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 Draisaitl, 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. After the cancellation in 2020, Kelowna hosted the 2026 Memorial Cup tournament. At the tournament, the Rockets were eliminated after losing all three of their round robin games.

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.

Season-by-season record

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 Season GP W L T OTL GF GA Points Finish Playoffs 1995–96 72 35 33 4 – 338 309 74 4th West Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 1996–97 72 35 35 2 – 298 314 72 4th West Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 1997–98 72 33 35 4 – 234 253 70 5th West Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 1998–99 72 25 42 5 – 224 282 55 6th West Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 1999–00 72 25 40 4 3 193 228 57 5th West Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2000–01 72 37 23 7 5 259 240 86 1st West Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2001–02 72 31 26 10 5 257 232 77 4th B.C. Lost Western Conference final 2002–03 72 51 14 6 1 311 164 109 1st B.C. Won ChampionshipLost 2003 Memorial Cup semifinal 2003–04 72 47 21 4 0 185 125 98 1st B.C. Lost Western Conference finalWon 2004 Memorial Cup 2004–05 72 45 13 12 2 215 139 104 2nd B.C. Won ChampionshipFourth place in 2005 Memorial Cup round-robin 2005–06 72 46 22 1 3 243 188 96 2nd B.C. Lost Western Conference semifinal 2006–07 72 22 41 5 2 156 245 53 5th B.C. Did not qualify 2007–08 72 38 26 2 6 248 215 84 2nd B.C. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2008–09 72 47 21 1 3 267 178 98 2nd B.C. Won ChampionshipLost 2009 Memorial Cup final 2009–10 72 35 31 2 4 224 225 76 2nd B.C. Lost Western Conference semifinal 2010–11 72 43 28 0 1 240 201 87 1st B.C. Lost Western Conference semifinal 2011–12 72 31 31 4 6 217 242 72 3rd B.C. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2012–13 72 52 16 3 1 309 178 108 1st B.C. Lost Western Conference semifinal 2013–14 72 57 11 0 4 310 182 118 1st B.C. Lost Western Conference final 2014–15 72 53 13 5 1 305 183 112 1st B.C. Won ChampionshipLost 2015 Memorial Cup final 2015–16 72 48 20 4 0 269 218 100 2nd B.C. Lost Western Conference final 2016–17 72 45 22 5 0 283 206 95 2nd B.C. Lost Western Conference final 2017–18 72 43 22 5 2 280 249 93 1st B.C. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2018–19 68 28 32 6 2 169 209 64 4th B.C. Did not qualify 2019–20 63 29 28 3 3 181 208 64 4th B.C. Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2020–21 16 10 5 1 0 58 53 21 3rd B.C. No playoffs held due to COVID-19 pandemic 2021–22 68 42 20 1 5 250 207 90 2nd B.C. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2022–23 68 27 37 4 0 210 256 58 4th B.C. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2023–24 68 33 30 4 1 250 258 71 2nd B.C. Lost Western Conference semifinal 2024–25 68 18 44 4 2 213 311 42 5th B.C. Did not qualify 2025–26 68 38 21 6 3 259 220 85 3rd B.C. Lost Western Conference semifinalFourth place in 2026 Memorial Cup round-robin

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

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

Cody Almond Mikael Backlund Tyson Barrie Jamie Benn Karel Betik Troy Bodie Madison Bowey Brett Bulmer Mitch Callahan Mike Card Rourke Chartier Blake Comeau Kyle Cumiskey Leon Draisaitl Dillon Dube Alexander Edler Todd Fedoruk Vernon Fiddler Cal Foote Nolan Foote Mitch Fritz Carsen Germyn Robb Gordon Josh Gorges Tyrell Goulbourne Scott Hannan Lucas Johansen D. J. King Justin Kirkland Duncan Keith Chuck Kobasew Kaedan Korczak Joel Kwiatkowski Milan Kytnar Quintin Laing Colin Long Kole Lind Brett McLean Brandon McMillan Nick Merkley Josh Morrissey Travis Moen Tyler Myers Cam Paddock Scott Parker Dale Purinton Gage Quinney Richie Regehr Luke Schenn Jesse Schultz Ray Schultz Damon Severson Colton Sissons Sheldon Souray Nick Tarnasky Lassi Thomson Calvin Thurkauf Carsen Twarynski Vaclav Varada Shea Weber Nolan Yonkman

See also List of ice hockey teams in British Columbia

Notes

References

External links

Official website of the Kelowna Rockets Official website of the Western Hockey League Official website of the Canadian Hockey League