I’ve been wanting to write a media piece for quite some time now as I haven’t really written one since my rookie season on my last player, and I figured there was no better time than my new junior team getting chosen for team spotlight week. I’m excited to be back in the J and ready to get my career going with Kelowna, but I figured it would be good to get a better idea of the team I’m about to be joining. For this piece I’m going to briefly look back at the past few seasons, the S77 draft the team just had, and how the roster is looking heading forward.

A look back
S75: 20W 43L 3OTL 43P - 12th place
S74: 22W 42L 2OTL 46P – 13th place
S73: 21W 39L 6OTL 48P – 13th place
S72: 25W 39L 2OTL 52P – 11th place
S71: 22W 36L 8OTL 52P – 11th place
S70: 31W 28L 7OTL 69P – 9th place
S69: 42W 19L 5OTL 89P – 3rd place

I was planning on only looking back to S70 but saw that S69 was the most successful season in recent history, so I felt the need to include it. That said, it’s clear that things have been difficult for the Knights, to say the least. S70 was their last season above .500 and their last series win the playoffs came back in S64 when they beat Anaheim in round 1. This is a team with plenty of history, having won a staggering 12 Four-Star Cups, dating back to their first championship in S2 up to their most recent one in S59. It’s clear that there is motivation to bring this team back to its winning ways and I look forward to seeing this happen over the next few seasons.

S77 draft
6: F - Pohler Beargeron
10: F - Emeric Gagner
16: G - Doom Guy
31: F – Cyrus The Virus
41: F – Julian Darkshanks

Kelowna’s draft started off with a bang when they traded their 2nd overall pick away to Vancouver, and in return acquired the 6th overall and 31st overall picks. They weren’t done trading as they further went on to acquire 16th overall from Colorado in return for two 2nds and a 4th. At the end of it all, Kelowna had three first round picks and used all of them.
With their first two picks they chose an SHL GM and a co-GM, which provides them with some help in their war room and will hopefully establish a foundation they can build on heading forward. With pick 16 they chose goaltender Doom Guy, which helps bolster a position they still needed to fill. They closed out their draft with two more solid selections in Cyrus The Virus, and Julian Darkshanks. These two players are both forwards and new creates that are already building on their players and active in the LR, exactly what you hope for in picks this far down. Look for these two to be steals for the team coming out of this draft. All in all a very solid draft, you can never complain when you can add five new actives in one draft.

Moving On
Despite a subpar performance from the team in S75, there were still several difference makers that are unfortunately moving on from the team as they have been given callups to their SHL teams or simply aged out. Five-Hole Sieves was one such player who received a call up, as they will be joining the Buffalo Stampede in net next season. Losing their starting goalie from the past few seasons will be a tough hole to fill, something they hope the newly drafted Doom Guy might be able to do. Another player called up was Graham Schwartz, who will be joining Calgary. Losing one of their top defenders creates another hole on the defense side of things. Lastly, the team lost forwards Daniel Durkburg and James McAvoy due to them aging out. These two players represent their top two points scorers from last season.

Current Roster
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, it’s time to look at the Knights roster that will hit the ice in S76.

Forwards
Jennifer Huh – S76 – 350 Applied TPE
Coming in as the newly minted captain of the Kelowna Knights, Jennifer Huh is entering her second season in the league coming off her rookie campaign in S75 where she scored 9 goals and 24 assists for 33 points. This performance was enough to see her drafted 6th overall this offseason by the Calgary Dragons. Even so, as a player known to be capable of performing well on the offensive side of things, she will surely be looking to score more goals this season. If the Knights see any success this season it will be due to players like her.

Mark Jagerson – S76 – 350 Applied TPE
Drafted by the Philadelphia Forge in the 1st round of the S76 draft, Jagerson also has an impressive offensive touch that the Knights will likewise be relying on to produce some goals. In Jagerson's case, he prefers to set up goals rather than score them, as evidenced by his stat line last season of only 2 goals, but 14 assists as a rookie. Look for continued improvement for Jagerson is season as they hope to find their footing on the top forward line.

Savva Kirk – S76 – 350 Applied TPE
A first-round pick to the New Orleans Specters, Kirk is going to see an expanded role on the Knights this season after being chosen as one of their assistant captains. Kirk is a player with the ability to play in any situation, as evidenced by the fact that he played as a defenseman as a rookie and has made the switch to play as a forward in S76. As a defenseman, Kirk put up 22 points. Look to see that number increase as he finds his footing as a forward.

Carter Stankoven – S76 - 315 Applied TPE
Yet another player coming into his sophomore season with the Knights, Stankoven put up an impressive 31 points in their rookie campaign. Slipping to the 3rd round of the SHL draft, Stankoven was snatched up by the Hamilton Steelhawks, and is eager to prove to them why they got a steal with that pick. Once again, this is a player who will see increased importance to the Knights success this season as they look for more offense to fill the holes left by those who departed the team in the offseason.

