Winning 50-50 Number….

August 24th, 2010

ROCKET ANNOUNCE WINNING TICKET NUMBER
FROM OLD HOME WEEK 50-50 DRAW!

The PEI Rocket, in partnership with the Charlottetown Civic Centre recently held a 50 /50 Draw at the Civic Centre during Old Home Week.

The winning number is:
A-26516

Prize Value:
$255.00

If you are the lucky holder of this ticket, please contact the Rocket office to claim your prize of $255.00.

Rocket Trim Roster Further

August 23rd, 2010

PEI Rocket Trim Roster – August 23, 2010

The PEI Rocket trimmed the roster a little more with the release of a few more players from training camp.  Goaltender Travis Hall, Defenseman Francois-Xavier Payette and forwards Evan Carmody, Kayleb Lazaric, Jeremy Balderston, Conor McAleer and Guillaume Pelletier were all released from training camp.

UPCOMING HOME EXHIBITION GAMES

Saturday, Aug. 28 – Rocket vs Wildcats – 7:00 pm (Pownal Sports Centre)

Thursday, Sept. 2 – Rocket vs Sea Dogs – 7:00 PM (CCC)

Pre-Season Ticket Pricing:

Season Ticket Holders – $5.00 / Non-Season Ticket Holders – $7.00

Tickets available for sale:

Charlottetown Civic Centre Box Office – Monday-Friday 11:00am-4:00pm

PEI Rocket Office – Monday – Friday 9:00am–4:00pm

At the door prior to games (based on availability…seating is limited in Pownal)

Or Phone 902-892-7349 to reserve tickets

All Seating for Exhibition Games is General Admission.

Rocket Begin Trimming Roster

August 19th, 2010

The PEI Rocket began trimming the roster with the release of 8 players from their training camp.

Goaltender Shawn Lyons, defensemen, Matthew Kelly, Cal Gloade and Brad MacKenzie along with forwards Nicholas Young, Adam Valadeo, Matt Stead & Brandon Weir, were all returned to their respective home teams late this afternoon, leaving 35 players remaining in camp.

“We were really impressed with how these kids competed at our training camp” said President and Governor Serge Savard Jr.  “We look forward to seeing how these players develop on their respective teams over the season.  They will get plenty of ice time and this will help their development as hockey players greatly”, he added.

The Rocket will now host the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in the first exhibition game of the season on Friday night at 7:00 PM at the Pownal Sports Centre.  Tickets are $5.00 for season ticket holders and $7.00 for no season ticket holders.  Limited seating is available.  Tickets are available at the Rocket Office, the CCC Box Office and the Pownal Sports Centre.

2010-2011 Rocket Training Camp – Day 1

August 19th, 2010

Day one is complete with another busy day scheduled for today.  Intrasquad games will take place today at 10:00 am and 3:00 pm and Pownal Sports Centre.  Players will be trying to impress coaching staff to get themselves into the lineup for Friday night’s exhibition game against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.

Here is a quick interview from yesterday at training camp.

Evan Mosher – Day 1 Interview

Rocket Hit the Ice!

August 18th, 2010

The players are about to hit the ice at the Pownal Sports Centre for the inaugural practices for the 2010-2011 edition of the PEI Rocket.  All players arrived for the initial team meetings and info sessions yesterday and enjoyed a little reception barbecue.  All of the players will be on the ice this morning.  Group A will practice at 9:00 am and Group B will practice at 10:30 am.  This afternoon, the teams will hit the ice for the first intrasquad game at 3:00 pm.

Practices and intrasquad games are free of charge and open to the public.

Training Camp Begins

August 17th, 2010

Training-Camp-2010

The day has arrived!  Many PEI Rocket hopefuls have arrived or will be arriving for the first official day of training camp later today.  Although we don’t hit the ice until tomorrow, today will be a busy day getting all players registered and getting height and weight information and making sure that all equipment needs are in place, etc.  Then, team meetings will be held to outline the plan for training camp and cover off all team policies and procedures.  After that, we will have a team BBQ with the players, their families, and their billet families just so that everyone can get to know each other.

Then…tomorrow we hit the ice.  The players will be broken into 2 groups for practices in the morning at 9:00 and 10:30.  Then a brief break and back to the ice for the first Red & White game at 3:00 pm.  Then, on Thursday, we will have Red Vs White games at 10:00 am and 3:00 pm.  The intrasquad games are open to the public and free of charge.

The Rocket will then see exhibition action this weekend as they host the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on Friday night at 7:00 pm at Pownal Sports Centre and then travel to Cape Breton for another exhibition game on Sunday afternoon.  The coaching staff is expected to take a look at many of the prospects in these games to evaluate where they fit in the lineup for 2010-2011.

See You at the Rink!

Rocket and CCC to Hold 50-50 Draw During Old Home Week

August 11th, 2010

The PEI Rocket, in partnership with the Charlottetown Civic Centre will be holding a 50 /50 Draw at the Civic Centre during Old Home Week. Ticket sellers will be on hand inside the Civic Centre lobby starting Thursday, August 12 until Saturday, August 21. They will be selling tickets for the 50/50 to be drawn on Monday, August 23.  Tickets will be on sale Thursday from 5:00pm-9:00pm, then from Friday until the following Saturday, tickets will be available from noon until 9:00 pm daily!

There will be only one draw winner, so ticket buyers will need to hold on to their tickets and check to see if they are the lucky winner on Monday.  We decided to have only ONE DRAW in order to make the pot as large as possible for the winner…we are hoping it will create a real buzz and excitement.  As the week progresses, we will try to keep people updated on what the 50-50 total pool is.

The winning number will be posted on the Rocket Website and the Charlottetown Civic Centre website on Monday August 23. Remember Hold on to Your Ticket!

