Hamilton a happy host

KELOWNA, B.C. -- One of the most striking features of Prospera Place is the giant murals painted on the wall across from the locker rooms of some of the best players to skate for the Kelowna Rockets.

And the list is an impressive one -- Duncan Keith, Shea Weber, Tyler Myers, Luke Schenn and Jamie Benn are among some of the players depicted in their Rockets uniform, and features some of the hardware they've won over the years, both with the Rockets and in the NHL.

"The precedent to get put up there is you have to win a gold medal or a Stanley Cup or a Memorial Cup … or win a World Junior gold medal," Kelowna owner/GM Bruce Hamilton told NHL.com.

Keith's mural features him with a gold medal around his neck and the Stanley Cup next to him. Weber's portrait has him holding the Memorial Cup over his head. Myers and Benn both have World Junior gold medals around their necks.

The murals were Hamilton's idea and started not long after the team moved into Prospera Place.

"We're in this building for 11 (years) now," said Hamilton. "I thought that was a good thing for us, to start to recognize the players that have been here. I think it's really neat when we have training camp and all the young guys are here and they see those guys. And when the visiting teams come in, they walk by them and see who's played here, too. And those guys that are on the wall, they come by and take a look."

Hamilton has owned the team since 1995, when it was in Tacoma, Wash., and organized the move to Kelowna. Since the move the franchise has hosted a Memorial Cup, games in the Subway Super Series and other big events. The Top Prospects Game, though, is something Hamilton says he has been looking forward to hosting for quite a while.

"It's very special for me personally," he said. "I've wanted to have this, I've bid on it. Each time it was going to be in Eastern Canada and we had to sell them on that we can do it here, we did it with the Memorial Cup. This thing, we'll do whatever it takes to make it work. The travel is not near as bad as everyone thinks it is to get in here. The NHL people here are stunning. There's in excess of 250 NHL scouts here, from what I'm told. I'm thrilled. Our city loves this stuff and our season-ticket holders deserve it, so that's why we do it."

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK