Penticton Vees make roster moves ahead of first WHL season

Vees make roster moves

Photo: Contributed

Penticton Vees announce roster moves.

The Penticton Vees have added some players to their roster ahead of their first ever season in the Western Hockey League.

The team has selected forward Trevor Connelly from the Spokane Chiefs' 50 Player Protected List and the playing rights to forward Malachi McKinnon from the Tri-City Americans, in exchange for a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2029 WHL Prospects Draft.

Connelly, 19, was a 19th overall pick by the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights in the 2024 NHL draft.

The Vees' first WHL season kicks off in September 2025.

Blazers choose not to renew contract for associate coach Hay

Hay won't return to Blazers

Photo: KTW file

Don Hay will not return next season as associate coach of the Kamloops Blazers.

The Kamloops Blazers are once again parting ways with the Western Hockey League's all-time winningest coach.

Don Hay will not be back behind the Blazers’ bench as an associate coach for the 2025-26 WHL season. The club said it opted not to renew the 71-year-old's contract.

Hay, a former Kamloops Fire Rescue firefighter, started his coaching career as an assistant with his hometown Blazers in 1985. He stayed in that role until 1992, when he was promoted to head coach.

He stayed with the club until 1995, winning two Memorial Cups as head coach and another as an assistant. Hay also coached for Calgary, Phoenix and Anaheim in the NHL, for Utah in the AHL and spent 10 seasons at the helm of the Vancouver Giants, where he won a fourth Memorial Cup in 2007.

Hay returned to Kamloops to serve as head coach between 2014 and 2018, then returned as associate coach in 2022.

“I feel very fortunate to have been welcomed back to the Kamloops Blazers and spend the last three seasons with the hockey club,” Hay said.

“Kamloops is a special place for myself and my family. I’ve enjoyed working with the players, the hockey and business staff and wish them all the best moving forward.”

Hay is the WHL’s all-time winningest head coach, with 752 wins under his belt,

“We are grateful that we had the opportunity to have Don on our coaching staff over the past three seasons,” Blazers general manager and head coach Shaun Clouston said in a news release.

“Don’s work ethic and relentless commitment to developing players will be a lasting legacy through the Kamloops Blazers organization.”

It was a good two days at the WHL draft but Rockets GM says it could have been better

Rocket draft highs and lows

Photo: Calgary Hitmen

Carson Wetsch

The Kelowna Rockets went into the 2025 Western Hockey League draft with a shopping list of things to get done.

And, for the most part, it was mission accomplished.

Rockets president and GM Bruce Hamilton got the type of leader and talent he was looking for in right winger Carson Wetsch from the Calgary Hitmen, a beast of a defenceman in first round pick Will Kelts and winger Joel Ngandu who they are extremely high on after trading back into the second round to select.

But, he also rued losing out on a pair of deals with the Swift Current Broncos.

“The (Rylan) Gould deal blew my mind last night,” said Hamilton.

“I thought we had a deal.”

Gould, who put up 66 points last season, was dealt late Thursday night to the Everett Silvertips for a prospect and a first round pick in 2026.

“We were in on (Clarke) Caswell, but when he decided to go to (University of) Denver, that changed it.

“We’ve been very active. There will be more stuff now that (the draft) is over.”

While many teams will take the next week or so to re-evaluate where their roster sits following the draft, Hamilton expects the Rockets to keep moving forward looking for ways to reshape next year's roster.

“We will keep shopping and bothering people.

“An older centre would be ideal. Then we would have Poppy (Hayden Paupanekis and one more there, and for sure an overage defenceman.

“The problem with all of this is the guys we want to go after who are overages are waiting to see what happens with contracts, tryouts and school.”

They will also be preparing for the CHL import draft July 2.

The Rockets pick seventh in that draft and should get a high end talent at that spot.

“We need to get two for sure out of there that can play. If we do it makes the number of guys we need to add a lot smaller.”

As for the prospects draft, Hamilton says he is delighted with the mix of five defencemen, five forwards and a goaltender.

He is extremely high on goaltender Logan German, taken in the sixth round out of Winnipeg.

He was the fifteenth goaltender taken but had the best numbers of any of them, posting an 18-0 record and a 1.18 goals against average.

The Rockets had defenceman Dylan Veroba, taken in the eighth round, rated as a third round pick.

As for Kelts, taken 20th overall, Hamilton says they would have taken him third if they had kept that pick.

“We couldn’t believe he was still around at 20,” he said.

“This kid hadn’t played at a high level until this year.

“He’s a farm kid and until this year hadn’t left the farm. He’ll leave this year and train in the city probably. He’s going to be a big, mean big.”

Kelowna Rockets get help up front in U.S. draft

Rockets add 11 prospects

Photo: Contributed

Drew McDevitt

UPDATE 2:25 p.m.

The Kelowna Rockets were busy over the past 24 hours stocking the cupboard with future prospects while at the same time adding a top line forward and more trade chips to build the roster for next year’s Memorial Cup run.

The Rockets came into the prospects and U.S. priority drafts with six first round picks over the next three years. They turned the 3rd overall pick in the prospects draft into a second round pick this year and first rounders in 2026 and 2027 in a deal with Regina.

They used one of their 2027 first round picks as part of a package for power forward Carson Wetsch and used the 20th overall selection, obtained from Spokane in the Andrew Cristall deal, to grab toolsy defenceman Will Kelts out of the Northern Alberta Xtreme program.

The 6’2” Kelts is described as a tough, physical defenceman with a lot of offensive ability.

They used Regina’s second round pick, 26th overall on another puck moving defenceman, Remy Koch out of the Edge Prep program in Calgary.

The Rockets also swung a deal with Edmonton to move back into the second round to take left winger Joel Ngandu from Xtreme with the 34th pick giving them three prospects in the first 34 picks.

Other selections in the prospects draft include:

• 4th Round. Grayson Bauer - centre - Edge Prep
• 5th Round. Channon Fummerton - defenceman - Rink Kelowna
• 6th Round. Logan German - goalie - Winnipeg Bruins
• 7th Round. Khalil Haji - defenceman - Edmonton CAC
• 7th Round. Bronson Lamontagne - centre - Rink Kelowna
• 8th Round. Dylan Veroba - defenceman - Sask East Oilers

The Rockets also selected forwards Drew McDevitt (9th overall) and Ryan Lee (39th overall) in the U.S. priority draft.

In all, the Rockets took five defencemen, five forwards and a goaltender.

The annual CHL import draft is set for July 2, after the NHL draft.

The Rockets have the seventh overall pick.

The import draft has been expanded to three rounds as the CHL begins allowing teams to carry three imports beginning next season.

ORIGINAL NOON

The Kelowna Rockets added a pair of forwards from California during Thursday’s U.S. priority draft.

The two-round draft took place prior to the resumption of the prospects draft.

With the ninth overall pick, the Rockets nabbed forward Drew McDevitt from the California Goldrush 14U program.

Over the span of 55 games this past season, McDevitt led his team in scoring with 44 goals and 30 assists.

With the 39th overall pick, the Rockets selected forward Ryan Lee from the Los Angeles Jr. Kings 14U program.

In 56 games this past season, Lee put up 27 goals and 57 points.

Those players not selected in the special U.S. draft will be available to all teams in the prospects draft.

The first round of the prospects draft was held Wednesday evening with the remaining rounds set for today.