no color analyst at his side for the entire 5 and a half hour broadcast.
I was sucking down throat lozenges just listening to the guy.
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What are the chances.
I was watching the Canucks game Sunday at my brother-in-laws place in North Glenmore when the cable went out following the conclusion of the 1st period.
I questioned if he had paid his cable bill? I figured he had after a next door neighbor came out of her home asking if we were experiencing the same problem.
Shaw likely got several nasty phone calls from hockey fans in that area of Kelowna that were unable to watch the entire 2nd period.
I left happy though as the Ducks held on for a one goal win.
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I have noticed one significant difference between Kelowna and Swift Current when it comes to dealing with local businesses.
In Kelowna nothing...and I mean nothing is for free.
I met my mom and sister for what was designed as a nice noon lunch in downtown Kelowna. I was pleased to see that the restaurant we selected served breakfast all day.
I ordered a Mexican dish which features eggs over easy. I am not a fan of my eggs running all over my plate so asked if I could get them scrambled instead.
Easy request right?
Wrong!
The waitress went to the kitchen to make my request only to return to the table to tell me it would be a 50 cent charge to have them scrambled!
What the...?
How tough is it for the chef to scramble my eggs instead of having them cooked over easy? Will he get his favorite cooking utensil dirty?
What's next, an extra charge for ice cubes in my water?
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