Building Blue: Parker Alcos Turns Experience into Confidence and Embraces New Opportunity with Memorial Cup-Bound Kelowna Rockets

For Parker Alcos, development has been layered through experience, trust, and time. Now, in his third full WHL season and coming off a summer focused on refining the details of his game, the 19-year-old defenceman is starting to see the cumulative effect of those layers.

With more than 175 WHL games under his belt and increased confidence with the puck, Alcos is emerging as a more assertive, well-rounded blue-liner heading into the next phase of his season.

Alcos was traded from the Edmonton Oil Kings to the Kelowna Rockets last week. It was the first time he has been traded in his WHL career, after spending three years with the Oil Kings.

The Port Moody native feels this move will be good for his development to take his game to the next level.

“When I figured out it was Kelowna, I was pretty happy,” Alcos said. “I've known some of the boys on the team from previous years, and they've loved it here. It's a little closer to home, which is also a perk.”

Stepping into a new room after being in Edmonton for a significant amount of time, the group made his transition easy.

“Right when I got here, everyone treated me like I've been a teammate for so long, and it's been really easy to transfer over to new faces,” Alcos said.

The move also means that Alcos will have a guaranteed opportunity to play in the Memorial Cup this year as the Rockets host the tournament during the last two weeks of May. Alcos played in the Memorial Cup last season with the Kings and is excited to have another opportunity to play on the league’s biggest stage.

In his first game as a Rocket, Alcos earned third-star honours, scoring a goal and helping Kelowna beat the Tri-City Americans 5-2.

“It felt great to score for the first game and first period, which is definitely something I was looking forward to trying to do before the game, and when it turned out well, it was really cool,” Alcos said. “I just saw my teammate come around the net and I was in the slot open, calling for it, and then I tried to pick my spot.”

He’s able to activate offensively and instinctually, jumping up in the play while still staying reliable defensively. The 19-year-old balances that by playing within the structure of their system, and instinct that has sharpened over time.

“You just feel it,” he said. “There's the right spots to jump in the play, and there's obviously the times where you shouldn't. It’s just finding that happy medium of not being too offensive but also being able to keep pucks out of your net.”

Canucks’ Development Coach Mike Komisarek has noticed Alcos’ growth and highlighted the defenceman’s comfort as a puck-mover and ability to use his 6’4” frame to efficiently defend. For Alcos, that confidence comes from repetition and familiarity – knowing his game, trusting his reads, and relying on his teammates and coaching staff.

“Over the years and over 150 games, that added experience definitely helps with the confidence,” Alcos said. “Being able to trust your teammates and trust the staff, which is something you then don't have to think as much about, and you only need to focus on your game.”

Defensively, Alcos has focused on using his reach to disrupt plays, maximizing his size to stifle the opposition.

“With a longer stick, being able to manipulate plays and take away lanes from the opposing team has been a big factor in my defence, and obviously with my skating, being able to close and kill plays has helped defend and breakout pucks tremendously.”

His success on both ends of the ice is a testament to the work he put in last summer. Already a strong skater, he continued to work on that aspect of his game during the offseason, doing a lot of work in the gym, which he says has helped every facet of his game.

“I think my skating this past year has definitely improved the most throughout the off-ice strength training. So, I think that's helped me become a better skater, be quicker and more agile,” Alcos said.

With experience behind him, and his offseason work backing him, he’s on a mission to continue to improve his game on both ends of the ice.