Six Rockets prospects to compete in 2024 WHL Cup
The Kelowna Rockets will be represented by six prospects who will represent their respective provinces at the 2024 WHL Cup October 23-27 in Red Deer at the Peavy Mart Centrium, with at least one representative on each of the four teams.
Rockets 2024 first and second round picks Owen Hayden and Nathan Cole were selected to represent Team Alberta. Hayden, who was selected ninth overall by the Rockets, spent last season with the Calgary Flames U15 AAA team in the Alberta Elite Hockey League and put up 24 points in 31 games as a defenceman. He is spending this season with Edge U18 Prep in Calgary. Cole was taken with the 33rd pick in last spring’s draft and will join Hayden on Edge’s U18 Prep squad this season after playing in 27 games with their U15 Prep team last season. He had 14 goals and 30 points in 27 games.
Both Hayden and Cole suited up in exhibition games with the Rockets last month.
The Rockets will see another pair of prospects suit up for Team Saskatchewan as defencemen Jake Hargrave and Marek McIvor will patrol their blue line. Hargrave was taken in the third round by the Rockets with the 57th pick, while McIvor went 163rd overall in the eighth round. Hargrave is currently playing for the Swift Current Legionnaires U18 team of the SMAAAHL, where he has one point in two games. McIvor is playing for the Moose Jaw Warriors U18 AAA team where he’s played two games.
Thompson, Manitoba’s Linkin Stadnek will be playing for last year’s gold medal winners from Manitoba. Stadnek was selected by Kelowna in the fifth round, 93rd overall in a pick that was acquired in a trade from Seattle. Stadnek spent last season with Okanagan Hockey Academy U15 Prep team where he posted 12 points in 21 games from the blue line. It is expected he will suit up for their U18 Prep team this season.
Rockets ninth round pick Jack Morgan will be playing for Team British Columbia. The left winger spent last season with the Delta Hockey Academy’s U15 Prep team, where he went just under an assist-per-game with 26 in 27 games, while also adding 22 goals for 48 points. He’s played six games for the U17 Prep team, amassing five points in six games.
“We’re excited for the six prospects that will be participating in the WHL Cup,” said Rockets Assistant General Manager Curtis Hamilton. “They have earned those spots with the work they have put in and we look forward to watching them compete this season.”
We also need to give a lot of credit to our scouting staff and the work they’ve done. They have watched a lot of hockey this past season and they’ve done great work identifying these players as future members of the Kelowna Rockets.”
The 2024 WHL Cup will showcase the top 2009-born players from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. The tournament will feature teams from the four Western Canadian provinces competing in a round-robin tournament format followed by playoffs.
The WHL Cup, established in 2009, is held every season except in years when the Canada Winter Games are contested, and is the first step in Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence for players.
This will mark the 11th year of the event. The first ever WHL Cup was held in Blackfalds, Alta., in 2009 and featured four of the top eight players selected in the 2012 NHL Draft. In 2011, the Moose Jaw Warriors and Hockey Saskatchewan hosted the event at the Moose Jaw Events Centre. In 2012 and 2013, the tournament was hosted in Calgary at Father David Bauer Arena, the home of the WHL. From 2015 through 2019, the WHL Cup was hosted in Calgary at the Markin MacPhail Centre.
