It’s been a difficult season for the Kelowna Rockets, and the team’s struggles continued on Tuesday night.
At Prospera Place, Ty Young backstopped Prince George to a 3-0 shutout victory with a 30-save effort. Cole Dubinsky, Blake Eastman and Villiam Kmec scored for the Cougars (17-17-3-0), who led 2-0 after the first period and 3-0 after 40 minutes.
Talyn Boyko stopped 34 of 37 shots for Kelowna (13-21-3-0), which suffered its eighth loss in nine games and is on pace for its first losing season since 2018-19, and third since 2000. It would also be the team’s seventh losing season in franchise history.
In the post-game press conference, Rockets head coach Kris Mallette lamented his team’s effort.
“Just not a team. Simple as that,” said Mallette. “Working hard, not working smart. Real disconnected.
“You look at some of the hits that were thrown towards players and just the fact that our group … there’s no pushback. We should be through this, I don’t understand.
“The systematic side of things, it hasn’t changed. You see flashes of it and then just the inconsistencies within. We have our work cut out for us, to say the least.”
Losses aside, it’s also been a busy past few days for the team’s roster, with several changes.
Last week, the team traded team captain Colton Dach to the league-leading Seattle Thunderbirds.
This week, more trades were made as the WHL’s trade deadline ended on Tuesday afternoon.
On Monday, the team traded forward Nolan Flamand, 18, of Saskatoon to the Brandon Wheat Kings for forward Trae Johnson, 17, of Martensville, Sask.
The Rockets also gave up a third-round pick in the 2023 bantam draft but also received a fifth-round pick in the 2024 bantam draft.
Johnson has two goals and six points in 37 games this season, while Flamand had four goals and 16 points in 35 games. Both were second-round picks in the bantam draft; Johnson at 35th overall in 2020 and Flamand at 27th overall in 2019.
“In Johnson, we acquire a young skilled forward,” said Rockets president and general manager Bruce Hamilton. “We want to thank Nolan for his time as a Rocket; he’s been a loyal and dedicated member of our organization. We wish him all the best moving forward.”
Also Monday, the Rockets traded defenceman Jackson Romeril to the Tri-City Americans for a fourth-round pick in the 2023 bantam draft.
Romeril, a 17-year-old from Calgary, played in 13 games for Kelowna this season. He had no points and seven penalty minutes.
On Tuesday, the Rockets announced the rights to defenceman Landon Cowper from the Prince Albert Raiders for a fifth-round pick in the 2025 bantam draft.
The 16-year-old from Whitehorse has played 29 games this season for Rink Hockey Academy in Kelowna, posting five goals and 30 points.