WHL: Gorgeous Gorges

The Kelowna Rockets play a style of hockey that doesn’t allow for much excitement, however, that doesn’t mean they don’t have some quality prospects most notably captain Josh Gorges and defensive partner Shea Weber.

Shea Weber (Nsh), D

Moves the puck crisply up to the forward .. leveled a player with a cross check to nullify a possible scoring chance .. not opposed to laying the lumber on a guy along the wall or in front of the net .. developing a nasty streak that makes it rough for the opposing players that venture in to his area .. usually partners with Gorges .. good hand-eye coordination .. on power play .. uses his speed effectively and can close the gap on most puck carriers .. has a heavy slap shot that gets in on the goalie quickly .. took a late PIM for slashing.

Mike Card (2004), D

Smartly gets rid of the puck .. makes the transition from skating backwards to forwards with ease .. doesn’t appear to have the top gear that would make him an offensive threat .. showed few flashes of living up to the hype of last season .. on the second unit of the power play .. doesn’t get much on his shots .. rarely rushes with the puck, instead he tends to prefer to use the boards or his partner .. hasn’t developed any creativity.

Josh Gorges (SJ), D

Wears the "C" .. a forward tried to beat him wide, but Gorges used his elite mobility to shut down any scoring opportunities .. communicate with his defensive partner .. is a mainstay on the PK and PP .. uses different speeds to get in the open .. plays in every situation and gets a ton of quality ice time .. not a big player, but isn’t afraid to play with the edge needed to be effective defensively .. has excellent vision and the passing skills to create plays .. strong on his skates .. took an obstruction holding penalty.

Chris Ray (2004), C

Let loose a weak wrist shot and didn't even drive to the net to look for rebounds .. can really turn on the after burners .. not much physical presence, but makes the effort and has the speed and mobility to get his body on the puck carrier .. picks up his man through the neutral zone .. scored a late goal on a one timer from the slot.

Joni Lindlof (Wsh), LW

Gets in quickly on the forecheck .. comes back to support the defense .. got on late on one power play, but generally didn't see any time on the special teams.

Blake Comeau (2004), RW

Turned over the puck by throwing it right up the middle in his own zone .. on the PK .. passed the puck in to the feet of his open linemate .. rarely uses his speed to accomplish anything .. needs to get his nose dirty and become less of a perimeter player.

Tyler Spurgeon (2004), C

On PK .. uses his stick to cut off passing lanes .. communicates with his linemates .. plays with some jump .. created a great scoring chance on a play by turning the defense inside out and then letting a shot go that almost handcuffed the goalie.

Cam Paddock (Pit), C

Takes his man and is an aggressive forechecker .. an experienced faceoff artist .. on power play.

Justin Keller (2004), LW

Drives to the net and has the quickness and strength to beat a guy wide .. makes himself available for the breakout pass .. on PP .. knocked a guy off the puck for a scoring chance .. skates equally well with the puck as without it .. powerful slap shot .. tries to find the gaps and usually gets there .. shows excellent potential and with some more development could become a game breaker .. selected the game's second star.

Mark Olafson (Wsh), W

Plays on the penalty kill .. makes poor decisions with the puck, especially if hurried .. pretty good at the give and go .. solid on his skates .. while on the power play he turned over the puck with a lazy pass .. hard to move out of the crease.

Michal Blanar (2004), LW

Went down and blocked a shot .. needs to maintain his focus and not get running around .. took an interference penalty.

Randall Gelech (Phx), RW

Finishes his checks .. on the PP and the PK .. went down to block a shot .. intercepted a pass in front of his own net to kill a scoring chance .. has a second gear to get in on the defense and cut down their space and time.

Troy Bodie (Edm), LW

Not a very powerful skater, kind of lumbers around .. lacks mobility .. although once he gets a few steps his skating isn’t too bad .. long, sweeping strides .. made a nice pass from behind the net for a quality scoring chance .. ads a physical dimension to this line .. is most effective using his size in high traffic areas.