Devils draft traded to contender

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At 20 years old, the last thing a junior hockey player wants to do is play out his junior career on a team that's dead in the water before the new calendars are up on the wall. And, thanks to the defensive needs of the Kelowna Rockets, Sheldon Souray has moved to a team that has a legitimate shot at a long playoff run.

Two weeks ago, the Rockets sent 18-year-old defenceman Joel Kwiatkowski and their second-round draft pick in 1997 to Prince George Cougars in exchange for the dominant 20-year-old and the future considerations the Cougars owed Kelowna for 18-year-old Quinn Hancock, moved to Prince George earlier this season. The Rockets are fourth in the Western Hockey League's West Division, in a dogfight with Spokane, Kamloops and Tri-City for first place. The Cougars are some 30 points behind Kelowna, sporting the league's worst record.

"Prince George did a favor for me," said Souray. "For me it's exciting coming from a team not making the playoffs, to a team with a chance to finish first in their division and go on to the Memorial Cup."

"We gave up a pretty good player to get Sheldon," said Bruce Hamilton, the Rockets' general manager. "He's a fast skater and he'll be an offensive force up there."

Kelowna's defence now has three seasoned players and four kids, with Souray added to the mix. With two 16 year olds and two 17 year olds, Hamilton was worried that the pressure of a playoff run could get to the younger players.

"Sheldon adds a big, physical presence to our team, and he's a very talented player," Hamilton explained. "He's so strong, especially in our end of the rink, that we're confident that he'll have a big impact.

"We stress our specialty teams, and that'll be something that will work for Sheldon," Hamilton said. "He'll need some coaching on the way we do things here."

The Rockets play some 15 games against their three rivals over the last third of the WHL season, and those games are make-or-break-it. It will give Souray a jump start on his first full year as a pro next season.

"This is more intense and competitive in games and in practices," he said. "It will prepare you better for the next step."

"They're all four-point games," agreed Hamilton. "And you're either pulling up and ahead with a win or falling behind in a hurry with a loss."

"My role with the team stays the same," Souray said. "I have to be one of the leaders in the room and on the ice, and I have to be physical and, as well, just have fun.

"For us to win, we have to work harder than (the other three contenders) do," he explained. "We have to stick to what we've been doing, and do what we've been taught by the coaches. That's our best chance of winning."

Those kinds of comments, must be music to the Rockets' ears, but they're what Hamilton expected from the positive defenceman.

"Sheldon Souray's a dynamic guy," the general manager said. "He's got a good personality. But even more important, he's a leader in the room and on the ice. Since he's been here, our guys are playing two inches bigger, and in the room, he doesn't have to go out of his way-the other players come to him."