Three Kelowna Rockets skaters crack NHL's final ranking of top 100 prospects

3 Rockets crack top 100

Photo: Steve Dunsmoore

Composite photo of defencemen Dawson Gerwing, Will Sharpe and forward Hayden Paupanekis.

As the Stanley Cup Playoffs are set to begin April 19, NHL Central Scouting has listed three Kelowna Rockets
in its final rankings ahead of the 2025 NHL Draft.

Forward Hayden Paupanekis is ranked 38th among North American skaters while defenceman Will Sharpe is 76th and Dawson Gerwing is 99th. The list features the top 224 skaters and 32 goaltenders in North America as well as the top 140 skaters and 15 goaltenders internationally.

Paupanekis was acquired by the Rockets in a midseason trade with the Spokane Chiefs. In 71 games between the two clubs, he finished with 22 goals and 21 assists for 43 points and ranked second on the Rockets in goals and third on the team in points.

The forward was also named the club’s Top Defensive Forward after winning the Hollis Pearce Award. Paupanekis took over 1,200 faceoffs this season, winning 49.7 per cent of those draws. He ranks first on the team in faceoff attempts with 1,235 and first in faceoffs won.

Sharpe was acquired from the Lethbridge Hurricanes in January and he suited up in 66 games, scoring nine goals and adding 35 assists for 44 points. His 35 assists ranked first on the team while he sat third in total points behind Jakub Stancl and Hayden Paupanekis.

Gerwing split the season between Swift Current and Kelowna, playing 58 games between the two teams after being acquired ahead of January’s trade deadline. The 18-year-old registered 15 goals and 13 assists, to go along with 98 penalty minutes.

The 2025 NHL Draft will be held in Los Angeles on June 27-28.

Regina Pats win WHL draft lottery, Rockets stay at 3

Rockets pick 3rd in draft

Photo: Contributed

The Kelowna Rockets stayed right where they were following the Western Hockey League’s draft lottery held Thursday evening.

The Rockets, who finished the regular season with the third worst record, had the third best odds of winning the lottery and thus having a chance to select first overall in May’s prospects draft.

That distinction will go to the Regina Pats who had their number drawn. The Pats had the second best odds and, by winning the lottery, flipped spots with the Edmonton Oil Kings, who will pick second.

The rest of the draft order will remain the same with the expansion Penticton Vees picking fourth followed by Everett who own Kamloops’ first round selection, Vancouver (via Wenatchee) and Red Deer.

The remainder of the first round was determined by regular season standings.

Along with the third overall selection, the Rockets will also pick 20, a selection they received from the Spokane Chiefs as part of the Andrew Cristall trade.

The Rockets are expected to move those picks prior to the first round of the prospects draft May 7 as they look to restock the cupboard for a Memorial Cup run.

The Rockets have an automatic berth into the 2026 Memorial Cup as host team.

The Vees will select at the top of the second round and each subsequent round.

The league also held a lottery for the first round of the U.S. prospects draft.

The lottery was held for the six teams that missed the playoffs along with the eight teams that lost in the first round of the playoffs.

Kelowna will pick ninth and 39th in the two round draft.

The first round of the prospects draft will be held on the evening of May 7. The U.S. draft will take place the morning of May 8 with the remaining round of the main prospects draft following that.

Kelowna Rockets will be interested spectators during Thursday's WHL draft lottery

Rockets eye draft lottery

Photo: Contributed

The Kelowna Rockets hope fortune will smile on them Thursday when the Western Hockey League holds its annual draft lottery.

As was the case a year ago, the Rockets have the third best odds of moving up to get the first overall pick in the 2025 prospects draft.

However, with the prospect of choosing the talented Landon Dupont, the Rockets actually slipped one spot to fourth. They eventually traded back and picked 10th in the 2024 draft.

The lottery, for the six teams that failed to make the playoffs and the expansion Penticton Vees, will determine the order of the first seven picks of the first round only.

The Rockets will select third in subsequent rounds.

