It’s been a few seasons since Kelowna honored the numbers of its alumni, so we felt that our home opener was a great time to celebrate our fans and our players with a little banner-raising, trophy-awarding, and letter-assigning! First things first, the old dudes:

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DAVID BENSON
[GOODLEFTUNDONE]



SMJHL - Drafted by Kelowna in the 2nd round, 10th overall
SHL - Drafted by Toronto in the 1st round, 1st overall

S22 A 4* GP 40 G 13 A 17 Pts 30 +/- 10
GP 8 G 3 A 7 Pts 10 +/- 1

S23 C GP 40 G 18 A 31 Pts 49 +/- 11
GP 7 G 2 A 2 Pts 4 +/- -1

CHESTER CUNNINGHAM
[COUNT CHOCULA]



SMJHL - Drafted by Kelowna in the 9th round, 50th overall
SHL - Drafted by Toronto in the 3rd round, 31st overall

S19 GP 40 G 4 A 13 Pts 17 +/- -2
GP 6 G 2 A 2 Pts 4 +/- -2

S20 GP 40 G21 A 24 Pts 45 +/- 8
GP 17 G 6 A 10 Pts 16 +/- 3

MAGNUS VIKSTRAND
[TEZTIFY]



SMJHL - Drafted by Kelowna in the 1st round, 1st overall
SHL - Auto drafted

S17 C GP 40 G 2 A 14 Pts 16 +/- 17 SB 42
GP 12 G 1 A 4 Pts 5 +/- 2 SB 11

S18 C GP 40 G 11 A 11 Pts 26 +/- -12 SB 49
GP 6 G 0 A 4 Pts 4 +/- 3 SB 9

KRISTIAN ERIKSSON
[RAYMOND3000]



SMJHL - Drafted by Kelowna in the 1st round, 6th overall
SHL - Drafted by Toronto in the 2nd round, 13th overall

S19 GP 40 G14 A 12 Pts 26 +/- -4
GP 6 G 2 A 1 Pts 3 +/- -2

S20 A GP 40 G 13 A 22 Pts 35 +/- 6
GP 17 G 11 A 9 Pts 20 +/- 6
Ronan O'Keefe Trophy - Award Given To Playoffs Points Leader

ALES SMIRNOV
[OHTAAY]



SMJHL - UDFA
SHL - Drafted by West Kendall in the 1st round, 12th overall

S21 4* GP 40 G 8 A 12 Pts 20 +/- 12
GP 12 G 0 A 4 Pts 4 +/- 1
The Elias Armia Trophy - Award in Excellence Given By The League Commissioner.

S22 C 4* GP 40 G 19 A 29 Pts 48 +/- 12
GP 8 G 6 A 6 Pts 12 +/- 4
Raymond Lindsay Trophy - Award Given To MVP as Voted By Fans
Brodie Witzel Trophy - Playoffs MVP

MIIKKA GRANLUND
[NATALIE PORTMAN]



SMJHL - Drafted by Kelowna in the 2nd round, 10th overall
SHL - Drafted by Calgary in the 1st round, 6th overall

S18 A GP 40 G 4 A 12 Pts 16 +/- 0
GP 6 G 2 A 1 Pts 3 +/- 1

S19 C GP 40 G 20 A 30 Pts 50 +/- 11
GP 6 G 1 A 1 Pts 2 +/- 0

The Elias Armia Trophy - Award in Excellence Given By The League Commissioner.
Raymond Lindsay Trophy - Award Given To MVP as Voted By Fans
Ideen Fallah Trophy - Award Given To MVP as Voted By Award Committee
Jared Hanson Trophy - Award Given To League Points Leader
Roberto Martucci Trophy- Award Given To League Goals Leader

RANDY RANDLEMAN
[BALLERSTORM]



SMJHL - UDFA
SHL - Drafted by Calgary in the 1st round, 1st overall

S23 GP 40 G 3 A 5 Pts 8 +/- 9
GP 7 G 1 A 2 Pts 3 +/- 3

S24 C GP 52 G 24 A 23 Pts 47 +/- 8
GP 5 G 3 A 2 Pts 5 +/- 0
Brandon Holmes Trophy - Award Given To Top Defensive Forward

S25 C 4* GP 50 G 18 A 37 Pts 55 +/- -2
GP 17 G 9 A 12 Pts 21 +/- 11
Ronan O'Keefe Trophy - Award Given To Playoffs Points Leader - Shared with Mirko Antonio Scuderi.
Brodie Witzel Trophy - Playoffs MVP

JACKSON ROGERS-TANAKA
[JEDI]



SMJHL - Drafted by Kelowna in the 4th round, 18th overall
SHL - Drafted by Edmonton in the 2nd round, 16th overall

