Junior Hockey World's Ray Garrity here to bring you a season preview for the  Kelowna Knights for SMJHL season 67.  Kelowna had a bit of a... rough season in s66, solidifying themselves as by far the least successful team in the league at only 36 points (27.3% point percentage).  I spoke with GMs Artermis and Hammer about what they're doing to shake things up this season, and they identified a handful of places the team is looking to improve.

First and foremost, the team needs to start performing better on the road.  While the Knights managed 42% PP in Kelowna last year, their 3 wins in opposing barns completely shattered any momentum they could get at home.  The road to fixing this issue starts with the team leadership.  Captain Jacques Hammer and new alternate captains Sjøforsvaret and Pepega Paquette hope to bring about change in the locker room and change the mindset of playing on foreign ice.

The GMs began to address the second issue at the draft: several picks including 3rd overall went to ensuring pucks stay out of the net.  Rookie defenseman Pete Aleman, as well as rookie goalies Sjøforsvaret and Sea Jebus are going to be key in bringing down the team's GA, which was a league-worst 276 in s66.  Both Artermis and Hammer seem to have the highest faith in all three players, and are certain the defensive end of the ice will look miles better than it did last season.

For many fans in Kelowna, and throughout the world, these changes bring about a new era of hope that real change could be around the corner and the team can return to its former glory.