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08-25-2007, 07:45 AM
http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories.php?id=60993
Rockets rookie party
By Doyle Potenteau
Thursday, August 23, 2007
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Bruce Hamilton is no gold-digger. When it comes to mining, though, that‘s another story.
Over the past 10 seasons, the Kelowna Rockets have invested heavily in their scouting department, and their rate of return has been the envy of the Western Hockey League. In leaving no stone unturned, the Rockets have turned up several gems, including several who went undrafted as bantams and wound up getting listed by Kelowna.
Like who? Try these on for size: Tyler Mosienko, Ryan Cuthbert, Josh Gorges, Shea Weber, Justin Keller, Kyle Cumiskey and Duncan Keith, to name a few. With Kelowna hosting its annual rookie camp until Sunday, Hamilton is hoping to unearth another gem or two.
“We have over 120 guys, and if we can come out of this camp with four or five guys, we‘d be real excited,” said Kelowna‘s president and general manager. “If we could find that many guys to list, we‘d deem this camp a success. Between Lorne and I, this is our 15th camp together, and things have changed so much over the last decade or so. All these best-ever programs, there‘s very kids who are left hidden. To find (an unknown), you have to go to small-town Saskatchewan or Manitoba to find someone who hasn‘t been exposed.
“British Columbia does a good job of exposing their kids, and so does Alberta. You‘re hoping to find a kid who‘s grown some over the summer or who‘s been passed over. But, by and large, all the kids at our camp have been seen by our scouts and they want to bring them in.
“The days of finding the Shea Webers coming out of the dark are over. All the teams now do such a good job of scouting, which means you can‘t afford to make too many mistakes when you draft.”
On Thursday, rookie-camp action started bright and early until 8 a.m., at Prospera Place, and the sweat won‘t stop pouring until Sunday afternoon.
A fair portion of the players are from the Okanagan, but some travelled across Western Canada with parents in tow for the four-day event.
Despite their obvious geographical differences, most had a common theme: The ability to skate well.
“Years ago, a guy that couldn‘t skate very well but play OK, he‘d be somebody we‘d look at,” said Hamilton. “But now, the kids who dominate in these practices are the best skaters, and they stand out; they‘re the easiest kids to detect. In today‘s game, if you can‘t skate, you‘re going to have a hard time playing anywhere.”
Also joining Hamilton up in press row on Thursday was Cuthbert, Kelowna‘s newest assistant coach. A former WHLer (1998-2003) who captained the Rockets, Cuthbert was named to Kelowna‘s coaching staff earlier this month after hanging up his skates due to concussions after three short seasons in the pro ranks (2003-06).
Late Thursday, Cuthbert was to field his first practice at CNC.
“Nervous? No, not at all,” said Cuthbert, 25. “I‘ve been around teams enough to know what‘s going on, and I was around (Kelowna) last year and got to know the guys. It‘s going to be fun and I‘m looking forward to get going. There‘s going to be a lot to learn, with all the video systems and all that, but as far as the game goes, if you‘ve played and you understand and you paid attention – especially what we went through when I was here – if you can take some of that with you, you‘ll be all right.”
Of course, like any player, there were drills Cuthbert liked and disliked. Now that he‘s on the other end – dishing out instead of receiving – does he have a few “favourites” he‘s saving up for special conditions?
“Drills that I hated? That‘ll be up to (head coach Ryan Huska) if they aren‘t playing well,” laughed Cuthbert.
“We all know the drills we didn‘t like, like the bag skates or the hit-and-bag skates. Those won‘t be up to me, but I‘m sure I‘ll be out there laughing.”
ICE CHIPS: The Kamloops Blazers got an early start on the trading scene by making a swap with the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Thursday. Kamloops acquired veteran Justin Leclerc from Lethbridge in exchange for its second-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft. . . . Leclerc, an 18-year-old from Saskatoon who was the 46th pick in the 2005 draft, is preparing for his third WHL season. In 2005-06, he was 10-12-6 with a 3.32 GAA and a .896 save percentage. Last
season, the 6-foot-0, 180-pounder was 15-17-3 with a 3.62 GAA and .872 save percentage.
