Wednesday Night in the Dub: Royals clawing for B.C. Division crown in showdown against 2026 Memorial Cup host Rockets

Fresh off of eliminating the Kamloops Blazers from postseason contention, the Victoria Royals will continue their march to the 2025 WHL Playoffs presented by Nutrien with a chance to retake the B.C. Division lead on Wednesday night with a win against the Kelowna Rockets.

Victoria is currently tied with the Prince George Cougars with 86 points, though the Royals have a game in hand.

Both teams have secured home ice in Round One of the playoffs, but Victoria will claw to the end to lock down the second seed in the Western Conference and the second B.C. Division title in franchise history.

Veteran forward Teydon Trembecky, who was named Tempo WHL Player of the Week in early March, sits third in the WHL goals race with 44 after a breakout season with 2025 NHL Draft-eligible Cole Reschny and 2025 WHL Trade Deadline acquisitions Kenta Isogai and Brandon Lisowsky also filling the net.

On the blueline, Victoria has enjoyed a historic season with Utah Hockey Club prospect Justin Kipkie setting a franchise record for career goals by a defenceman with 36, though the Royals Captain believes his record won’t stand for long after 16-year-old rookie Keaton Vehoeff set a single-season record with 20 lamp-lighters this year.

“I think that record is obviously nice to have, but I think we’ll see it be broken here in the next couple of years- if not next year- by a young star that we have in our system,” Kipkie grinned, adding; “I think being able to step in this year and hit the ground running was super important for him (Verhoeff). All we’ve seen from him is improvement and growth and I think he’s definitely going to be a star for years to come for this team. I can’t wait to see where this takes him, because obviously he’s proven to be a force to be reckoned with this year.”

Verhoeff is sitting on 44 points and is close to becoming the third rookie defenceman to reach 50 points in a season since Hockey Hall of Famer Scott Niedermayer in 1989-90 after exceptional status defenceman Landon DuPont (Everett Silvertips) and Ryan Lin (Vancouver Giants) achieved the feat earlier this year.

Between the pipes, 2025 NHL Draft-eligible Jayden Kraus sits seventh among all WHL netminders in save percentage (.908) and wins (24) while posting his first career shutout.

While the 2026 Memorial Cup host Rockets won’t make the playoffs this year, they’re certainly laying a new foundation for an exciting 2025-26 season while adding size and relishing the opportunity to play spoiler against the Royals.

St. Louis Blues prospect Jakub Stancl has scored more than 20 goals since returning from the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship with a bronze medal in hand after leading the Czechs- and the whole tournament- in goals.

2024 Nashville Predators selection Hiroki Gojsic is also chasing a second-straight 20-plus goal season after signing his entry-level NHL deal at the start of the season.

He’s praised his team for sticking together through a difficult season and believes the team has added size and grit with new additions like 2025 NHL Draft eligible Hayden Paupenakis and Will Sharpe.

“We’re a tight-knit group of guys,” Gojsic said. “Everyone gets along really well, and everyone buys in every day. Maybe we’re not getting the results we want, but I see improvement all around the team. As Marty (Head Coach Derrick Martin) says, tough times don’t last but tough men do.”

Paupenakis and defenceman Sharpe have been among Kelowna’s scoring leaders since heading to the Okanagan and have been ranked in the top 100 North American Skaters by NHL Central Scouting in the agency’s midterm player rankings.

The eighth and final meeting between the teams will go down at 7:05 p.m. PST at Prospera Place.

All Wednesday Night in the Dub featured games will be free to stream on WHL Live and the WHL’s YouTube Channel.

STAT PACK

	Victoria Royals	Kelowna Rockets
Record	38-17-3-7 (2nd B.C.)	17-42-4-2 (5th B.C.)
Leading Scorers	Cole Reschny (23G-63A, 86PTS) Teydon Trembecky (44G-38A, 82PTS) Kenta Isogai (31G-44A, 75PTS)	Jakub Stancl (20G-33A, 53PTS) Hayden Paupanekis (17G-17A, 34PTS) Will Sharpe (9G-32A, 41PTS)
Leading Goaltender	Jayden Kraus (24-8-3-5, 2.83 GAA, .908 save percentage, one shutout)	Jake Pilon (8-18-3-2, 4.08 GAA, .882 save percentage, one shutout)
Powerplay	28.3% (2nd)	19.1% (19th)
Penalty Kill	72.9% (19th)	66.4% (22nd)

 

NHL PROSPECTS

Victoria Royals

Kelowna Rockets

F- Hiroki Gojsic (Nashville Predators)

F- Max Graham (New Jersey Devils)*

F- Tij Iginla (Utah Hockey Club)*

F- Jakub Stancl (St. Louis Blues)

