Memorial Cup: Comeau Not Enough

Kelowna finished the Memorial Cup with nary a win despite some close and hard-fought games. While no Rockets player earned an "A" on their tournament report card there were many solid efforts put forth by a well-rounded team that certainly played better than its record would suggest.

Blake Comeau B+

Led his team in goal scoring and was a constant threat .. blazing speed created many scoring opportunities and his committed two-way play certainly made him Kelowna's most exciting and best player to watch.

Tyler Spurgeon B

Provided a solid effort and competed hard every shift .. centred the top line and generated offence by going to the net and distributing the puck well to his teammates .. led by example and played solid defensively, just like his linemates.

Shea Weber B

Played an obscene amount of minutes for Kelowna throughout the Memorial Cup .. was on the ice in all situations and often lined up against the other team's best players .. chipped in offensively with three assists .. strength and ability to contain rushing forwards, despite his -3 rating, was his best asset.

Justin Keller B

Kelowna's most gifted goal scorer, he started the tournament playing well and kind of fizzled out toward the end .. wasn't uncommon to see him gain that little bit of extra ice and room for better scoring opportunities .. although he didn't register a goal he still has good offensive abilities .. anticipates well and excelled in PP situations.

Mike Card B

Played an extremely safe and smart game .. team relied on him a lot, second only to Weber .. saw time on special teams and held the opposition off the score sheet for the most part.

Tyler Mosienko B

An energy player who gave it everything he had each and every shift .. work ethic is tremendous and he has offensive upside .. despite the fact that he did not register a point in the games he certainly was dangerous buzzing around the net and creating disturbances.

Kristofer Westblom B

Considering the amount of playing time he had this year he did a remarkable job stepping into the pressure cooker and keeping his team in every contest .. rarely let in a bad goal and looked comfortable in the crease .. many goals were scored on him by way of the power play .. should return next season, poised and ready to compete for the number one position after having gained valuable experience competing in the Memorial Cup.

Troy Bodie B-

The biggest player in the tournament .. did not play overly physical but was a presence with his ability to charge the net and park himself in front of it in PP situations.

Lauris Darzins B-

An extremely gifted offensive player with a nice combination of playmaking and goal scoring skills .. lacked the speed to capitalize on all of his chances.

Darren Deschamps B-

Scored probably the nicest goal of the tournament against London by beating Rodney one-on-one and roofing it upstairs .. provided Kelowna with a smooth-skating third defenseman who was reliable in his own end.

Brett Palin C+

Captain of Kelowna team played with intensity and showed a willingness to lead and compete hard .. worst plus/minus on team resulted in lower grade.

Chris Ray C+

Skated hard while centring the second unit .. played solid defensively, back-checking with diligence .. smart player who reads plays well and tries to develop offensive chances.

Brent Howarth C

Second line winger looked out of place on many shifts .. inability to stay with and develop a play affected his offensive totals and made him a non-factor.

Kyle Cumiskey C

Many times his lack of foot speed was exposed when many of the higher profile guys made him look foolish in one-on-one situations .. adept at clearing the zone .. didn't play outside his limitations.

Troy Ofukany C-

Rookie saw less and less ice time as his team fell behind early in games.

Liam Couture C-

He literally played a handful of shifts but still managed an assist and had decent skating skills.