[{"id":55989,"date":"2026-08-11T16:00:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T23:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/?p=55989"},"modified":"2026-08-11T15:53:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T22:53:04","slug":"shane-smith-signs-ahl-contract-henderson-silver-knights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/article\/shane-smith-signs-ahl-contract-henderson-silver-knights","title":{"rendered":"Rockets Forward Shane Smith Signs AHL Contract with Henderson Silver Knights"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\" data-start=\"92\" data-end=\"320\"><strong>KELOWNA, BC<\/strong>\u2013 The Kelowna Rockets are pleased to announce that forward Shane Smith has signed an American Hockey League contract with the Henderson Silver Knights, the AHL affiliate of the NHL&#8217;s Vegas Golden Knights.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"322\" data-end=\"744\">Smith, 21, joined the Rockets in a trade with the Lethbridge Hurricanes in November 2025, arriving in Kelowna alongside forward Vojtech Cihar. In his lone season with the Rockets, the 6&#8217;2&#8243;, 205-pound left-shot forward posted 21 goals and 24 assists for 45 points in 41 regular-season games, adding four points in nine playoff games and appearing in three games at the 2026 Memorial Cup.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"746\" data-end=\"1060\">&#8220;Shane brought a lot to our team this year, both as a player and as a person,&#8221; said President &amp; General Manager Bruce Hamilton. &#8220;We&#8217;re proud of everything he accomplished here and we&#8217;re excited to see him take this next step with Henderson.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1062\" data-end=\"1264\">Over his four-year WHL career with the Medicine Hat Tigers, Lethbridge Hurricanes, and Kelowna Rockets, Smith appeared in 264 regular season games, recording 93 goals and 90 assists for 183 points.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1266\" data-end=\"1632\">Away from the rink, Smith made an equally significant impact in the community. He was named the 2025-26 WHL Humanitarian of the Year and was recognized as a finalist for the CHL Humanitarian of the Year Award after raising funds throughout the season for the Canadian CMV Foundation, inspired by his niece Maia&#8217;s battle with congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV).<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1634\" data-end=\"1781\">The Kelowna Rockets congratulate Shane on signing his first professional contract and wish him continued success with the Henderson Silver Knights.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KELOWNA, BC\u2013 The Kelowna Rockets are pleased to announce that forward Shane Smith has signed an American Hockey League contract with the Henderson Silver Knights, the AHL affiliate of the NHL&#8217;s Vegas Golden Knights. Smith, 21, joined the Rockets in a trade with the Lethbridge Hurricanes in November 2025, arriving in Kelowna alongside forward Vojtech&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":580,"featured_media":55990,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[595],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-55989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-595","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2026\/08\/11153613\/Shane-Smith-AHL-Deal-Horizontal.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/580"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55989"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55989\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55991,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55989\/revisions\/55991"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":55983,"date":"2026-08-04T09:30:46","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T16:30:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/?p=55983"},"modified":"2026-08-03T21:28:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T04:28:00","slug":"rockets-hire-mike-reagan-assistant-coach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/article\/rockets-hire-mike-reagan-assistant-coach","title":{"rendered":"Kelowna Rockets Hire Mike Reagan as Assistant Coach"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>KELOWNA, BC<\/strong> \u2014 The Kelowna Rockets are proud to announce the hiring of 2023-24 CJHL Coach of the Year Mike Reagan as an Assistant Coach.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"auto\">Reagan joins the Rockets following a 19-year tenure with the SJHL&#8217;s Flin Flon Bombers, where he served as Head Coach beginning in 2006-07 before taking on the dual role of General Manager and Head Coach in 2013-14.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"auto\">During the 19 years behind the Bombers&#8217; bench, Reagan compiled an impressive 606-334-88 regular season record while capturing five division titles and leading the club to six SJHL Finals, including a championship in 2025-26.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"auto\">&#8220;We&#8217;re excited to welcome Mike to the Kelowna Rockets organization,&#8221; said President &amp; General Manager Bruce Hamilton. &#8220;He has built a winning culture throughout his coaching career and brings a tremendous amount of experience in player development. Mike&#8217;s track record speaks for itself, and we believe he&#8217;ll be an outstanding addition to our staff.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"auto\">Reagan has also enjoyed extensive success on the international stage with Canada West at the World Junior A Challenge, helping the program capture gold as Video Coach in 2015-16 before earning another gold medal as Head Coach in 2017-18. He most recently guided Canada West to a bronze medal in 2024-25.