The Kelowna Rockets have acquired 17-year-old forward Max Graham from the Everett Silvertips in exchange for 20-year-old centre Alex Swetlikoff and the Rockets sixth-round pick at the 2023 WHL Draft.
After spending last season with the Silvertips, posting 2 points and a +1 rating in 18 games last season, Graham returns to the place where he had major success.
The 6’3″, 180-pound forward spent the 2019-20 season with the U16 AAA Okanagan Rockets (BC U16), where he led the league in scoring with 61 points, including 33 goals, over 31 games.
“Our organization knows a lot about Max,” said Kelowna Rockets general manager and president Bruce Hamilton. “We’re really excited to have him join our team, we know he’ll have an impact certainly in the future, if not now. We paid dearly for him, giving up a real high-end player in Alex, but we think that he gives us great depth in the ’04 age bracket.”
The player going the other way, Alex Swetlikoff, appeared in 111 games for Kelowna over the last three seasons, collecting 54 points (25G, 29A), 70 penalty minutes and a -19 plus-minus rating.
Graham was named to the 2019-20 BC U16 AAA All-Star team alongside current Rockets forward Scott Cousins and goaltender Nicholas Christiano.
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