The Edmonton Oil Kings, who hold Moose Jaw’s first round pick, have the best odds of selecting first followed by Regina, the Rockets and Vees.

The draft lottery will use 21 balls. Edmonton will have six, Regina five, the Rockets four. The Rockets have a 19 per cent chance of getting the first pick and a 14.2 per cent chance of slipping back

Since teams can only move up two spots, the Rockets could pick first, third or fourth.

Rockets president and GM Bruce Hamilton has stated the Rockets would likely use the pick if it’s first overall, but would likely seek to trade the pick if it’s anything else.

Regina native Maddox Schultz is considered the top prospect after putting up 43 goals and 93 points in the Saskatchewan Male U18 AAA league.

The Rockets own their first round pick and that of the Spokane Chiefs from the Andrew Cristall trade. They also own two first round picks in both 2026 and 2027.

Hamilton is expected to use some of those picks in order to build a team to contend for next year’s Memorial Cup being held in Kelowna.

A draft lottery will also be held Thursday for the U.S. priority draft.

Each of the six non-playoff teams as well as the eight teams eliminated in the first round of the playoffs will be included.

Unlike the weighted priority draft lottery, each of the 14 teams will have just one ball in the hopper giving each team an equal shot at the number one pick. Penticton will draft fourth in each of the two rounds.

The drafts will be held over two days, May 7 and 8.

Important off-season underway as Rockets look to retool for 2026 Memorial Cup run

Rockets changes afoot

Photo: Kelowna Rockets

To say this is one of the most important off seasons the Kelowna Rockets have faced in several years would be an understatement.

After missing the post season for the first time since 2019, general manager Bruce Hamilton and assistant GM Curtis Hamilton now have the task of not only retooling the roster ahead of hosting the 2026 Memorial Cup, but also finding a new head coach to lead that team.

So, just what does the retooling look like?

“Four or five (players), and that includes two or three Europeans if the rule changes to three,” Bruce Hamilton said following Tuesday’s awards ceremony.

“We certainly know what we need and what we want to get and now we are trying to make sure we are in the race early in the bidding process.

While not getting into names specifically, Hamilton says one of the top priorities is finding a centre to play with Tij Iginla, who should be ready to go following season-ending surgery.

That may be Hayden Paupanekis, acquired as part of the deal that sent Andrew Cristall to Spokane, or someone else.

Before he does anything, Hamilton says he wants to get a deal done with Penticton with regards to the expansion draft, whether that’s a player or a draft choice.

Following the trade deadline, and after losing both Max Graham and Michael Cicek to season-ending injuries, the Rockets managed to win just four of their last 33 games.

Those injuries gave the Rockets a chance to see what they had in the young men remaining on the roster, which featured nine rookies including four 16-year-olds.

He liked the progress he saw.

“I think Varga is going to be a really exciting player for us. I think Folstrom is going to be a real sound two-way player, Henderson is going to be a real good defenceman. He reminds me a lot of his father.

“(Hiroki) Gojsic has got some real bite to his game. It's just a matter of him maturing and understanding the game a little bit more.

With the injuries we had they played in situations they never would have played. They wouldn't have been on the penalty kill, they wouldn't have been on the power play.”

Many of those players will likely be contributors at the bottom of the roster next season as Hamilton looks to load up with 19-year-old talent for the Memorial Cup year.

“To play in the Memorial Cup you have to have a lot of 19-year-olds and we’ll have a lot of 19-year-olds.”

Hamilton says there is nothing to report on the coaching front.

While he wouldn’t exclude Derrick Martin, who led the team over the last 33 games, Hamilton says they are going to wait and see what becomes available.

“Ideally I would love to find a real experienced guy to give (Martin) a year of mentorship, but if that doesn’t happen we’ll do what we have to do.

“Number 1, our culture has to get back to where it was.

“That's an easy thing for everyone to say, but it's critical to me that we get to this being a very difficult place to play. We've lost that and that has to come back.

”It's critical we get somebody who brings a little bit of respect and has a little bit of bite to him too. Accountability is a big thing and I want that badly.”