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"auto\">His coaching accomplishments have been recognized across Canadian junior hockey. Reagan was named both SJHL Coach of the Year and CJHL Coach of the Year in 2023-24, capping his career in Flin Flon with an SJHL championship in 2025-26.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\">&#8220;I am incredibly honoured and excited to join the prestigious Kelowna Rockets organization,&#8221; said newly appointed assistant coach Mike Reagan. &#8220;I look forward to working alongside the coaching staff and using my experience to help in any way I can to reach the goal of winning a championship.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KELOWNA, BC \u2014 The Kelowna Rockets are proud to announce the hiring of 2023-24 CJHL Coach of the Year Mike Reagan as an Assistant Coach. Reagan joins the Rockets following a 19-year tenure with the SJHL&#8217;s Flin Flon Bombers, where he served as Head Coach beginning in 2006-07 before taking on the dual role of&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":580,"featured_media":55984,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[595],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-55983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-595","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2026\/08\/03103120\/Mike-Reagan-AC-Horizontal.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/580"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55983"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55983\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55987,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55983\/revisions\/55987"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":55926,"date":"2026-07-28T09:19:03","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T16:19:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/?p=55926"},"modified":"2026-07-28T09:19:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T16:19:03","slug":"kelowna-rockets-sign-jakub-frolo-whl-scholarship-development-agreement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/article\/kelowna-rockets-sign-jakub-frolo-whl-scholarship-development-agreement","title":{"rendered":"Rockets Sign Forward Jakub Frolo to WHL Scholarship &amp; Development Agreement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>KELOWNA, BC<\/strong> \u2014 The Kelowna Rockets have signed forward Jakub Frolo to a WHL Scholarship &amp; Development Agreement. Kelowna selected Frolo in the first round, 33rd overall, of the 2026 CHL Import Draft.<\/p>\n<p>Frolo, 18, is a 6&#8217;2&#8243;, 194-pound right-shot forward from Vsetin, Czechia. He developed within the Ilves organization in Finland, competing at the U18 and U20 levels before establishing himself as one of the most productive forwards in the U20 SM-sarja in 2025-26. Over 37 regular-season games with Ilves&#8217; U20 squad, Frolo posted 10 goals and 30 assists for 40 points, the highest points-per-game average among all draft-eligible skaters in the league with at least 10 games played. He sustained that level of play through the postseason, adding two goals and seven assists for nine points in eight playoff games as Ilves earned a silver medal. Frolo also made one appearance with Ilves&#8217; senior Liiga roster and three appearances in the Champions Hockey League, giving him exposure well beyond the junior level before arriving in North America.<\/p>\n<p>Heading into the 2026 NHL Draft, NHL Central Scouting ranked Jakub 32nd among European skaters, but he went undrafted.<\/p>\n<p>An intelligent, playmaking forward, Frolo excels at reading the game and finding teammates from difficult positions, particularly from the half-wall and across the slot. He is a skilled passer in tight quarters and brings a competitive edge to his game, playing with physicality and a willingness to get under opponents&#8217; skin. His combination of offensive instincts and on-ice character made him the clear target for Kelowna with the 33rd overall selection.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Jakub was a player we identified early and we were very happy to get him at 33,&#8221; said President &amp; General Manager Bruce Hamilton. &#8220;He&#8217;s a smart, skilled forward who has shown he can produce consistently at a high level. He plays with an edge, he makes plays, and he&#8217;s the type of player who makes everyone around him better. We&#8217;re excited to get him to Kelowna.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Frolo joins Vojtech Cihar and Tomas Poletin to give the Rockets a strong core of import forwards heading into the 2026-27 season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KELOWNA, BC \u2014 The Kelowna Rockets have signed forward Jakub Frolo to a WHL Scholarship &amp; Development Agreement. Kelowna selected Frolo in the first round, 33rd overall, of the 2026 CHL Import Draft. Frolo, 18, is a 6&#8217;2&#8243;, 194-pound right-shot forward from Vsetin, Czechia. He developed within the Ilves organization in Finland, competing at the&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":580,"featured_media":55980,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[595],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-55926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-595","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2026\/07\/27105511\/Jakub-Frolo-signed-horizontal.