S19 A GP 40 G 3 A 19 Pts 22 +/- -13 SB 27
GP 6 G 1 A 7 Pts 8 +/- -2 SB 5

S20 C GP 40 G 4 A 27 Pts 31 +/- -8 SB 48
GP 17 G 1 A 16 Pts 17 +/- 6 SB 18

GM
155-88-29
40-25
Four Star Cup
x3 S21, S22, S25
Occasus Trophy - Awarded to the winner of the Western Conference Finals
x4 - S21, S22, S25, S26

S21 Laurifer Trophy for Best Regular Season Record
Mathias Chouinard Award - Award Given To Top GM

S22 Undefeated in the playoffs.
Mathias Chouinard Award - Award Given To Top GM

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And now that the rafters have been adorned with a bit more gold and green, it’s time to hand out some hardware! It’s been a few seasons since Kelowna handed out these trophies--we had to dig them out of a storage closet and get them dusted off and shined up--but they’re back and better than ever!
Jackson Rogers-Tanaka (Dedication to the Team) - Christoffer Bjornsson
First things first: the newest Knights award, because just raising a banner isn’t enough to honor JRT. This award exemplifies dedication to the team over multiple seasons, sort of a lifetime achievement award, and there’s no one better for that than Bjornsson, who backstopped the Knights to a cup as a rookie in S25, drug half a team to the finals in S26, and continued to be solid into his old age in S27.
Saku Perhonen (Most Exciting) - Christoffer Bjornsson
And another award for our star goaltender! While this award might more commonly go to a high-scoring sniper or bruising defenseman, Bjornsson’s steady play and occasional acrobatic saves have delighted Knights fans for the last three seasons. We wish him all the luck with his SHL career!
Erik Chisling (Top Defenseman) - Sludge
It was with great regret that we traded Sludge to Colorado at the deadline last year. Although the trade ended up being beneficial for all parties--Kelowna got some great picks, Colorado won, and Sludge got another Four Star--we still miss him, and we wanted to honor his fantastic play up to the deadline last year.
Elias Armia (Regular season MVP) - Jonathan Lundberg
Lundberg has been our 1C for the last two seasons and the cornerstone of our solid PK, which memorably killed 13 penalties against the Whalers in one preseason game in S26. Defensively responsible with a powerful 200 foot game, Lundberg’s everything you can ask for in a center, and his numbers showed it: 18-37-55 in 50 games. We wish him luck in the SHL as well!
John McBride (Playoff MVP) - Tony Flow
Ahhh, the most beautiful man in the SMJHL, and man, was he a beauty in the playoffs. Not only did he lead the team in playoff scoring (9-7-16 in 13 games), but four of those goals were game winners. His clutchness is second only to his looks, and you guessed it: we’re going to miss him for both of those things this season.

But enough about the old guys...how about some rookies?
Riko Muerto (Unsung Hero) - Landvik
Landvik didn’t put up superstar numbers, but she worked tirelessly all year, improving at a steady pace and stepping into the top D pairing for the playoffs like it was nothing. She’s been a fantastic free agency pickup for the Knights, was drafted fourth overall in the S28 SHL Entry Draft, and is sure to play a huge role in S28!
Miikka Granlund (Leadership) - Linna
Coming in and getting an A right away might go to some rookies’ heads--but not Linna, who took up his post with grace and enthusiasm in equal measures. He’s consistently a delight in the locker room and he leads by example on the ice. And so we have not just one award for Linna, but two...
Maxim Horvat (Rookie of the Year) - Linna
As our only draft pick of the S27 SMJHL Entry Draft, there were a lot of expectations on Linna from the beginning--but as discussed, he more than rose to them; he blew them out of the water. We’re honored to have him in a Knights uniform and are excited to get to watch him play top line this season!

And finally, it’s time to announce your Knights leadership for S28.

Wearing an A… MIKAEL TALO!

Talo was our first draft pick this season and he’s showed excellent promise: he’s encouraging and enthusiastic in the locker room, going out of his way to include others and make everyone feel welcome. We’re thrilled to welcome him to the Kelowna leadership core!

Also wearing an A… MIA LANDVIK!

As we discussed above, Landvik has been a great Knight and a delight in the locker room from the day we signed her. We’re thrilled to bestow upon her the letter she’s most certainly earned!

And this year’s Captain of the Kelowna Knights… MIKKO LINNA!

Linna’s positive attitude, incredible work ethic, and overall drive for excellence exemplify Knights values. He’s been fabulous both on and off the ice and he’s the clear choice to lead this season’s Knights to victory!


And that’s all, folks...oh right, except the big fat checks connected to the awards :ph34r:

Bonuses:
Linna $1M
Bjornsson $1M
Sludge $750k
Lundberg $750k
Flow $750k
Landvik $750k