Alex Rosolowsky apparently took to heart the saying, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”
The Campbell River Storm Junior Hockey Club announced Monday the acquisition of the 1995-born forward from the Kimberley Dynamiters of the KIJHL in exchange for future considerations.
Rosolowsky, a native of Calgary, played two seasons with the Dynamiters, who fell to the Storm in last season’s Cyclone Taylor Cup Junior B provincial championship final. In 47 games last year he registered 13 goals, 8 assists and 14 penalty minutes.
Storm Head Coach and General Manager Lee Stone liked what he saw of Rosolowsky, who turns 20 in December, during the playoffs and provincial championships last season.
“Alex will be a great addition to our forward and leadership group,” said Stone. “I first identified Alex on a scouting trip to watch Kimberley prior to the Cyclone Taylor Cup and we saw him again two more times at the tournament. Due to a 20-year-old limit in the KIJHL we were lucky to even have a chance to bring Alex into the fold.”
Rosolowsky became the odd man out when Kimberly chose to move ahead with two other forwards, two defensemen and a goalie, all in their age 20 seasons.
“At the end of the day, that’s the crappy part of this job -- you can only have so many 20-year-olds,” said Mike Reid, Dynamiters general manager. “We wanted to make sure that we got Alex a place to play right away so he could get himself physically and mentally ready for the year.”
Rosolowsky is happy with the move and anxious to start the season.
“Without even playing a game I can feel the sense of pride and get the feeling that this is a winning organization, and that’s exactly where I want to be,” he said. “The fans and community support seem to be tremendous here as well.”
Storm add goalie
The Storm also announced last week the signing of 1999-born goaltender Jakob Walter for the upcoming season.
The highly regarded 16-year-old was selected in the second round (33rd overall) by the Kootenay Ice in the 2014 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft.
Stone sees great potential in the 6’2”, 185 pound prospect.
“Last year it became evident that age is just a number when it comes to goaltending,” Stone said. “We are thrilled to add such a promising young talent in Jakob to our organization and look forward to developing him and helping him move onto the next level of Junior Hockey.”
Walter played last season with the Valley West Hawks of the BC Major Midget League. In 24 starts he recorded seven wins, nine losses, and four ties, with a goals against average of 3.46.
Puck drops Aug. 28
The Storm drop the puck on their 2015-16 season Aug. 28-30 with a pair of exhibition games sandwiched around an intrasquad scrimmage at Rod Brind’Amour Arena.
The Storm, coming off their first Keystone Cup-winning season as Western Canada Junior B champions, will host the Oceanside Generals at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 28.
The following night the team will be introduced to the home fans in a 7:30 p.m. scrimmage at the Brindy.
The weekend wraps up with a Sunday rematch against Oceanside Aug. 30, at 1:30 p.m.
Prior to Friday’s opening game, the Storm will host a tailgate party, beginning at 4:30 p.m. at Strathcona Gardens. It will feature hamburgers, hot dogs, salmon and drinks for $5 per person, or free for season ticket holders.
Season tickets will be available for purchase and pick-up at the event.
With files from Taylor Rocca, Black Press