Six Rockets heading to NHL Development Camps

A total of six Kelowna Rockets players will be attending NHL Development Camps, including three who went undrafted this year and one free agent.

Goalie Talyn Boyko and forward Colton Dach will be attending camps with the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks, respectively. Both players were selected in the 2021 NHL Draft.

Boyko earned the MVP title from the Rockets in the 2021-22 season, posting a 28-12-1-3 record with two shutouts, a 2.79 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage.

Dach led the Rockets in points (79), assists (50), power-play points (27) and shots on goal (274), while also sharing the team lead for goals (29). He also earned a spot on the WHL’s B.C. Division First All-Star Team.

Dach has also been invited to attend Canada’s National Junior Team summer camp this July.

Three Rockets who went undrafted at last week’s 2022 NHL Draft in Montreal have also earned invites to camps.

Forward Max Graham will attend the Calgary Flames camp, defenceman Noah Dorey is heading to Edmonton to take part in the Oilers camp, and netminder Jari Kykkanen has been invited to take part in the Florida Panthers camp.

Graham, who was ranked 156 among North American skaters, notched 33 points (10G, 23A), 43 penalty minutes and a +10 plus/minus rating through the 2021-22 regular season with the Rockets. He also had a goal and an assist in five playoff games.

Dorey wasn’t listed on any rankings but has been noticed by NHL teams in the past, most notably the Boston bruins who invited him to their camp last fall after going undrafted in 2021. Dorey put up a career-high 21 points (3G, 18A) this past season, and notched another two assists in six playoff games.

Kykkanen, who was also not ranked for the draft, made 13 appearances for the Rockets this past season, posting an 8-3-0-0 record with a 2.75 goals-against average, a .897 save percentage, and one shutout.

Defenceman, Jake Lee, who aged out of the WHL after this past season, was also invited to the Flames development camp as a free agent. Lee, who turns 21 this week, does not have a contract anywhere for the upcoming season.

Lee was named the Rocket’s top defenceman and earned a spot on the WHL’s B.C. Division First All-Star Team after leading all Rockets defencemen in scoring (16G, 30A) and setting career bests in every major offensive category, including a +23 plus/minus rating.

—