Kelowna Rockets will honour first responders prior to Saturday's home opener

Photo: City of Kelowna

The Kelowna Rockets organization will give fans a chance to openly show their appreciation to firefighters and first responders during Saturday's season opener against the Portland Winterhawks.

Prior to puck drop, the team will honour firefighters, RCMP and all first responders from across the Central Okanagan.

Fire chief's from West Kelowna, Wilson’s Landing, North Westside, Lake Country and Kelowna Fire will be on hand for the special ceremony to thank them and their teams for all the hard work the first responders did during recent and on-going wildfires.

The Rockets meantime have set their roster for the upcoming season.

The 24-player roster, which includes 14 forwards, eight defencemen and two goaltenders, was finalized after a pair of 16-year olds, defenceman Lachlan Staniforth and goaltender Nathan Kam to their respective teams for the season.

That means just one 16-year-old, defenceman Jackson Gillespie will start the season with the club.

The roster also includes four players, forward Andrew Cristall, defencemen Caden Price and Jackson Desouza and goaltender Jari Kykkanen, who remain at NHL camps.

Gabriel Szturc, who is eligible to return for his overage season, was not included on the 24-player roster, however he does remain on their 50-man protected list.

Single game tickets for Saturday's home opener are available at Select Your Tickets.