Tickets Will Be Sold as Follows:
1 for $5
3 for $10
10 for $20

Rocket Season Ticket Campaign Ads

August 10th, 2010

Hello all,

Just a quick note to give a quick update.  Our largest season ticket campaign in years is about to kick off next week, just as our training camp is beginning.  We are really trying to get more season ticket holders in the building and hope we can get back to the glory days with over 3,000 people in the CCC every night…

In anticipation of the campaign that begins next week, we thought we would give people a sneak peak into some of the ads that will be running on K-Rock 105.5 and on Ocean 100.3.

Travis McIsaac

Josh Currie

Reagh Ellis – Mark’s Work Wearhouse

Jennifer Evans – K-Rock/Ocean

Darrell Kennedy – Budget Car & Truck Rental and Host Billet Family

Rocket Hockey Web

Training Camp Set to Begin

August 7th, 2010

Excitement is starting to build as we get closer and closer to training camp.  41 players are confirmed for training camp right now and will battle for the 23 roster spots available.  5 goaltenders, 13 defensemen, and 23 forwards will get the opportunity to shot the coaching staff how hard they have worked during the off-season.

It could be a very exciting year for the Rocket this season.  After making some substantial changes last year at the Christmas trading period, the team showed great success throughout the remainder of the year.  The acquisition of Islander Travis McIsaac and Chicago Blackhawks prospect Philippe Paradis are the two most exciting changes for us this year…but there are so many other positives as well.

Mosher and Bonneau will return as 20 year olds to bolster the leadership needed in the dressing room.  Returning veterans such as Currie, Duffy, Escott, Oligny, Linteau and others will be looked on to provide the next level of leadership.  And of course our new draft picks, such as Provencher, Marcotte and Lagace will try to crack the lineup and show everyone why they were selected in the top 20 picks of last year’s entry draft.

This year, Coach Eric Lavigne arrives for his first training camp with the Rocket.  Cory Micalef returns as Assistant coach and Jamie Blanchard returns as goaltenders coach as well.  Kevin Elliott and Andrew “Spider” MacNeill return as the training staff.

Speaking as a GM, I can say that the Rocket have a great staff and I am excited for this season.  I have confidence that our coaches and training staff will help our team immensely this season.  We have a great core group of 19-20 year old players, along with some very special 16-17-18 year old players that gives us tremendous potential.

Off the ice, we have worked very hard this off-season on a lot of things.  As soon as last season ended, we started working on everything for this coming season.  It was a very very busy summer….planning for the draft, developing the schedule for the year, renewing corporate sponsors and seeking new ones, renewing season ticket holders and seeking new ones, planning for training camp, and so much more.

We have really worked hard at attracting new season ticket holders and we have had success…but we need more and more season ticket holders.  We need to increase our season ticket base somehow….and starting in mid August, we will launch our biggest season ticket campaign yet with lots of advertising in the Guardian and on K-Rock 105.5 and Ocean 100.3.

We have perhaps the smallest market in major junior hockey and we are working hard to ensure that we show everyone what a small market can do…maybe this will be the year!

See you at the rink!

QMJHL Entry Draft – Just Around the Corner

May 28th, 2010

Well, things have been extremely busy in the Rocket office since the end of the season.  What goes on behind the scenes is a very significant job for our administration staff and something that starts even before the end of the current season.

This week, we travel to Drummondville for the 2010 QMJHL Entry Draft.  There is plenty of excitement surrounding the fact that we currently hold the #11, #15, and #20 picks in the first and early second rounds, along with a number of other picks throughout the remaining rounds.  In heading into the draft, I thought it would be beneficial to share some insights into the scouting process, so here we go….

Selecting 15 year old youth hockey players is quite a task to say the least.  In many cases, we are drafting a young man who:

  • will be uprooted from his home and family, in many instances for the very first time;
  • will move in with a family who he has never met and may or may not speak his language;
  • will try to balance education and a very busy on-ice, and off-ice training schedule while at the same time being asked to do various community activities;
  • will play against players that are 16-20 years old and in many cases have become grown men;
  • will play with a new group of teammates where an entirely different professional culture exists where you earn your icetime and nothing is taken for granted;
  • will play for a coach who is paid to ensure success for the hockey team and…unlike traditional minor hockey, there is no equal ice time responsibility;
  • will be expected to be consistent each and every night over a 68 game schedule while balancing all of the above…and more…

I have been scouting for 10 years in this League and it is truly an enjoyable experience, but it is also very difficult.  I have had some great successes when drafting players, but have also had some blunders when providing recommendations on some players…BUT…that is the name of the game.

On any average year, most scouts watch hundreds of games, in very cold rinks, traveling in winter conditions, away from their families, and all for very little pay….they do it for the love of the game and for this as a GM, I am truly grateful.

Heading into the draft this week in Drummondville, we have spent countless hours debating and refining our draft list and ensuring that we have done as much homework as we can on hundreds and hundreds of players.  Not only do we monitor what they do on the ice, we try to get as much background information as we can on what they are like off the ice as well.  We want players that have great skill, but we also want players that have great work ethic, players that are great teammates, players that have great leadership qualities, players that are good citizens.  We call their coaches and school teachers in an attempt to gather as much information as we can.  We interview every player before we draft them and then we make our selections based on all of the homework that we did.

I wish it was an exact science….but unfortunately, even when you do all these things….there is still plenty of room for error.

This week, we will make our final preparations for this year’s draft.  There will be plenty of excitement.  There are plenty of trade rumours and I am sure there will be many trades during the trading period before the draft and during the draft.   Rest assured…we will do our best to ensure that we continue improving our organization for the long term success of the franchise in Charlottetown.

Watch our website and our RocketTV YouTube site for coverage of the draft and to meet the new members of the Rocket organization as we call their names in Drummondville.