With the puck set to drop for the NHL qualifying rounds on Saturday, Aug. 1, the NHL has announced the Phase 4 player rosters for the 24 clubs, featuring 14 Kelowna Rockets alumni.
Under the new rules of the NHL’s Return to Play Plan, each team is allowed to carry a maximum of 31 players into the bubble into the hub cities of Edmonton (Western Conference) and Toronto (Eastern Conference) for Phase 4 of the competition.
Seventeen former Rockets participated in NHL camps over the last two weeks. Kole Lind (Vancouver), Cal Foote (Tampa Bay) and Carsen Twarynski (Philadelphia) took part in camps but were not included on final rosters.
The top four teams in each conference, based on points percentage, will play a three-game round-robin, and the No. 5-12 seeds will play in eight best-of-5 series. The winners of those series will advance to the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the four teams from the round-robin.
There will be three days of exhibition games starting on July 28, while the qualifiers begin Saturday, Aug. 1.
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Rockets alumni on Pase 4 rosters include:
Michael Backlund & Dillon Dube - Calgary Flames
Duncan Keith - Chicago Blackhawks
Jamie Benn, Blake Comeau - Dallas Stars
Leon Draisaitl - Edmonton Oilers
Shea Weber - Montreal Canadiens
Colton Scissons - Nashville Predators
Luke Schenn - Tampa Bay Lightning
Tyson Barrie - Toronto Maple Leafs
Alexander Edler and Tyler Myers - Vancouver Canucks
Gage Quinney - Vegas Golden Knights
Josh Morrissey - Winnipeg Jets
To view the full NHL Stanley Cup Qualifiers schedule, click here.
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