Iginla leads Kelowna Rockets award night with three trophies

The Kelowna Rockets wrapped up their season with a standout night at the team’s annual awards ceremony, highlighted by forward Tij Iginla’s domination of the accolades.

The 19-year-old Utah Mammoths draft pick earned Most Valuable Player for the second year in a row, joining only one other player in team history, Jason Deleurme, with multiple MVP honours. Iginla led the Rockets with 41 goals and 49 assists over 48 games despite missing stretches at the start of the season for training camp, and during the holidays while competing with Canada’s World Juniors team.

Other team award winners included Owen Hayden for Scholastic Achievement, Rowan Guest as Most Improved, Carson Wetsch for Unsung Hero, Mazden Leslie as Top defenceman, Vojtech Cihar as Defensive Forward, Ty Halaburda for Sportsmanship, Harrison Boettiger and Tomas Poletin as Top Rookies, and Shane Smith for Humanitarian Contributions.

With the awards behind them, the Rockets turn to the first round of the Western Hockey League playoffs against the Kamloops Blazers. The team will be without captain Carson Wetsch for the opening game due to a one-game suspension following the season finale.

The series begins Friday and Saturday at Prospera Place, with games three and four scheduled in Kamloops the following week.