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/580"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55926"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55926\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55981,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55926\/revisions\/55981"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":55976,"date":"2026-07-26T15:28:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T22:28:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/?p=55976"},"modified":"2026-07-26T15:28:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T22:28:15","slug":"petr-hornig-named-to-czechia-for-2026-hlinka-gretzky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/article\/petr-hornig-named-to-czechia-for-2026-hlinka-gretzky","title":{"rendered":"Rockets Prospect Petr H\u00f6rnig Named to Team Czechia for 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\" data-start=\"114\" data-end=\"312\"><strong>KELOWNA, BC<\/strong> \u2013 Kelowna Rockets prospect Petr H\u00f6rnig has been named to Team Czechia&#8217;s roster for the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, set to take place August 3-8 in Edmonton, Alberta.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"314\" data-end=\"504\">The 16-year-old forward was selected by the Rockets in the third round (173rd overall) of the 2026 CHL Import Draft after an impressive season with B\u00edl\u00ed Tyg\u0159i Liberec U20 in Czechia.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"506\" data-end=\"850\">H\u00f6rnig recorded 23 goals and 25 assists for 48 points in 33 games with Liberec&#8217;s U17 club during the 2025-26 season before adding 14 points (7G, 7A) in nine playoff games. He also appeared in 11 games at the U20 level and represented Czechia internationally, collecting 12 points (8G, 4A) in 15 games with the national U17 team.<\/p>\n<p class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\" data-start=\"275\" data-end=\"593\">The Hlinka Gretzky Cup has long served as a showcase for many of hockey&#8217;s top young prospects. While many players in this year&#8217;s tournament will be eligible for the 2027 NHL Draft, H\u00f6rnig will not be draft eligible until 2028 because his October 15, 2009 birthday falls after the NHL&#8217;s September 15 age cutoff.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"598\" data-end=\"889\">H\u00f6rnig is expected to continue his development in Czechia during the 2026-27 season following his selection by the Rockets in the 2026 CHL Import Draft. Kelowna owns his WHL rights, and the organization could see the skilled forward make the move to North America for the 2027-28 season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KELOWNA, BC \u2013 Kelowna Rockets prospect Petr H\u00f6rnig has been named to Team Czechia&#8217;s roster for the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, set to take place August 3-8 in Edmonton, Alberta. The 16-year-old forward was selected by the Rockets in the third round (173rd overall) of the 2026 CHL Import Draft after an impressive season with&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":580,"featured_media":55977,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[595],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-55976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-595","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2026\/07\/26152731\/Petr-Hornig-Hlinka-Horizontal.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/580"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55976"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55976\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55978,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55976\/revisions\/55978"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":55973,"date":"2026-07-24T11:41:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T18:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/?p=55973"},"modified":"2026-07-24T11:41:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T18:41:08","slug":"harrison-boettiger-named-to-u-s-roster-for-2026-world-junior-summer-showcase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/article\/harrison-boettiger-named-to-u-s-roster-for-2026-world-junior-summer-showcase","title":{"rendered":"Harrison Boettiger Named to U.S. Roster for 2026 World Junior Summer Showcase"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\"><strong>KELOWNA, BC<\/strong> \u2013 Kelowna Rockets goaltender Harrison Boettiger has been named to the United States roster for the 2026 World Junior Summer Showcase, USA Hockey announced.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The showcase will take place from July 26 to August 1 at the WFCU Centre in Windsor, Ontario, and will feature players from the United States, Canada, Finland, and Sweden. The event serves as an evaluation opportunity ahead of the 2027 IIHF World Junior Championship.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Boettiger is one of five goaltenders named to the 47-player U.S. roster. The Wheat Ridge, Colorado product previously spent two seasons with the United States National Team Development Program before joining the Rockets for the 2025-26 season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The 18-year-old appeared in 41 regular-season games during his first season in Kelowna, posting a 25-10-5 record, a 2.83 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage.<\/p>\n<p>The Rockets congratulate Harrison on earning the opportunity to represent the United States.