Blant Chorski – S75 – 271 Applied TPE
After scoring 41 points with the Knights last season (most amongst returning players), Chorski has not improved much in the past offseason. While the Knights will surely hope for an equal performance to last season, look for them to have diminished icetime, unless they suddenly decide to take training seriously again.

Pohler Beargeron – S77 – 225 Applied TPE
Hailing from Churchill, Manitoba, this literal polar bear was drafted 6th overall by the Knights in the S76 SMJHL draft just prior to the season. Despite being such a recent addition to the team, the Knights have chosen him as the final member of their captaincy group as he has already demonstrated exceptional leadership in their short time in Kelowna. A giant player on the ice, Beargeron will look to use his 6’7’’ frame to muscle opponents off the puck, or at the very least intimidate them. Knights fans are excited to bring on such a talent as a cornerstone to the future of their team.

Emeric Gagner – S77 – 216 Applied TPE
Drafted soon after Beargeron at 10th overall, the Knights selected a much more diminutive player in Emeric Gagner. With their smaller size, Gagner will have to use his skill more to his advantage if he hopes to establish his presence on the emerging core of the Kelowna Knights. With a very well-rounded skillset, look for Gagner to impress on both ends of the ice.

Cyrus The Virus – S77 – 207 Applied TPE
Another very well-rounded player, Cyrus The Virus was selected 31st by the Knights in the most recent draft. Despite being dwarfed in size by his new linemate, Beargeron, The Virus is still a player with some size as they measure in at 6’2’’. From Boston, USA, he will make the trek up to Canada to start his rookie campaign with the Knights this season, something fans are eagerly anticipating.

Julian Darkshanks – S77 – 182 Applied TPE
Rounding out the forward group is another member of the S77 draft class, Julian Darkshanks. Drafted by the Knights in the 3rd round, Darkshanks is another player hoping to prove to the teams that passed on them why he will be one of the steals of the draft. he will enter his rookie season in Kelowna centering the 3rd line, and will use his goal scoring abilities to round out the forward depth on the team.

Defense
Paul Bondage – S74 – 420 Applied TPE
An Atlanta Inferno draft pick, the imposing German defenseman Paul Bondage is seen by many as being the Knights’ best player heading into the season. The only returning defensemen from last season, Bondage put up 14 goals and 17 assists for a total of 31 points last season. He will have one last season in the juniors before making the jump to the big leagues, so he will be doing his best to impress the Inferno to justify a call up.

Temetrius Jamel “Ja” Morant Wick – S74 – 257 Applied TPE
Wick is an interesting case, as he is a decent defenseman who did not play any competitive hockey games in the last couple seasons. The Knights are hoping he practiced in the meantime, but I cannot imagine fans are holding their breath. He last played in S73 for the Newfoundland Berserkers, putting up 17 points in 41 games that season.

Dalton Canders – S74 – 233 Applied TPE
Also not seeing any icetime last season, the Knights have brought in Canders to try and round out their defense. He has not played since S74 when they put up 21 points for Carolina.

Michael Rappaz-Creek – S74 – 215 Applied TPE
Continuing the trend of players not playing last season, Rappaz-Creek put up 26 points in their rookie season for Quebec in S73.

Martins Priede – S74 – 189 Applied TPE
Priede last played for Detroit in S73, scoring only 7 points in 17 games. The last of the players coming off an extended break, the Knights defense end is clearly in need of some improvements. They may have to look into someone with divine powers to help with this endeavor.

Hummus God – S77 – 155 Applied TPE
Enter Hummus God. I mean who doesn’t like some good hummus? Hummus God was a recent waiver pickup for the Knights as they hope to improve their defense situation. Insiders have said he have more of a background in baseball, so it will be interesting to see how his skills translate to hockey.

Goaltenders
Doom Guy – S77 – 179 Applied TPE
Another member of the Knights’ rookie draft class, Doom Guy was chosen with the last pick of the 1st round at 16. Since the team lost their previous starting goalie to a call up in the off-season, Doom Guy will be thrust into the starter role immediately. The Knights are hoping the pressure of the role won’t get to the rookie, but it is clear the skill to succeed is there.

Dako Nanokov – S74 – 183 Applied TPE
The Knights backup from last season is returning to the team this season and will likely return to the backup role in their last junior season. It has been said that the team saw no clear improvement in the offseason to justify a starting position. Last season he put up 3 wins and 5 losses, with a 0.892 save percentage and a 4.91 GAA.

Wrap up
And there we have it, the S76 Kelowna Knights. While no one is expecting the team to be a cup contender this season, there is a clear sense of the organization being on the verge of turning things around. After two consecutive successful drafts, the team will be relying on plenty of young talent to carry them through the season. If they can see clear improvements from the roster throughout the season, who knows what the future will hold for them.

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