Theresa国际传媒 no such thing as a good time to say goodbye to great young hockey players and a dedicated coach, which is why last week was one of the toughest in Bruce Hamiltonsa国际传媒 long and illustrious career.
The longtime general manager of the sa国际传媒 Rockets -- and his senior management team -- made the difficult decision to trade several of the teamsa国际传媒 best players just before the Western Hockey League (WHL) trading deadline.
Then on Friday, Hamilton made the equally tough decision to relieve longtime head coach Kris Mallette of his duties.
Mallette had spent 11 years with the Rockets, including the past five as head coach.
Assistant coach Derrick Martin, who was just hired a few months ago after a solid coaching career in the Alberta Junior Hockey League, has been named the Rockets鈥 interim head coach.
The biggest reason for the numerous trades and overhaul of the Rockets鈥 lineup and firing of Mallette has to do with the fact the Rockets are hosting the 2026 Memorial Cup and trading away several top players brought in younger talent and a large contingent of draft picks, many which will be used to acquire talent heading into the 2025-26 season, said Hamilton.
Trading top-tier talent like Andrew Cristall, who Hamilton called one of the best and most talented players to ever wear a Rockets uniform, and all-star defenceman Caden Price, was very difficult, but the organization decided the timing was right to trade great players who almost assuredly would not be returning to play another year of junior hockey next season, said Hamilton.
聽鈥淲ith regards to all the trades, with us winning the bid to host the Memorial Cup next season, that basically forced out hand to sell rather than buying, which we would be doing if we hadn鈥檛 won the bid,鈥 he said. 鈥淢oving the players we did, three of our top guys, brought us a lot of assets.
鈥淲e got numerous really good young players and a lot of draft pick assets. Those assets, in particular, will help the staff this summer when we鈥檙e retooling at the draft and planning for a special year next season. We traded three top guys, but got several really solid young players in return and a dozen draft picks, many which will be used to acquire other players for next yearsa国际传媒 team.鈥
Hamilton reiterated the Rockets would have been adding quality players had they not won the bid for the Memorial Cup, but realized they wanted to ice a very strong team capable of winning a national championship at next yearsa国际传媒 tournament.
Making the decision to fire Mallette was one of the most difficult decisions hesa国际传媒 had to make in his long career in junior hockey, said Hamilton.
鈥淚t was very tough,鈥 he said. 鈥淜ris has been with me here in sa国际传媒 for 11 years. Hesa国际传媒 not just a good employee, but a very good friend,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e were at the point where we needed a new voice and I think with us going into next season with the Memorial Cup on home ice, we were looking at probably making a change somewhere along the line.
鈥淚 just felt with all of the changes we made with the players this week that it was probably the proper time to make a change behind the bench and bring Derrick into this role on an interim basis,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l see how he does. It will open it up this summer and we鈥檒l determine if we need to go out and find somebody else or keep Derrick as the head coach.鈥
Mallette has an outstanding record of success and hesa国际传媒 very confident he will find another coaching job in the major junior ranks or perhaps professional hockey sooner than later, said Hamilton.
鈥淟ike I said, hesa国际传媒 been here 11 years and did an outstanding job,鈥 he said. 鈥淗e was here through Covid, which was a real challenge for anybody coaching. In the coaching world, there aren鈥檛 many that stay with one organization as long as he did.鈥
The Rockets split two weekend games since the trade deadline, beating Prince George on home ice Friday night by a 6-3 score, before losing 6-4 to Vancouver Giants Saturday evening.
The Rockets remain in ninth place in the Interior Division, only a couple of points behind Wenathee Wild for the eighth and final playoff position.
The major goal the rest of the season is to acclimatize the new players acquired in trades and make a push for the post-season, said Hamilton.
鈥淔or sure, our goal is definitely to make the playoffs,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 think with the players we added, I actually think our team is going to become more of a workmanlike team than we were,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e started the year with some great promise, then we lost Tij Iginla for the season, our top goal scorer last year (47 goals) and that really hurt us.
鈥淎ndrew Cristall was obviously a guy we鈥檙e doing to miss tremendously and a player the fans came to watch play, but hesa国际传媒 going to a real contender in Spokane and we wish him all the best. I鈥檓 really happy with the players we acquired in trades. I like the new dimension our team has got now and I think we鈥檒l be better off down the road with these new guys and all those picks we can use to acquire more top talent.鈥
Cristal and Price came to sa国际传媒 to play for the Rockets at age 15 and seeing them leave at 19 with pro hockey on the horizon as soon as next year brings a lot of fond memories and satisfaction, said Hamilton.
鈥淭hey both got their start as kids and now they鈥檝e left as young men,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 be prouder of them. We鈥檝e lost some really good people and Kris was also a great friend and not just an employee and itsa国际传媒 been a tough week.聽 But it is a business and we鈥檝e got to do what we have to do to the right things for all our fans and organization.鈥
Price was sent to the Lethbridge Hurricanes in return for 17-year-old blue liner Will Sharpe, goalie Harrison Boettiger and five draft picks, including a first-round selection in 2026.
Cristall was traded to the Spokane Chiefs for 17-year-old forward Hayden Paupanekis, two first-round picks in 2025 and 2027, a second-round pick in 2026 and a third-round pick in 2025.
The team also traded Market Rocak to the Swift Current Broncos for 18-year-old forward Dawson Gerwig and a fourth-round pick in 2025.
Rockets defenceman Landon Cowper was traded to the Everett Silvertips for a seventh-round pick in the 2026 WHL draft.
And finallly, the Rockets acquired Andrew Petruk from Everett for a 2025 ninth-round pick.
The Rockets return tonight against the Spokane Chiefs in what will be the return of Rockets second all-time leading scorer Andrew Cristall. Game time is 7 p.m.