Photo: Kelowna Rockets
Colton Dutch, left
The Kelowna Rockets traded for their captain, Colton Dutch.
In an announcement Saturday morning, the Rockets’ president and general manager, Bruce Hamilton, said the Dash has been traded to the Seattle Thunderbirds.
“Anytime you change the team captain it’s a very difficult decision,” Hamilton said. “With Colton injured and unavailable to play until March 1, we felt it was in the best interest of our team and Colton to complete this deal. We want to congratulate Colton on his Junior World Championship gold medal and thank him for his time with the Rockets, and wish him all the best moving forward.
In exchange for Dach and a fifth-round pick in the 2024 WHL Prospects draft, the Rockets acquired 18-year-old forward Ty Hurley and 17-year-old defenseman Ethan Mittlestedt, a first-round pick in the 2024 WHL Prospects (originally Regina’s) draft pick A conditional second round pick in a 2025 WHL draft prospect and a conditional fourth round pick from a 2023 WHL prospect (originally Everett).
“We have a striker in Hurley and a defender in Mittelstedt, which gives us depth in our career to move up the ranks,” Hamilton said. “The first round selection will help us recreate our talent pool of young players for the future.”
The Rockets have struggled this season, going 13-19-3 on the season.
Dash has been limited to just 14 games this season due to injury. He scored nine goals and eight assists during this period.
He recently competed in the Junior World Championships in New Brunswick, where his Canadian team won the gold medal. Unfortunately, he was injured in the fourth match of the tournament and was unable to play in the round of 16.
Dash has played for the Rockets since the fall of 2021. He was named captain of the team this season. He was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2021 and has since signed an NHL contract.
He is currently in Chicago being evaluated by Blackhawks doctors for an upper body injury he sustained during the World Junior Championships.
