The sa国际传媒 Rockets will receive a boost to their lineup this weekend when news hit that the team would be adding four key players to the roster, all of which come from National Hockey League training camps.
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Rockets two-time Defenceman of the Year, Caden Price (Seattle), reigning Rockets Rookie of the Year Hiroki Gojsic (Nashville), as well as forwards Ethan Neutens (Los Angeles) and Rockets 2023 CHL Import draft pick Jakub Stancl (St. Louis) were all sent back to sa国际传媒 in the last week from their respective camps, with all four expected to make their season debuts this weekend against Victoria and Everett.
鈥淭his year was exciting for me because I got to be able to participate,鈥 Price said of his NHL experience in Seattle. The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan native was taken in the third round of the 2023 NHL Draft.
鈥淟ast year I was hurt so I didn鈥檛 get to really take part. So it was technically my first really experience at it. It was intense, it was good and itsa国际传媒 obviously the best of the best out there.鈥澨
鈥淭heresa国际传媒 so many good guys there for sure. But I think one of the biggest things was just how intense and how hard they work in practice. I think like a guy like (Jamie) Oleksiak, he was just really, really good at closing in the defensive zone on guys and (Brandon) Montour too, just how good his offensive instincts are. But there are so many good players there. The entire defensive core is really good, so I just tried to take away some little things and how hard their work ethic was.听鈥
Neutens was invited to the Kings fall camp as an undrafted player after he had a strong showcase at their summer development camp.听
鈥淚t was really good,鈥 Neutens said. 鈥淚t was good to be up there and kind of see the pace of play and how all the pros like kind of like go about their life on a day-to-day basis.鈥
鈥淚t was great opportunity for me. I kind of just wanted to go in there and play my game and impress some people and stay as long as I could. I鈥檓 happy with my performance.鈥澨
For Neutens too, it was a chance to further instil that belief that he could get drafted this summer and one day play in the NHL.
鈥淲hen you see it up close firsthand, you鈥檙e like 鈥業 could really do this.鈥 It seems so farfetched when you鈥檙e just a little kid and you have like all these dreams and stuff about being in the NHL. But once you get there, itsa国际传媒 easier to see and easier to believe that itsa国际传媒 achievable.鈥澨
Now that Price and Neutens are back in sa国际传媒, they鈥檙e chomping at the bit to get things going with their Rockets teammates.
鈥淚鈥檓 pumped,鈥 Price said. 鈥淚鈥檓 pumped to be back with all the boys here. I was only here for a little bit before during training camp and stuff so itsa国际传媒 good to be back. I鈥檓 looking forward to Friday and getting it going.鈥
鈥淚鈥檓 really excited to get going,鈥 Neutens said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to miss another beat with the guys in the dressing room and I think we have a really good group this year. Definitely looking forward to seeing what this season brings and seeing what we can do on the ice.鈥
Not only is Price excited to be back in sa国际传媒, the 19-year-old defenceman thinks the Rockets have a strong group this season, one that can build off of last season where the group went to the second round of the WHL Playoffs.听
鈥淚 think we鈥檝e got a good mix of everybody, young guys, older guys and we鈥檝e got a lot of skill,鈥 Price said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got some guys that are heavy and hard to play against and guys that are super quick and mobile. So I think we鈥檝e just got to keep practicing and get familiar with each other. As time goes on, I think we鈥檙e just going to get better and hopefully we hit a good stride at the right time and have a good push towards the playoffs.鈥
Will that feeling of losing in playoffs be a point of motivation for this season?
鈥淔or sure. You remember that feeling of losing out there. I still remember it. You don鈥檛 forget that type of feeling,鈥 Price said. 鈥淚t means the world to us and we鈥檙e going to work our way up to hopefully get past that and hopefully not have that feeling again. But it starts now and we want to win games early and get on the right track. But the skysa国际传媒 the limit for this group so I鈥檓 excited.鈥澨
The Rockets were scheduled to play Victoria Royals, Friday at Prospera Place.
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The game was still in progress at our press deadline. For game details visit:听.
The Rockets travel to Everett, Wash. on Sunday and return home Wednesday to Prospera Place for a game against Prince George.
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