McColgan ready for action

Kelowna Capital News Warren Henderson September 01, 2009

Last season Shane McColgan got his feet wet in major junior hockey.

In 2009-10, the speedy 16-year-old centre for the Kelowna Rockets is ready to dive headlong into the deep end.

“I feel really comfortable, a lot more than when I came in last year, and I feel like I’m ready to contribute a lot here in Kelowna,” said McColgan, a native of Manhattan Beach, Calif.

“I expect a lot of myself and I’m sure the team does, too. Obviously they brought me here to put up some points, but I’ll play any way the coaches want me to play. I’m ready to go out there and compete and I’m looking to help the team win.”

It was his speed, skill and scoring touch that convinced the Rockets to grab McColgan in the first round, 13th overall in the 2008 WHL bantam draft.

Last season, as 15-year-old, McColgan was one of the top offensive threats for the Los Angeles junior Kings U-18 squad.

The Rockets and their fans caught a glimpse of McColgan’s wares in 2009 as he appeared in eight WHL games—four regular season and four playoff—scoring a goal and adding two assists.

And while the Rockets expect big things from McColgan in the long term, the club isn’t about to rush one of the organization’s most promising prospects. “We’re expecting him to be a key player for us, but having said that we have to be careful not to put a lot of pressure on him,” said Rockets head coach Ryan Huska. “We can’t expect him to be the difference maker for us this year. We just want him to have a good season, build on this year and get better. In the long term we expect he’ll be a very good player who can put up a lot of points for us.”

But it’s not just skill McColgan brings to the table. The 5-foot-10, 170 pound forward plays with an edge, an ingrained competitive streak that prohibits him from backing down from physical challenges—even against opponents who tower over him.

“I have a lot of Irish in my family, so maybe that’s where I get my feistiness from,” McColgan said with a laugh. “I’m just a competitive guy on and off the ice. I don’t like to lose, whether it’s at hockey or checkers, I don’t care. I play to win and if that means getting my nose in there, then that’s what I’ll do.”

And McColgan fully expects the Rockets to do a lot more winning than losing in 2009-10.

Even with the departure of veteran stars like Jamie Benn, Mikael Backlund and Cody Almond, McColgan envisions a productive year ahead for the young Kelowna squad.

“We’re going to look at this season like we did last year coming in. I know we’re losing a lot of guys but we’re going to have the same expectations as last year. We want to win,“ said McColgan, who played for Team USA at the world U-17 championship this summer in Germany.

“Obviously you can’t replace those guys, so we’re going to have to find a way to win. We want to work hard and have fun at the same time,” McColgan said.

Rocket Shots…

The Rockets will send 12 players to NHL training camps this week, including Jamie Benn (Dallas), Cody Almond (Minnesota) and Tyler Myers (Buffalo)…Kelowna will visit the Vancouver Giants tonight in Ladner in WHL preseason action…The Rockets dropped their first two games of the exhibition season to Chilliwack, 4-2 and 2-1.