Kelowna Rockets players stand out at Young Stars tourney
Kelowna teammates among standouts at Young Stars tournament
PENTICTON — Freshly drafted prospects often look like deer in the headlights when they first step onto the professional stage at the Young Stars tournament.
Not Kole Lind. He didn’t look out of place from the outset, debuting with a threepoint performance — two primary assists and an empty-net goal — for the Vancouver Canucks in Friday’s 4-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets.
“It was good all around,” Lind said in reflecting following Saturday’s practice at the South Okanagan Events Centre. “Stepping out on the ice wearing the Canucks’ jersey, it was really surreal. It was a fun time, a dream come true, and I had a great time out there.”
Sure, there will still some wide-eyed moments where Lind, admittedly, had to pinch himself — be it before, during and after the game, or even the next morning. But the 18-year-old winger managed to embrace the spotlight of being Vancouver’s highest pick from this year’s draft class attending the Young Stars.
First-rounder Elias Pettersson, the fifth overall selection, skipped this showcase because his season has already started back in Sweden.
“I was a little bit nervous, but having some of the older guys here definitely settled us all in,” said Lind, the second pick of the second round (33rd overall). “We did a lot of team building stuff (before the game), so I was pretty comfortable that way and it felt like I fit in well.
“All of us got our feet under us early,” Lind added. “We were moving our feet and we had a good first period, and we just tried to roll from there.”
Lind certainly hit the ground running, setting up a pair of power-play goals in the opening frame with perfect passes to Jonah Gadjovich, a fellow 2017 secondrounder (55th overall), and Griffen Molino, an NCAA alum who finished last season on the NHL roster for the Canucks. The exclamation mark came with 15 seconds remaining in regulation, as Lind exited the penalty box and pressured a Winnipeg defender into a turnover that he deposited with ease to secure Vancouver’s victory.
“I thought he did really good,” said Trent Cull, the new coach of Vancouver’s AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, who is manning the Canucks’ bench in Penticton. “He’s one of those kids, you can just see the hockey sense — the hockey IQ is there, and he made some really nice plays.
“He showed off his attributes and that’s a real good, promising start for him.”
Mitchell Stapley notched a goal and two assists and Riley Hayles, Logan Mostat and Marcus Mitchell also scored for the Silverbacks, who lost the opener 5-1 at home on Friday.
Ty Taylor made 19 saves for the win, while Bo Didur stopped 24 shots for Salmon Arm.
The Vipers never led in the game until Lambert took over.
Mostat gave the Silverbacks their fourth lead of the night 3:47 into the third period, but Lambert tied the game with a shorthanded tally at 10:18. Lambert then nabbed the winner at 12:39. Lambert, Brett Stapley and Mitch Stapley were the three stars.
Vernon visits Merritt on Friday and Wenatchee on Saturday.
Salmon Arm faces another stern test on Friday as the defending-champion Penticton Vees come calling for a 7 p.m. puck-drop at Shaw Centre.
It’s the only game of the weekend for the Vees, who defeated Merritt 4-2 on Friday at the Nicola Valley Arena.
The Vees’ home opener isn’t until Sept. 29 against West Kelowna.