Kamloops Blazers - Kelowna Rockets 2026 WHL Playoffs Series Dates Announced
WHL Kamloops Blazers

Kamloops Blazers - Kelowna Rockets 2026 WHL Playoffs Series Dates Announced

Published on March 23, 2026 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Kamloops Blazers News Release


The Kelowna Rockets and Kamloops Blazers rivalry will fire up once again during the first round of the 2026 WHL Playoffs.

The Rockets, who are set to host the 2026 Memorial Cup, finished the 2025-26 season with a record of 38-21-6-3 to sit fourth in the WHL's Western Conference. As for the Blazers, they wrapped up the campaign with a record of 31-24-7-6 to end up in fifth.

Kelowna secured the six-game season series between the two Clubs, going 4-1-0-1 while outscoring Kamloops by a margin of 19-13. Most recently, the Rockets claimed both sides of a home-and-home series March 13 and 14, dispatching the Blazers by scores of 4-1 and 5-1.

Starring for the Rockets is Utah Mammoth prospect Tij Iginla, who finished his season with 90 points (41G-49A) in 48 games. Iginla's 1.88 points per game were best among all WHL players. Selected by the Mammoth in the first round (sixth overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft, Iginla won a WHL Championship with the Seattle Thunderbirds in 2023.

The Blazers have been fuelled by rookie phenom and 2026 NHL Draft-eligible star JP Hurlbert, who ended the season with 97 points (42G-55A) in 68 games. The native of Allen, Texas, wound up fourth in scoring among all WHL skaters and has positioned himself well heading into the 2026 NHL Draft, ranked 10th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.

For the Rockets, they return to post-season play following a one-year absence. Kelowna last advanced to the Western Conference Championship in 2017, when they fell to the eventual WHL Champion Seattle Thunderbirds. The Rockets last Ed Chynoweth Cup title came in 2015, when they swept the Brandon Wheat Kings.

On the heels of hosting the Memorial Cup in 2023, the Blazers missed the WHL Playoffs in 2024 and 2025. During that 2023 post-season, Kamloops advanced to the Western Conference Championship, only to suffer elimination at the hands of the Thunderbirds, who went on to win the Ed Chynoweth Cup. The last WHL Championship victory for the Blazers came in 1995.

The Rockets and Blazers played an all-time WHL Tiebreaker game in 2019, which saw Kamloops advance to post-season play before dropping a six-game opening round series with the Victoria Royals. The last time Kelowna and Kamloops met in the WHL Playoffs was 2017, with the Rockets securing a six-game triumph before advancing to the Western Conference Championship.

The best-of-seven first-round series between the Rockets and Blazers gets underway Friday, March 27 (7:05 p.m. PT) from Prospera Place. The series shifts back to Kamloops for Game 3 on Tuesday, March 31 (7 p.m. PT) at Sandman Centre.

Game Visitor Home Day Date Time

1 Kamloops @ Kelowna Friday March 27 7:05 p.m. PT

2 Kamloops @ Kelowna Saturday March 28 6:05 p.m. PT

3 Kelowna @ Kamloops Tuesday March 31 7 p.m. PT

4 Kelowna @ Kamloops Wednesday April 1 7 p.m. PT

5* Kamloops @ Kelowna Friday April 3 7:05 p.m. PT

6* Kelowna @ Kamloops Saturday April 4 6 p.m. PT

7* Kamloops @ Kelowna Tuesday April 7 7:05 p.m. PT

* = if necessary

Check out the Kamloops Blazers Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from March 23, 2026


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