Rockets rookie party
By Doyle Potenteau
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Email this article
Send a Letter to the Editor
Printer friendly page
Bruce Hamilton is no gold-digger. When it comes to mining, though, that‘s another story.
Over the past 10 seasons, the Kelowna Rockets have invested heavily in their scouting department, and their rate of return has been the envy of the Western Hockey League. In leaving no stone unturned, the Rockets have turned up several gems, including several who went undrafted as bantams and wound up getting listed by Kelowna.
Like who? Try these on for size: Tyler Mosienko, Ryan Cuthbert, Josh Gorges, Shea Weber, Justin Keller, Kyle Cumiskey and Duncan Keith, to name a few. With Kelowna hosting its annual rookie camp until Sunday, Hamilton is hoping to unearth another gem or two.
“We have over 120 guys, and if we can come out of this camp with four or five guys, we‘d be real excited,” said Kelowna‘s president and general manager. “If we could find that many guys to list, we‘d deem this camp a success. Between Lorne and I, this is our 15th camp together, and things have changed so much over the last decade or so. All these best-ever programs, there‘s very kids who are left hidden. To find (an unknown), you have to go to small-town Saskatchewan or Manitoba to find someone who hasn‘t been exposed.
“British Columbia does a good job of exposing their kids, and so does Alberta. You‘re hoping to find a kid who‘s grown some over the summer or who‘s been passed over. But, by and large, all the kids at our camp have been seen by our scouts and they want to bring them in.
“The days of finding the Shea Webers coming out of the dark are over. All the teams now do such a good job of scouting, which means you can‘t afford to make too many mistakes when you draft.”
On Thursday, rookie-camp action started bright and early until 8 a.m., at Prospera Place, and the sweat won‘t stop pouring until Sunday afternoon.
A fair portion of the players are from the Okanagan, but some travelled across Western Canada with parents in tow for the four-day event.
Despite their obvious geographical differences, most had a common theme: The ability to skate well.
“Years ago, a guy that couldn‘t skate very well but play OK, he‘d be somebody we‘d look at,” said Hamilton. “But now, the kids who dominate in these practices are the best skaters, and they stand out; they‘re the easiest kids to detect. In today‘s game, if you can‘t skate, you‘re going to have a hard time playing anywhere.”
Also joining Hamilton up in press row on Thursday was Cuthbert, Kelowna‘s newest assistant coach. A former WHLer (1998-2003) who captained the Rockets, Cuthbert was named to Kelowna‘s coaching staff earlier this month after hanging up his skates due to concussions after three short seasons in the pro ranks (2003-06).
Late Thursday, Cuthbert was to field his first practice at CNC.
“Nervous? No, not at all,” said Cuthbert, 25. “I‘ve been around teams enough to know what‘s going on, and I was around (Kelowna) last year and got to know the guys. It‘s going to be fun and I‘m looking forward to get going. There‘s going to be a lot to learn, with all the video systems and all that, but as far as the game goes, if you‘ve played and you understand and you paid attention – especially what we went through when I was here – if you can take some of that with you, you‘ll be all right.”
Of course, like any player, there were drills Cuthbert liked and disliked. Now that he‘s on the other end – dishing out instead of receiving – does he have a few “favourites” he‘s saving up for special conditions?
“Drills that I hated? That‘ll be up to (head coach Ryan Huska) if they aren‘t playing well,” laughed Cuthbert.
“We all know the drills we didn‘t like, like the bag skates or the hit-and-bag skates. Those won‘t be up to me, but I‘m sure I‘ll be out there laughing.”
ICE CHIPS: The Kamloops Blazers got an early start on the trading scene by making a swap with the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Thursday. Kamloops acquired veteran Justin Leclerc from Lethbridge in exchange for its second-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft. . . . Leclerc, an 18-year-old from Saskatoon who was the 46th pick in the 2005 draft, is preparing for his third WHL season. In 2005-06, he was 10-12-6 with a 3.32 GAA and a .896 save percentage. Last
season, the 6-foot-0, 180-pounder was 15-17-3 with a 3.62 GAA and .872 save percentage.