What's in a number?

What does NFL Hall of Famer Harry Carson, MLB Hall of Famer and Cy Young winner Don Drysdale, and the 2013/14 Kelowna Rockets have in common?   The number 53.  Harry Carson is the most successful NFL Player in history to don the number 53, and although always playing second fiddle to Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale was one of the best pitchers in the 1960's with the Brooklyn/LA Dodgers.

Drysdale broke, and set many records in his time pitching with the dodgers including 6 consecutive shut outs and 58 consecutive scoreless innings, and for his efforts, his number 53 is now retired at Dodge Stadium.

The Kelowna Rockets are setting and breaking records themselves this year, including the most wins by the franchise at 53, and most points at 110.  This is no small feat for a team that has an average age of 18.  For the most part, when you see a team with a record of 53-10-0-4, you think, "This is the year that this team built for, this is the final year in a window to win the Memorial Cup", but the thing is, you would be wrong.  As far as I am concerned, this hockey club's best window to win the Memorial Cup is next year.  Their top producers are not even 19 years old yet, and to have a team whose top players are the 16-18 core, is astounding, and almost unheard of.

In the past 10 years, there are a total of 6 teams that have hit the 53+ win mark, those teams include:
2013/14 Kelowna Rockets
2012/13 Portland Winterhawks
2010/11 Saskatoon Blades
2008/09 Calgary Hitment
2008/09 Vancouver Giants
2006/07 Everett Silvertips

To say that this is an elite group to be a part of is an understatement, because if you go back another 8 years before 2003/04 Season, you only have another 3 teams hit that mark.
1997/38 Portland Winter Hawks
1999/00 Calgary Hitmen
2000/01 Red Deer Rebels

For those keeping score at home, that's 9 teams in the past 18 years, to hit the 53+ win mark.

An impressive part about the Rockets current record, is they could not only tie a league record for road victories, but improve their wins number to 58, which would put them in an ever higher category of elite.

That being as impressive as it is, the most impressive part of this record, is that this team has done it with a schedule that would outright bury a lesser team.  The schedule this year, for the Kelowna Rockets has been nothing short of atrocious.  December was when the schedule turned from decent to an atrocity.  Starting on December 7th, after their final home game before the Christmas Break, the team set off on what would seem like a road trip to the moon and back.  They leave to do their Eastern Conference road swing, which is fine because they do it every year, however, in 27 calendar days, the Kelowna Rockets had ONE home stint.  Enter January and the endless 5 games in 4 nights, or 6 in 5, or 3 in 3.  Just this past 12 days, the team has been on the bus alone for a little less than 36 hours.  That's 1.5 days on the bus in 12 days.  Kelowna to Prince George and Back, Kelowna to Kenniwick, WA and back, Kelowna to Vancouver, down to Everett and back.  All in a stretch of 12 days ladies and gentlemen.

That schedule would have destroyed a team that was fighting for it's playoff lives, or even in an intense battle for a 6-7 seed.

This seasonal record is remarkable, and to be able to accomplish what they have, with the schedule they were handed.  I raise my glass to you fella's, this is something that will be remembered for many many years to come.  Kudos.

The Winning Way

Winning is contagious, and addictive, and once you've tasted it's sweet nectar, you want more, and more.....and more.  Last year the Kelowna Rockets set a franchise record for wins at 52, and the team wanted that again this year, and more.  They delivered in spades this weekend, not only making it the first time in franchise history that they put together back to back 50 wins seasons, but hit last years mark of 52, in 7 less games played.

Not only are they re-writing the franchise record books this year, but also those of the league as well.  currently, the Rockets have 27 road victories, good for a share in the 4th most by one team in one single season.  If the team wins out the remainder of it's road season, they will finish with 30 road victories out of 36, and be the sole owners of the record of most road victories in a single season by a single team, and looking back in the years of successful teams, that's one hell of a feat.

Is this the best Rockets team to ever hit the ice?  Hard to say if this edition stacks up with the likes of the 2003/04 team that starred, no less than 6 future NHL players including Josh Gorges, Blake Comeau and Shea Weber, but with a current record of 52-9-0-4, they sure are making a case for themselves.

However, the success of this team will be measured in the playoffs, as is the story for any and all sports organizations.  Take the Vancouver Canucks for example.  The year is 2010, the Canucks are the class of the NHL going into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, yet they struggle through the first few rounds, just to lose to Boston in the Final Game of the year.  Regular Season doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things.

Be proud of your regular season, and heck, even use it to intimidate your first round opponent, but once the puck drops in the first round of the playoffs, every single team is back to 0-0-0-0 and those 40-50 point gaps are reduced to nothing.  An even keel, and a determined 8th seed can spell disaster for even the mightiest of teams.

Will that winning addiction keep this Rockets team steaming forward to a birth in the Memorial Cup in London in May?  My gut says "Yes", my Brain says "Wait and see"

Stay Tuned!