As the Kelowna Rockets and 15 other WHL clubs get ready for the playoffs, the league revealed its year-end all-star teams today.
The WHL unveiled first and second all-star teams for all four divisions and a trio of Kelowna Rockets received the nod in the BC Division.
ICYMI: Tij Iginla, Andrew Cristall and Caden Price earned BC Division All-Star honours from the WHL on Tuesday. #NHLDraft | #ALLCAPS | #seakraken
— Kelowna Rockets (@Kelowna_Rockets) March 26, 2024
Tij Iginla was the only one of the three to earn first all-star team honours, following his breakout season that saw the 17-year-old Lake Country product notch 47 goals in 62 games.
He was joined on the first team by Riley Heidt, Zac Funk and Hudson Thornton from the Prince George Cougars, Justin Kipkie from the Victoria Royals and Brett Mirwald from the Vancouver Giants.
Andrew Cristall and Caden Price earned spots on the BC Division’s second all-star team, which was also half made up of Prince George players.
Joshua Ravensberg, Viliam Kmec and Terik Parascak all got second team nods for the Cougars alongside Cristall, Price and Giants forward Jaden Lipinski.
Both drafted in the 2023 NHL entry draft, Cristall led the Rockets with 111 points this season, while Price was a stalwart on the team’s blue line in his third WHL season.
While the individual honours are likely meaningful to Iginla, Cristall and Price, all three are likely more focused on their upcoming playoff series with the Wenatchee Wild.
The Rockets will head south of the border later this week and the series will kick off with two games at the Town Toyota Center in Wenatchee on Friday and Saturday.
The two teams will be in Kelowna for games three and four on Tuesday and Wednesday next week.
