Lockner ready to face former coach, twotime Stanley Cup champion Adam Foote
When Adam Foote was named head coach of the Kelowna Rockets on Oct. 23, many hockey fans recalled his days as a blueliner with the Colorado Avalanche — but Medicine Hat Tigers winger Bryan Lockner remembers the two-time Stanley Cup champion through a different lens.
Growing up in the Centennial State, Lockner had the unique opportunity to play under coaches Foote and Joe Sakic during his bantam draft year with the Colorado Thunderbirds.
“I’m super excited to play him,” said Lockner, whose Tigers host the Rockets on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. “Obviously them coaching me was awesome. As a kid, watching them play up in Colorado, it was always good. I’m really good buddies with his son Nolan so I always spent the night at his house and stuff like that. It’s definitely a great childhood memory of mine.”
Lockner went to hear his name called by the Regina Pats at 58th overall in the 2015 Western Hockey League bantam draft and has been consistently increasing his offensive output since cracking the league in 2016. The 6-foot, 193pound power forward has eight goals and nine assists in 31 games with Medicine Hat this season after registering seven goals and seven helpers in the same span last year.
While Adam made a name for himself as a gritty stay-athome defenceman during his years with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Quebec Nordiques and Colorado Avalanche — where he won Stanley Cups in 1996 and 2001 — Lockner says his approach behind the bench is far different from the way he played the game.
“He’s a really offensive coach, surprisingly as a defenceman,” said Lockner who has been playing on a new line with Ryan Chyzowski and Josh Williams over the past three games. “He likes to have the puck, be hard on the forecheck and hard in the neutral zone. I think we’re going to have to expect that out of them.”
That method has been paying dividends for Kelowna, who have gone 11-5-2-0 since Foote stepped behind the bench and now sit second in the B.C. Division with a 15-15-2-0 record entering Friday’s games. The Tigers hold the first Eastern Conference wild card with a 1614-1-2 record.
Lockner says he continues to keep in touch with Nolan, who currently plays as a winger under his father on the Rockets, but Saturday will be the first time all three are back on the ice in competitive fashion since their minor hockey days.
“We’re always jabbing each other,” said Lockner. “It’s going to be super fun to play him.”