Change in the Okanagan Region

Photo credit: Ed Andrieski/Associated Press

It has been an interesting month in Kelowna, British Columbia, as the city was announced as the Memorial Cup host for 2020 earlier this month. This week, there was a change in coaches, as the Kelowna Rockets decided that two plus seasons of Jason Smith was enough, as they canned him. While Smith was actually good in his first two seasons with the team, as he went 88-44-10-2 in that stretch, the Rockets were off to a sluggish start, as they were 4-10-0-0 at the time of Smith's dismissal.

It didn't take the Rockets long to find a new head coach, however, as Adam Foote was named the new head coach. He has no head coaching experience, but the Foote name is familiar with Kelowna, as his older son Cal had played for the Rockets until this past season. He is currently playing for Syracuse of the AHL and is knocking on the door to the NHL, as he was a first round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2017. Currently, Adam Foote will be coaching his other son Nolan, who is an assistant captain with the Rockets. The Rockets began Foote's tenure as head coach with a win against Swift Current last night. It will be interesting to see how Foote does as a head coach, particularly since he will be more involved in Nolan's development, but the expectation is that he will guide the team through a transition year in order to be ready for 2020 and the Memorial Cup run.