Friday, November 28, 2008

Shane McColgan Signs

Press Release

The Kelowna Rockets are pleased to announce that Shane McColgan will make his WHL debut Tuesday December 16 in Red Deer.

McColgan was the Rockets first round draft pick, 13th overall in the 2008 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft.

This season McColgan is playing with the Los Angeles Junior Kings. In 24 games he has recorded nine goals, 22 assists for 31 points and 34 penalty minutes.

McColgan was born January 1, 1993. He is a forward from Manhattan Beach, California and was the only US born player to be selected in the first round of this season’s Bantam Draft.

Kings head coach Jack Bowkus says; “Shane is a pleasure to coach, he works hard every practice, every shift and every game. He plays his heart out and has the passion to become a pro. In the last year, he’s really grown up and matured and has really become a heck of a hockey player.”

Rockets President/General Manager Bruce Hamilton states, “There was a lot of debate prior to the Draft, if we were willing to take the risk of him not coming to Kelowna. After Lorne Frey and Ryan Huska met with him at spring camp in California it became very evident that he would be a player that would commit to the Western Hockey League. So, yes it was a risk, but at the end of the day we have to pick the best player available. Once he is selected it’s up to our staff to convince the player and his family that Kelowna and the WHL is the best place to pursue his hockey and education career. We are thrilled and are looking forward to making his debut with the Kelowna Rockets organization.”

McColgan and the Junior Kings will play in a tournament in Pittsburgh the weekend of December 11. Following the conclusion of that tournament, McColgan will fly to Edmonton and make his debut on December 16 in Red Deer. He will then travel with the Rockets back to Edmonton on December 17 for a game against the Oil Kings. Once the Junior Kings season closes, McColgan will join the Rockets for the remainder of the WHL season.


No big surprise here. He joins Colin Jacobs as the second 93 born American to sign with a WHL team. It will be interesting to see this summer how many players go North of the border.

(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)

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