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KELOWNA, BC \u2013 Kelowna Rockets goaltender Harrison Boettiger has been named to the United States roster for the 2026 World Junior Summer Showcase, USA Hockey announced. The showcase will take place from July 26 to August 1 at the WFCU Centre in Windsor, Ontario, and will feature players from the United States, Canada, Finland, and&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":580,"featured_media":55974,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[595],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-55973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-595","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2026\/07\/24114058\/world-junior-summer-showcase-horizontal-2026.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/580"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55973"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55973\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55975,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55973\/revisions\/55975"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":55968,"date":"2026-07-21T11:51:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T18:51:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/?p=55968"},"modified":"2026-07-21T11:51:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T18:51:27","slug":"don-hay-named-senior-advisor-hockey-operations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/article\/don-hay-named-senior-advisor-hockey-operations","title":{"rendered":"Don Hay Named Senior Advisor to Hockey Operations"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]<strong>KELOWNA, BC<\/strong> \u2014 The Kelowna Rockets have named Don Hay Senior Advisor to Hockey Operations, a new role that will see the WHL&#8217;s all-time winningest coach continue to shape the organization from a different seat beyond the bench.<\/p>\n<p>Hay spent the 2025-26 season as Associate Coach with the Rockets, lending his championship pedigree to Kelowna&#8217;s coaching staff, which was hosting the 2026 Memorial Cup. In his new capacity, Hay will remain a mentor to the Rockets&#8217; coaching staff and will help with the club&#8217;s video analysis operation. He will be stationed out of his home in Kamloops for the majority of the season, while attending training camp in full to help identify Kelowna&#8217;s roster and support player development throughout camp.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re grateful that Don has chosen to stay a member of the Kelowna Rockets and continue to mentor our coaching staff,&#8221; said President &amp; General Manager Bruce Hamilton. &#8220;His experience is invaluable to this organization, we are happy to know his impact on this team isn&#8217;t going anywhere.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Hay holds a WHL-record 750 regular-season coaching victories, along with four Memorial Cup Championships, four WHL Championships, two WHL Coach of the Year Awards, and an induction into the BC Hockey Hall of Fame. He has coached at every level of the game, from Head Coach of Canada&#8217;s gold medal-winning World Junior team in 1995 to NHL head coaching stops with the Phoenix Coyotes and Calgary Flames. Few figures in Canadian hockey carry the credibility and championship pedigree Hay brings into any room.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m really excited to be coming back with the Kelowna Rockets,&#8221; said newly appointed Senior Advisor Don Hay. &#8220;I&#8217;m looking forward to my new role as Senior Advisor and working with Derrick and the coaching staff in a mentorship role.&#8221;[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]KELOWNA, BC \u2014 The Kelowna Rockets have named Don Hay Senior Advisor to Hockey Operations, a new role that will see the WHL&#8217;s all-time winningest coach continue to shape the organization from a different seat beyond the bench. Hay spent the 2025-26 season as Associate Coach with the Rockets, lending his championship pedigree to&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":580,"featured_media":55969,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[595],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-55968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-595","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2026\/07\/21103231\/Don-Hay-Sr-Advisor-Horizontal.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/580"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55968"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55968\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55971,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55968\/revisions\/55971"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":55965,"date":"2026-07-20T14:53:54","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T21:53:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/?p=55965"},"modified":"2026-07-20T14:53:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T21:53:54","slug":"kelowna-rockets-accepting-applications-for-2026-27-internships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/article\/kelowna-rockets-accepting-applications-for-2026-27-internships","title":{"rendered":"Kelowna Rockets Accepting Applications for 2026-27 Internships"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\" data-start=\"73\" data-end=\"222\"><strong data-start=\"73\" data-end=\"88\">KELOWNA, BC<\/strong> \u2013 The Kelowna Rockets are now accepting applications for three internship opportunities for the 2026-27 Western Hockey League season.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"224\" data-end=\"510\">Designed for post-secondary students seeking academic credit and hands-on experience in the sports industry, the internship program provides an opportunity to contribute to one of the WHL&#8217;s premier organizations while building a professional portfolio in a fast-paced, team environment.