Six 91大黄鸭 Rockets prospects are set to take part in the 2024 WHL Cup.
The four-team tournament, taking place in Red Deer, Alta from Oct. 23 to 27, showcases the best future WHL players from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
Team Alberta will feature the Rockets' first and second-round selections from the 2024 WHL Draft: Owen Hayden and Nathan Cole.
Hayden, taken ninth overall, collected 24 points in 31 games last season while playing on the blueline for the Calgary Flames U15 AAA team in the Alberta Elite Hockey League (AEHL). Cole is coming off of a 30-point season with the Edge U15 Prep in Calgary. Both players will be playing for the Edge's U18 Prep this year and each played in preseason games for the Rockets last month.
A pair of Rockets prospects are also suited up for Saskatchewan in defencemen Jake Hargrave and Marek McIvor. Hargrave, the Rockets' third-round pick in 2024, is currently playing for the Swift Current Legionnaires U18 team of the SMAAAHL. McIvor is playing for the Moose Jaw Warriors U18 AAA team.
Team Manitoba, last year's gold medal winners, will have the Rockets' Linkin Stadnek. Stadnek spent the 2023-2024 season with Okanagan Hockey Academy (OHA) U15 Prep team, where he posted 12 points in 21 games. He is expected to suit up for their U18 Prep team this season. The Rockets selected the defenceman in the fifth round (93rd overall), a draft pick they acquired from Seattle.
From the Delta Hockey Academy (DHA), Rockets' ninth-round selection Jack Morgan will suit up for Team British Columbia. An offensive juggernaut, Morgan has 48 points (22 goals, 26 assists) in 48 games for DHA last season. This year so far, he has five points in six games for Delta's U17 team.
鈥淲e鈥檙e excited for the six prospects that will be participating in the WHL Cup,鈥� said Rockets assistant general manager Curtis Hamilton. 鈥淭hey have earned those spots with the work they have put in and we look forward to watching them compete this season.
"We also need to give a lot of credit to our scouting staff and the work they鈥檝e done. They have watched a lot of hockey this past season and they鈥檝e done great work identifying these players as future members of the 91大黄鸭 Rockets.鈥�
This year's WHL Cup is the 11th year its taken place, this time at the Peavy Mart Centrium in Red Deer.
