Rockets Select Norwegian in Import Draft

[Malc]

By Larry Fisher

Hamilton will turn his attention to today‘s annual import draft, where his Rockets possess the 25th overall pick.

“I‘ve been working on that for the last month, putting together names and stuff,” Hamilton said. “We‘ll see what‘s available. Ideally, we‘d like to get a defenceman, and, strangely enough, there‘s a bunch of goalies floating around.

“I don‘t know if we‘ll (pick a goalie) or not. I kinda doubt it because once you bring them, you‘re kinda committed and I don‘t want to be carrying three goalies to find out where we‘re at. I‘m hoping to get a defenceman, but there‘s going to be 60 teams trying to get a good player.”

Prince George has first dibs with the top selection, which may be used on Slovak defenceman Martin Marincin, an Edmonton Oilers‘ second-rounder.

“I wouldn‘t be surprised by that,” Hamilton said. “P.G. will have a chance to get him. He‘s a Slovak and they usually come.”

That said, the import draft has become a crapshoot in recent years.

“It‘s got to the point now that you don‘t know who‘s coming and who‘s not, so you kinda gotta pull a ball out of the hat and hope it bounces your way,” Hamilton said. “There‘s so many countries that don‘t want their guys leaving and don‘t allow them to. A lot of those countries say if you leave, you can‘t play on the world-junior team. It‘s a big decision for those guys to make.”

http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories_local_sports.php?id=276204

[Malc]

The Kelowna Rockets are pleased to announce they have selected Norway’s Andreas Stene with the 25th pick in the 2010 Canadian Hockey League import draft.

Stene (D.O.B March 1, 1991) is a 6-foot-3 centre who played with Valerenga in the Norway senior league last year. He has played with the Norwegian national team at every level, from Under-20 down to Under-16.

“We think he’s a pretty good player,” said Rockets president and general manager Bruce Hamilton. “We needed a bigger centre and he brings good size.”

Stene, who is expected to play with the Rockets in the 2010-11 WHL season, attended the Chicago Blackhawks NHL training camp as a free agent in 2009-10.

In 2008-09 he was voted Norway’s young player of the year.

http://www.kelownarockets.com/hockey/news-display.php?section_id=2&public_id=2192

[Malc]

The Kelowna Rockets are pleased to announce they have selected another centre in the 2010 CHL import draft.

They used their second pick to choose Slovenian native Gal Koren (D.O.B.Jan. 16, 1992).

A 6-foot-1 191 pound centre/left wing, Koren had 41 points in 32 games for Jungadler Mannheim playing in Germany last season.

He has also played for the Slovenian Under-20, Under-18 and Under-17 national teams and was rated 69th on the international skaters ranking for the 2010 NHL draft.

http://www.kelownarockets.com/hockey/news-display.php?section_id=2&public_id=2192

[Malc]

By Larry Fisher

Andreas Stene and Gal Koren will arrive in Kelowna on Wednesday.

Who, you ask?

Norwegian and Slovenian forwards, respectively, the pair were picked by the Kelowna Rockets in the CHL‘s import draft earlier this summer. By the end of the upcoming WHL season, Bruce Hamilton hopes both will be household names in the Okanagan.

"You don‘t know what you‘re getting until they‘re here," said Hamilton, the Rockets‘ president and general manager. "But the reports we got on them from NHL scouts is that they were both solid players (last) season."

What Hamilton knows for certain is that both can play centre and both bring size - Stene standing 6-foot-3 and Koren coming in at 6-1. The Rockets selected Stene, a 19-year-old who attended the Chicago Blackhawks rookie camp last season, with their first pick, 25th overall. Then, after trading with the Edmonton Oil Kings to move up, Kelowna took 18-year-old Koren 64th.

"They‘re both big and that‘s what I wanted," Hamilton said. "Our centre (position) was way too small last year. These two guys will certainly change that and give us some size in the middle.

"We‘ll see how they play. But they‘ll be given every opportunity, just simply because of their size."

Stene played last season in Norway‘s senior league with Valerenga. His hockey history includes time with Norway‘s national program at every level, having played under-16 to U-20. Also, in 2009, he was voted Norway‘s young player of the year.

Koren, meanwhile, recorded 41 points in 32 games last season, playing for Jungadler Mannheim in Germany. Like Stene, Koren has international experience, suiting up for Slovenia‘s under-20, U-18 and U-17 national teams.

Playing in Canada, however, will be a new experience. That‘s why the Rockets are flying their imports in a week before main camp begins on Aug. 31.

"They won‘t be skating in rookie camp," said Hamilton, of the four-day prelude to main camp. "We just want to get them in and get their clocks set up here. You gotta understand the adjustment that they‘re going through coming over here, and you gotta give them some time. They may look good in a league over there, but have a tough time adjusting here in this league."

One import who won‘t be starting the season in Kelowna is Finnish forward Teemu Pulkkinen. A Detroit Red Wings prospect, who was picked by Kelowna in last year‘s import draft, Pulkkinen was on the Rockets‘ radar, but decided to stay home.

The 18-year-old has since debuted with Jokerit of the Finnish Elite League, tallying two assists in a 3-1 pre-season win this week.

"He stayed there, and mostly because of the world-junior team," said Hamilton.

Often times, Europeans who leave for North American junior leagues are excluded from their national teams for one reason or another - be it politics or an inability to scout their progress.

"Once the world juniors are over, we‘ll see what he does," Hamilton continued. "Detroit would like him to come over and play, but if they‘re going to get involved, it‘ll be once the world juniors are over. That‘s good enough for me, too.

"I want to see what these two guys do first."

Pulkkinen‘s situation is said to be "very similar" to that of Mikael Backlund, the Calgary Flames‘ prospect who left his native Sweden for Kelowna following the 2009 world junior tournament.

CHL teams are only allowed to carry two imports on their roster, so the Rockets would need to trade or release Stene or Koren to make room for Pulkkinen.

Kelowna‘s rookie camp starts on Thursday and runs through next Sunday, with around 145 prospects taking the ice at CNC.

http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories_local_sports.php?id=288622