Hockey fans hoping to catch a glimpse of a team that will play in the national major junior hockey tournament can find that on the ice this weekend at CN Centre.
The Kelowna Rockets are hosting the 102nd Memorial Cup at Prospera Centre in Kelowna, May 22-31, 2020 and they're in town to play the Prince George Cougars in a two-game WHL series Friday and Saturday at CN Centre.
The Rockets (3-1-1-0) are off to great start this season. Their 6-1 win over Tri-City Americans Wednesday in Kelowna allowed them to leapfrog the Vancouver Giants into first place in the B.C. Division, six points ahead of the Cougars (0-3-0-1), who are still looking their first victory in 2019-20.
The Rockets will be bringing three high-profile picks from the 2019 NHL draft. Nolan Foote, selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round, 27th overall, was in on four of the six goals the Rockets scored Wednesday with a goal and three assists against the Americans.
San Jose Sharks pick Dillon Hamaliuk (second round, 55th overall, acquired in an off-season trade from the Seattle Thunderbirds, was also a factor in the Tri-City game, with a goal and two assists. In five games he's collected four goals and eight points as the Rockets' top pointgetter.
The Rockets also have defenceman Kaedan Korczak, a Vegas Golden Knights' draft selection (second round, 41st overall in 2019). Another player to watch is 17-year-old Czech import forward Pavel Novak, picked 13th overall in the 2019 CHL import draft. He had a three-point effort Wednesday with a goal and two assists and was picked as the game's first star.
The Cougars, who last played Saturday in Victoria (a 3-2 shootout loss to the Royals), will be without three injured veterans. Defenceman Cole Moberg is out for at least another week with an upper-body injury. Centre Illijah Collina will miss the next two-three weeks with a shoulder injury and winger Jackson Leppard in on the shelf one-two weeks with a lower-body injury he suffered in Friday's game in Victoria.
Cats defenceman Ryan Schoettler, 20, leads the team with five points in four games. He scored his first of the season with 17 seconds left in Saturday's game to force overtime.
Game time Friday and Saturday is 7 p.m.
The Cougars are on the road on Thanksgiving weekend to play Spokane, Friday, Oct. 11 and Tri-City, Saturday, Oct. 12.
