Feist signs pro contract; valley invited to U17 camp
Kelowna Rockets captain Tyson Feist has signed a one-year contract with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, the club announced Friday.
He signed an amateur tryout with the Crunch at the end of the Rockets’ season on May 8, joining Syracuse for the remainder of their season; he did not dress in any games.
This season, the defenceman set career bests, posting 39 points (15 goals, 24 assists), 78 penalty minutes and a +25 plus/minus rating over 65 games.
Feist, 21, appeared in 187 WHL regular-season games over four seasons between the Spokane Chiefs, Regina Pats and Rockets, posting 72 points (19G, 53A) and 206 penalty minutes. The Dawson Creek, B.C., product was named the Rockets 26th captain in franchise history prior to the 2021-22 season.
VALLEY PROSPECTS TO U17 CAMP
Three Okanagan players and one prospect of the Kelowna Rockets are headed to Hockey Canada’s under-17 development camp, the WHL announced on Friday.
Tij Iginla of Lake Country, Lynden Lakovic of Kelowna, Jaxsin Vaughn of Kelowna, and Gabriel Guilbault are among the 37 players with WHL teams headed to Calgary next month.
There are 100 players from across Canada competing from July 10-16 at the Markin MacPhail Centre at Calgary Olympic Park.
“We look forward to enhancing these young players’ ongoing development during this camp and starting the process of building our three national U17 teams for the World Under17 Hockey Challenge this fall,” said Alan Millar, Director of Player Personnel for Hockey Canada.
Following camp, players will continue to be evaluated through the early portion of the 2022-23 season before 66 are named to one of three Canadian national teams – Team Canada Black, Team Canada Red, and Team Canada White – that will compete at the 2022 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, scheduled for Nov. 5-12 in Langley and Delta.
The Seattle Thunderbirds chose Iginla, son of Hockey Hall of Famer Jarome, in the first round of the 2021 WHL draft. He’s a five-10, 160-pound forward.
Lakovic, six-five and 170 pounds, is a Moose Jaw Warriors draft pick while the six-one, 185-pound Vaughan hopes to land with the Regina Pats. The Rockets took Guilbault, a six-two, 163-pound defenceman out of Calgary, in the third round last year.