Kris Mallette cheered a goal by Cole Reschny last week for the first and likely last time. Mallette was head coach and Reschny the hero with the late game-winning goal as the Canadian Hockey League team of 2025 NHL draft-eligible players beat the U.S. Under-18 team 3-2 in the final game of the Prospects Challenge series in Oshawa, Ont.
The pair are back to their usual adversarial roles in club play tonight and Sunday afternoon as bench boss Mallette brings his Kelowna Rockets (11-10-3) into Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre against 17-year-old Victoria Royals star forward Reschny.
“He’s a really good coach and very vocal and I found it easy to work with him,” said Reschny, who has 10 goals and 35 points for Victoria (15-8-5).
“You know what he expects from you and what he wants and what his systems are. Maybe down the road, in international play for sa国际传媒, we can do it again.”
Indeed, one never knows which opponents from league and club play, coaches or players, one will share common cause with in representative play. The slithery play-making centre Reschny has checked all the boxes so far in representing sa国际传媒 in Under-17 and Under-18, and experts fully expect him to get an invitation next year at the Under-20 level to the sa国际传媒 selection camp for the 2026 world junior championship.
The Rockets have two players — Caden Price and WHL player of the month for November Andrew Cristall — who have been invited to the sa国际传媒 selection camp this month in Ottawa for the 2025 world junior championship. Both are two years older than Reschny and went in the 2023 NHL draft, with forward Cristall going in the second round to the Washington Capitals and defenceman Price in the third round to the Seattle Kraken.
“Growing up as a kid, you watch the world juniors at Christmas, and those two guys are going to the sa国际传媒 world juniors camp for a reason, and we are going to have to key on them,” said Reschny, ranked by Central Scouting for the first round of the 2025 NHL draft.
Kelowna has a total of four players who could skate in the 2025 world juniors in Ottawa, including forward and St. Louis Blues draft-pick Jakub Stancl and defenceman Marek Rocak, who have been invited to Czechia’s camp. Stancl has 10 goals and 30 points in 23 games and Rocak a goal and 15 points in 24 games for the Rockets.
“All those guys are big parts of their team so whatever we can do to stop them will be a big part of things this weekend,” said Reschny.
That is easier said than done with Cristall on a tear with 18 goals and 47 points in just 18 games. Price, despite being a rearguard, is also explosive with 31 points in 23 games. People were wondering why a third Rockets player, and obvious choice Tij Iginla, wasn’t invited to the sa国际传媒 selection camp. Now we know with the blockbuster announcement this week that 2024 NHL first-round draft pick Iginla, selected sixth overall by Utah HC, has undergone hip surgery and is out for the season. The son of NHL great and 2010 Vancouver Olympics gold medallist Jarome Iginla had 14 goals and 32 points in 21 games.
“That’s really unfortunate, horrible, for him and everyone is wishing him a strong recovery,” said Reschny.
Season-ending injuries are every player’s worst nightmare in any sport.
“Getting injured is a possibility for every player,” noted Reschny.
“But that’s not on my mind. You can’t be thinking about getting injured. You’ve got to go all-out and keep playing every time, every shift, and having fun doing what you love.”