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"512\" data-end=\"582\">Applications are currently being accepted for the following positions:<\/p>\n<h3 data-section-id=\"1oewi6w\" data-start=\"584\" data-end=\"609\">Graphic Design Intern<\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"610\" data-end=\"649\"><strong data-start=\"610\" data-end=\"649\">Remote | Full-Season or Half-Season<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"651\" data-end=\"870\">Working within the Rockets&#8217; Communications &amp; Marketing department, the Graphic Design Intern will assist in creating digital content and promotional materials that support the organization&#8217;s brand throughout the season.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"872\" data-end=\"1084\">Responsibilities include designing graphics for social media, ticketing, retail, partnerships, community initiatives, and game day campaigns while collaborating with the Director of Communications &amp; Social Media.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1086\" data-end=\"1291\">Applicants should have experience with Adobe Creative Cloud, particularly Photoshop, strong design skills, and be currently enrolled in a post-secondary program eligible for internship or practicum credit.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1293\" data-end=\"1395\">Interested applicants should submit a resume and portfolio, along with their preferred placement term.<\/p>\n<h3 data-section-id=\"ll8apf\" data-start=\"1402\" data-end=\"1425\">Social Media Intern<\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"1426\" data-end=\"1470\"><strong data-start=\"1426\" data-end=\"1470\">Kelowna, BC | Full-Season or Half-Season<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1472\" data-end=\"1708\">The Social Media Intern will work alongside the Rockets&#8217; Communications department, focusing on the creation of engaging short-form content for TikTok and Instagram Reels while providing behind-the-scenes coverage throughout the season.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1710\" data-end=\"1902\">Responsibilities include filming and editing video content, assisting with player features and interviews, identifying emerging social media trends, and supporting game day and event coverage.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1904\" data-end=\"2283\">Applicants should have experience creating short-form video content, proficiency with editing software such as CapCut, Adobe Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro, and be comfortable working evenings and weekends during the hockey season. Candidates must be based in, or able to commute to, Kelowna and be enrolled in a post-secondary program eligible for internship or practicum credit.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2285\" data-end=\"2416\">Interested applicants should submit a resume and examples of previous social media work, along with their preferred placement term.<\/p>\n<h3 data-section-id=\"1gopplx\" data-start=\"2423\" data-end=\"2448\">Apparel Design Intern<\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"2449\" data-end=\"2503\"><strong data-start=\"2449\" data-end=\"2503\">Remote or Kelowna, BC | Full-Season or Half-Season<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2505\" data-end=\"2674\">The Apparel Design Intern will support the development of Rockets retail merchandise and lifestyle apparel while collaborating with the organization&#8217;s Retail department.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2676\" data-end=\"2867\">Responsibilities include designing apparel concepts, creating merchandise mockups, researching current sportswear trends, and assisting with product development for future retail collections.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2869\" data-end=\"3081\">Applicants should possess experience in fashion, apparel, or product design, proficiency in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, and be enrolled in a post-secondary program eligible for internship or practicum credit.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3083\" data-end=\"3219\">Interested applicants should submit a resume, portfolio, preferred work arrangement (remote or in person), and preferred placement term.<\/p>\n<hr data-start=\"3221\" data-end=\"3224\" \/>\n<p data-start=\"3226\" data-end=\"3427\">Applications for all three internship opportunities close on <strong data-start=\"3287\" data-end=\"3312\">Friday, July 31, 2026<\/strong>. Applications will be reviewed following the deadline, and only those selected for an interview will be contacted.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3429\" data-end=\"3531\">For complete job descriptions and application details, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/job-opportunities\/\">chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/job-opportunities\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KELOWNA, BC \u2013 The Kelowna Rockets are now accepting applications for three internship opportunities for the 2026-27 Western Hockey League season. Designed for post-secondary students seeking academic credit and hands-on experience in the sports industry, the internship program provides an opportunity to contribute to one of the WHL&#8217;s premier organizations while building a professional portfolio&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":580,"featured_media":55966,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[595],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-55965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-595","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2026\/07\/20145344\/2026-27-Internships-website.