*Unable to participate

Top 2025 NHL Draft Eligibles (per NHL Central Scouting’s Midterm Rankings of North American Skaters)

Victoria Royals

F- Cole Reschny (34)

G-Jayden Kraus (11)

Kelowna Rockets

F- Hayden Paupanekis (48)

D- Will Sharpe (65)

F- Dawson Gerwing (135)

D- Nate Corbet (223)

G- Jake Pilon (23)

SOUND OFF

Justin Kipkie

On battling for a B.C. Division title and second seed in the Western Conference in the final week of the 2024-25 regular season

We want to take it one game at a time here and close out the regular season on a high note. Taking in as much momentum as you can to playoffs is huge and then having that home-ice advantage is obviously really nice. We have really strong fans and a great community there that’s going to support us and really push us in those first two games at home.

On the progression of the Royals over more than 200 games with the team

Going back three years, when I first got here, the team wasn’t at the top just yet and we’re kind of building up to this… I think being able to go through all that adversity the first couple of years and get to the point that we are now, I’m really proud of these guys and have a huge belief in every single guy in this locker room that we can make a big run this year and get something done.

On setting a Royals franchise record for career goals by a defenceman

That’s a cool record to have, for sure. But I think being able to win games and prove that this team is a team to be reckoned with in the long run is huge for me. I think that record is obviously nice to have, but I think we’ll see it be broken here in the next couple of years- if not next year- by a young star that we have in our system.

On star rookie defenceman Keaton Verhoeff

He played a lot of games last year with me and did really well as a 15-year-old. I think being able to step in this year and hit the ground running was super important for him. All we’ve seen from him is improvement and growth and I think he’s definitely going to be a star for years to come for this team. I can’t wait to see where this takes him, because obviously he’s proven to be a force to be reckoned with this year.

On working on his development with the Utah Hockey Club

Utah has been great. This year and last year they’ve been super, super vigilant on the development side of stuff, being able to do Zoom calls every weekend just to go through video. They send out guys to practices and we’ll work through stuff. Being able to have that resource and that time and development that they put into their prospects has been huge. I thank them a lot for that and the opportunity they’ve given me to get better and improve during the season.

On the 2026 Memorial Cup host Kelowna Rockets

They’ve got a bunch of young talent on that team. They’re hungry to make a name for themselves in this league and really prove themselves. So I think we’ve got to come to that game with the expectation that we’re going to go out there and work hard and not take them lightly. I think they’re a team that can come out in any given night and really give you a run for your money

On Nashville Predators prospect Hiroki Gosic

He’s a really strong two-way player, so I think he’s able to make a difference on both ends of the ice, which is really important for that team in winning games… He was a Victoria draft pick too, so there’s a little bit of a rivalry there as well with him getting traded away and stuff too. He’s obviously a huge part of that team and their success when they have it.

Hiroki Gojsic

On how his game has developed in his second WHL season

Probably just my hard skills, like taking pucks away and yeah, probably just like that and hitting more. I feel like my game’s kind of rounded out more as the season is going on and getting some looks on the on the PK. I’m happy with my game as it’s progressing.

On signing his entry-level contract with the Nashville Predators

It was an unreal feeling. I’ll never forget it. It’s been a long time. It’s been a lot of hard work and it’s good to see it pay off a little bit.

On working with Nashville’s development staff throughout the season

I talk to Nathan Gerbe,  the skill development guy there, and he watches all of my shifts and lets me know what I need to work on, what I should keep doing. I talked to him about once every other week. They do a great job in that aspect, for sure… They like how fast I play and how physical I play, and they’d like to see me shoot the puck more.

On laying a strong foundation for 2026 and the Memorial Cup

We’re a tight-knit group of guys. Everyone gets along really well, and everyone buys in every day. Maybe we’re not getting the results we want, but I see improvement all around the team. As Marty (Head Coach Derrick Martin) says, tough times don’t last but tough men do.

On the identity the new-look Rockets are forming

We’ve picked up some bigger guys, some guys that play with more bite. I’d probably say we’re a big, fast team that can make some plays.

On facing the Victoria Royals

They play with a lot of pace. They play fast and they make plays. We’ve got to play in our D-zone and really stick to what our coaches are telling us to make it a game, and hopefully, we can pull out the other end of it. They’re definitely a good team and they’re pushing for it this year, so it’ll be a tough challenge for us.

On Royals Captain and Utah Hockey Club prospect Justin Kipkie

He’s a big guy that can skate and he can shoot and he can kind of do it all. You definitely have to know when he’s on the ice and they have a few other players like that as well.