Kelowna Rockets facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kelowna Rockets
City	Kelowna, British Columbia
League	Western Hockey League
Conference	Western
Division	B.C.
Founded	1991 (1991)
Home arena	Prospera Place
Colours	Teal, Red, Copper, Black, White
Owner(s)	Bruce Hamilton
General manager	Bruce Hamilton
Head coach	Kris Mallette
Championships	Memorial Cup 1 (2004) Ed Chynoweth Cup 4 (2003, 2005, 2009, 2015) Conference Championships 4 (2002–03, 2004–05, 2008–09, 2014–15)
Website chl.ca/whl-rockets
Franchise history
1991–1995	Tacoma Rockets
1995–present	Kelowna Rockets

The Kelowna Rockets are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Kelowna, British Columbia. The team plays in the B.C Division of the Western Hockey League's Western Conference, playing their home games at Prospera Place. The Rockets are the most successful WHL team in the twenty-first century, winning three regular season titles and four playoff championships. The team has also played in the Memorial Cup finals three times, winning once, in 2004, when Kelowna hosted the tournament.

Franchise history

Foundations

The club was established in 1991 as the Tacoma Rockets, playing in Tacoma, Washington. The team played four seasons in Tacoma under head coach Marcel Comeau, who was named the league and the Canadian Hockey League's coach-of-the-year for 1992–93, although the team won only one playoff round. With the Tacoma Dome offering poor sight lines for hockey and attendance low, the team was sold and relocated to Kelowna in 1995. In Kelowna, the team spent its first four seasons playing at Kelowna Memorial Arena while a new, purpose-built arena—Prospera Place—was being constructed; the team moved to the completed arena in 1999.

Rise to prominence

Coached by Marc Habscheid and led on the ice by the likes of Jesse Schultz, Josh Gorges, Shea Weber, and goaltender Kelly Guard, the Rockets emerged as a contending team just after the turn of the century. In 2002–03, the team won its first Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as regular season champions with a 51-win, 109-point season. In the playoffs, they defeated the Red Deer Rebels in the final to win their first President's Cup as league champions. At the 2003 Memorial Cup, Kelowna advanced to the semi-final, which they lost 2–1 to the Hull Olympiques. In 2004, the Rockets repeated as regular season champions before losing the Western Conference final to the expansion Everett Silvertips. However, Kelowna was able to participate in the 2004 Memorial Cup by virtue of hosting the tournament. At the tournament, the Rockets surrendered only three goals in four games en route to the championship, avenging the previous year's defeat to the Olympiques in the final, with Guard being named tournament MVP.

In 2004–05, the Rockets finished second overall in the standings to the Kootenay Ice, who they defeated in the Western Conference final to advance to championship series. There, the defeated the Brandon Wheat Kings for their second President's Cup in three seasons, and a berth in their third straight Memorial Cup tournament. However, at the 2005 Memorial Cup, the Rockets dropped three straight games and were eliminated.

Continued success

The 2006–07 season saw the Rockets miss the playoffs for the first time in team history, but the team's struggles would be short-lived. The 2008–09 season saw the Rockets, led by Tyler Myers, Jamie Benn, and Tyson Barrie, advance to their third league final, where they defeated the Calgary Hitmen. Benn led the 2009 Memorial Cup tournament in scoring, and the Rockets earned a spot in the final; however, they lost 4–1 to the Windsor Spitfires.

From 2013–14 to 2016–17, the Rockets advanced to four consecutive Western Conference finals. They won once, in 2015, moving on to defeat the Wheat Kings in the final. Led by tournament MVP Leon Draistaitl, the Rockets made a third finals appearance at the 2015 Memorial Cup, but lost 2–1 in overtime to the Oshawa Generals.

The Rockets missed the playoffs for a second time in 2018–19. The team was set to host the Memorial Cup for the second time in 2020; however, the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023–24, led by Tij Iginla, the Rockets won their first playoff series in seven years, defeating the Wenatchee Wild before losing in the second round to the Prince George Cougars.

Team uniforms

Since 2000, the Rockets' uniforms have featured a logo based on the legendary Okanagan Lake monster, Ogopogo. A third jersey design features the monster's head, taken from their shoulder patch design. The team's colours—carried over from their days in Tacoma—are teal, red, copper, black, and white. In 2009, their jerseys were slightly modified to fit the Reebok Edge system.

• Early Rockets logos
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  Rendering of the Tacoma Rockets logo, c. 1991–1994.

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  The original Kelowna logo, based on Tacoma's, c. 1995–2000.

Season-by-season record

J. T. Barnett played for the Rockets during the 2012–13 season.

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Championship history

• Memorial Cup: 2004
• Ed Chynoweth Cup (4): 2002–03, 2004–05, 2008–09, 2014–15
• Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy (3): 2002–03, 2003–04, 2013–14
• Regular season Division titles (8): 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2017–18

WHL Championship series

• 2002–03: Win, 4–2 vs. Red Deer Rebels
• 2004–05: Win, 4–1 vs. Brandon Wheat Kings
• 2008–09: Win, 4–2 vs. Calgary Hitmen
• 2014–15: Win, 4–0 vs. Brandon Wheat Kings

Memorial Cup finals

• 2004: Win, 2–1 vs. Gatineau Olympiques
• 2009: Loss, 1–4 vs. Windsor Spitfires
• 2015: Loss, 1–2 vs. Oshawa Generals

Players

NHL alumni

List of Rockets' alumni to play in the National Hockey League (NHL):

See also

• List of ice hockey teams in British Columbia