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/580"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55965"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55965\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55967,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55965\/revisions\/55967"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":55962,"date":"2026-07-20T14:49:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T21:49:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/?p=55962"},"modified":"2026-07-20T14:49:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T21:49:25","slug":"kelowna-rockets-accepting-applications-for-assistant-coach-position","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/article\/kelowna-rockets-accepting-applications-for-assistant-coach-position","title":{"rendered":"Kelowna Rockets Accepting Applications for Assistant Coach Position"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"71\" data-end=\"215\"><strong>KELOWNA, BC<\/strong> \u2013 The Kelowna Rockets are now accepting applications for the position of Assistant Coach, the hockey club announced Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"217\" data-end=\"454\">Reporting to General Manager Bruce Hamilton as well as Head Coach Derrick Martin, the successful candidate will play an integral role in the development of Rockets players both on and off the ice while supporting all aspects of the club&#8217;s hockey operations.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"456\" data-end=\"812\">The Assistant Coach will work closely with the coaching staff to assist with player development, practice planning, game preparation, video analysis, recruitment, and day-to-day team operations. In addition to coaching responsibilities, the position will support team logistics, including travel coordination, road trip planning, and league administration.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"814\" data-end=\"1081\">The ideal candidate will have previous coaching and\/or playing experience, a strong background in player development, and excellent communication and organizational skills. Experience with video analysis, hockey analytics, and Microsoft Office is considered an asset.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1998\" data-end=\"2182\">Interested candidates are invited to submit a cover letter, resume, and salary expectations to <a class=\"decorated-link cursor-pointer\" rel=\"noopener\" data-start=\"2095\" data-end=\"2121\">curtish@kelownarockets.com<\/a> no later than Tuesday, July 28, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. PT.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2184\" data-end=\"2269\">For more information on the position, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/job-opportunities\/\">chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/job-opportunities\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KELOWNA, BC \u2013 The Kelowna Rockets are now accepting applications for the position of Assistant Coach, the hockey club announced Tuesday. Reporting to General Manager Bruce Hamilton as well as Head Coach Derrick Martin, the successful candidate will play an integral role in the development of Rockets players both on and off the ice while&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":580,"featured_media":55963,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[595],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-55962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-595","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2026\/07\/20144847\/assistant-coach-hiring-website.png",1920,1080,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/580"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55962"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55962\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55964,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55962\/revisions\/55964"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":55946,"date":"2026-07-14T15:01:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T22:01:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/?p=55946"},"modified":"2026-07-14T15:01:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T22:01:06","slug":"madden-daneault-eligible-34-games-2026-27","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/article\/madden-daneault-eligible-34-games-2026-27","title":{"rendered":"Madden Daneault Eligible to Play Up to 34 Games with Rockets During 2026-27 Season"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\"><strong>KELOWNA, BC<\/strong> \u2013 The Kelowna Rockets announced today that 2026 WHL Prospects Draft first overall selection Madden Daneault is eligible to play up to 34 regular season games with the club during the 2026-27 season under Hockey Canada&#8217;s Western Canadian Development Model (WCDM).<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Daneault, selected first overall by the Rockets in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft, enjoyed a remarkable 2025-26 season with the Red Deer Rebels U15 AAA program, recording 149 points (65G, 84A) in just 34 regular season games. He also earned AEHL U15 First All-Star Team honours while leading the league in goals, assists, and points.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The Red Deer product also starred at the John Reid Memorial Tournament, where he was named Tournament MVP and Top Forward for a second consecutive season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The 2026-27 season will mark the beginning of Daneault&#8217;s WHL career as one of the league&#8217;s most highly anticipated young prospects.