Rockets‘ already busy blue-line becoming overcrowded

[apsco17]

Rockets‘ already busy blue-line becoming overcrowded
By Doyle Potenteau
From www.kelownadailycourier.ca
Monday, September 17, 2007

Nine players jostling for seven positions. The math doesn‘t add up for two players hoping to play defence for the Kelowna Rockets this season.
The WHL season starts Thursday evening with the Kootenay Ice visiting the expansion Edmonton Oil Kings.
Two nights later, the Rockets play their first contest of 2007-08, a 7 p.m. home game against the visiting Tri-City Americans.
By then, the Rockets should have a good idea of who will, and won‘t, be playing defence for them. Or will they?
The Rockets have 26 players on their roster, a number that could theoretically remain in place until season‘s end. Ideally, though, the team would like to get down to 23.
So, that leaves three players who will either be cut, traded or sent to an affiliated franchise – with two of the three cuts likely coming from the blue-line.
As it stands, the nine players jockeying for those seven positions are, in alphabetical order, Tyson Barrie, 16; Collin Bowman, 16; Tysen Dowzak, 19; Colin Joe, 19; Riley McIntosh, 17; Lyon Messier, Tyler Myers, 17; 20; Luke Schenn, 17; and Kyle Verdino, 16, who is likely to be out of action for a month with a suspected shoulder injury.
In other news, the Rockets will name their captain for the upcoming season this morning at a press conference.
Though the franchise hasn‘t said a word about who will wear the C, this paper believes forward James McEwan of Kelowna, a 20-year-old winger, will be named the team‘s leader.
Notably, though, McEwan did not dress in Kelowna‘s last pre-season game, a 3-0 victory over the visiting Chilliwack Bruins at Prospera Place on Saturday night. Wearing the C that evening was centre Colin Long, 18, of Santa Ana, Calif., who opened the game‘s scoring in the second period following a scoreless first.
ICE CHIPS: The Kamloops Blazers finished the exhibition season with a 6-1 record, one of two teams with six victories. . . . The Spokane Chiefs, who open the season with a weekend doubleheader in Prince George, went 6-0. . . . Meanwhile, the Rockets were 2-5. . . . Chilliwack finished with just one win at 1-3-0-2.

[Malc]

D Colin Joe will miss a month with a chipped bone in his wrist; freshman D Kyle Verdino (shoulder) is week-to-week, as is LW Matt Brusciano (concussion). LW Justin Bernhardt (groin) and LW James McEwan (flu) are day-to-day.
McEwan was named captain earlier this week, with the alternates being Joe, C Colin Long and D Luke Schenn.