A total of twelve current and former Kelowna Rockets will be attending NHL rookie camps and tournaments in the coming days.
Current Rockets forward Andrew Cristall (Washington Capitals) and defenceman Caden Price (Seattle Kraken) will attend their first NHL fall camps after being picked in the 2023 NHL Draft this past June.
Defenceman Jackson DeSouza (Detroit Red Wings) and goaltender Jari Kykkanen (Calgary Flames) were invited to summer NHL camps after going undrafted in the 2023 NHL Draft. The duo were invited back by the same clubs for the fall. Kykkanen is expected to play for Calgary at the 2023 Young Stars Classic in Penticton this weekend.
Czechia forward Gabriel Szturc has been invited as a free agent to attend the Tampa Bay Lightning’s camp. Entering his 20-year-old season, Szturc remains on the Rockets 50 player protected list, but as an overage player is also eligible to play in the American Hockey League or return to Europe to play professionally.
Colton Dach (Chicago Blackhawks), Talyn Boyko (New York Rangers) and Pavel Novak (Minnesota Wild) were all drafted by their respective teams and are entering the first years of their entry-level contracts.
Dillon Hamaliuk (Pittsburgh Penguins) missed the majority of last season due to injury. Drafted by San Jose in 2019, he was dealt from the Sharks to the Pittsburgh Penguins this past summer as part of the Erik Karlsson trade.
Last summer the American Hockey League’s Henderson Silver Knights signed forward Alex Swetlikoff to a two-year AHL contract. The Silver Knights are the farm team of the Vegas Golden Knights.
Mark Liwiski (Winnipeg Jets) signed a one-year deal with the Manitoba Moose earlier this summer after spending last season with the ECHL’s Wichita Thunder in 2022-23.
Carson Golder (Winnipeg Jets) has been invited to attend the Jets camp, he signed an amateur tryout agreement with the Jets AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, last spring.