<\/p>\n<p>The Rockets open their home schedule on Saturday, September 26 against the Penticton Vees at Prospera Place.<\/p>\n<p>2026-27 season tickets are on sale now at kelownarockets.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KELOWNA, BC \u2013 The Kelowna Rockets announced today that 2026 WHL Prospects Draft first overall selection Madden Daneault is eligible to play up to 34 regular season games with the club during the 2026-27 season under Hockey Canada&#8217;s Western Canadian Development Model (WCDM). Daneault, selected first overall by the Rockets in the 2026 WHL Prospects&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":580,"featured_media":55947,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[595],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-55946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-595","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2026\/07\/14150017\/Daneault-scaled.jpg",2560,1440,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/580"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55946"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55946\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55949,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55946\/revisions\/55949"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":55943,"date":"2026-07-14T11:41:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T18:41:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/?p=55943"},"modified":"2026-07-14T11:41:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T18:41:28","slug":"will-kelts-hockey-canada-u17-development-camp-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/article\/will-kelts-hockey-canada-u17-development-camp-2026","title":{"rendered":"Rockets Prospect Will Kelts Invited to Hockey Canada&#8217;s National Under-17 Development Camp"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Kelowna Rockets prospect Will Kelts is one of 80 players invited to Hockey Canada&#8217;s National Under-17 Team Development Camp, set for July 17-21 in Oakville, Ontario.<\/p>\n<p>Kelts, a 16-year-old defenceman from Consort, Alberta, was selected by the Rockets in the first round, 20th overall, in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft. The 6&#8217;3&#8243;, 198-pound left-shot blue-liner spent the 2025-26 season with the Northern Alberta Xtreme U18 Prep program in the CSSHL U18 league, posting six goals and nine assists for 15 points in 28 regular-season games and adding one assist in six playoff appearances.<\/p>\n<p>The 80-player roster, which includes eight goaltenders, 24 defencemen, and 48 forwards, was selected by Program of Excellence general manager Alan Millar, alongside POE head scout Byron Bonora and U17 assistant general manager Mike Johnston, with input from Scott Salmond, senior vice-president of high performance and hockey operations, and Benoit Roy, director of hockey operations. Hockey Canada&#8217;s network of regional scouts and member representatives also assisted in the selection process.<\/p>\n<p>All 80 players have been drafted by Canadian Hockey League clubs \u2014 31 from the Ontario Hockey League, 29 from the Western Hockey League, and 20 from the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The players will be split into four teams for the five-day camp, which features two days of practice and six games from July 19-21.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are excited to unveil the top Canadian under-17 players who have earned invitations to our development camp this week, and to introduce these young players to Hockey Canada&#8217;s Program of Excellence,&#8221; said Millar. &#8220;This is a very talented and exciting group that will be surrounded by world-class coaching and support staffs, and we look forward to introducing them to our program, setting the expectations for the season and preparing for the U17 World Challenge later this year.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Following camp, players will continue to be evaluated through the beginning of the 2026-27 season before the Canada Red and Canada White rosters are named ahead of the 2026 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, scheduled for November 1-7 in Oakville.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kelowna Rockets prospect Will Kelts is one of 80 players invited to Hockey Canada&#8217;s National Under-17 Team Development Camp, set for July 17-21 in Oakville, Ontario. Kelts, a 16-year-old defenceman from Consort, Alberta, was selected by the Rockets in the first round, 20th overall, in the 2025 WHL Prospects Draft. The 6&#8217;3&#8243;, 198-pound left-shot blue-liner&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":580,"featured_media":55944,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"article","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[595],"tags":false,"class_list":["post-55943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-595","description-off"],"acf":[],"featured_image":["https:\/\/media.chl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2026\/07\/14113527\/20250903PSPrinceton-0128-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"hide_from_app_feed":false,"video":false,"gallery":null,"ht_game_id":0,"target_video":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/580"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55943"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55943\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55945,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55943\/revisions\/55945"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chl.ca\/whl-rockets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}]