By Glen Erickson / www.hockeysfuture.com

For Colton Sissons of the Kelowna Rockets, the Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game is not just another home game at Prospera Place. The native of North Vancouver, B.C. is excited on a personal level, and he is also confident the city will do a bang up job in hosting this CHL’s annual event.

“It’s going to be really fun, especially hosting it here in our own rink and in front of our own fans,” Sissons said. “We’re really looking forward to it and we want to put on a good performance and impress the people that are here to watch.”

Sissons, Kelowna’s team captain, leads the Rockets with 25 goals this season after a successful rookie campaign last year where he tallied 17 times and added 24 assists in 64 games. Among North American Skaters, Sissons is the top ranked forward from the WHL during a season where the league is boasting a bumper crop of top defencemen.

Sissons, who has been named captain for Team Orr (coached by Pat Quinn) is no stranger to events featuring the current group of draft eligible juniors, as he participated at the NHL’s Research and Development Camp in August. He sees the Top Prospects Game as another great opportunity to put his skills and fitness on display.

“There will be some testing, on and off the ice,” Sissons said. “I’m not sure what it will all be about, but I’m confident in my fitness and it’s just going to be a good experience overall for the top prospects heading into this year’s draft.”

Sissons also has the luxury of feedback from a pair of teammates who played in last year’s edition of the Top prospects game in Toronto. Shane McColgan, who was drafted by the New York Rangers, and Myles Bell, who won the hardest shot competition, have been willing to assist Sissons in preparing for the festivities.

“We’ve talked about it a couple of times,” Sissons said. They know what it’s all about and they’ve given me the lowdown and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Joining Sissons is defenceman Damon Severson, a defenceman with the Rockets who brings a big shot and some offensive flair to the mix.

“We were on a road trip in Regina when I found out about the invitation,” said Severson, who hails from Melville, Saskatchewan. “It was awesome getting that call and even better having the game here in Kelowna.”

A total of 16 WHL players have been named to the Team Cherry and Team Orr rosters. The Regina Pats and Saskatoon Blades join the Rockets as the only teams sending two players to the game. Pats’ forwards Chandler Stephenson and Dominek Volek are on their way to Kelowna, while Blades’ forward Lukas Sutter and defenceman Dalton Thrower will also play. Mike Winther (Prince Albert Raiders), Branden Troock (Seattle Thunderbirds), Tim Bozon (Kamloops Blazers) and Coda Gordon (Swift Current Broncos) are the other WHL forwards heading to Kelowna.

On the backend, the top four ranked defencemen in the WHL will attend, including Ryan Murray (Everett Silvertips), who has been named captain for Team Cherry (coached by Mark Recchi). Matt Dumba (Red Deer Rebels), Griffin Reinhart (Edmonton Oil Kings) and Derrick Pouliot (Portland Winterhawks) are also highly ranked defencemen participating in Kelowna along with Brett Kulak (Vancouver Giants).

Conspicuous by his absence is defenceman Morgan Rielly (Moose Jaw Warriors), who remains on the sidelines since suffering a season-ending knee injury in October after appearing in only 17 games. Despite the setback, Central Scouting has Rielly fifth overall and second among WHLers in its mid-season ranking of North American skaters.

Goaltender Chris Driedger (Calgary Hitmen) has also been added as an injury replacement.

Geographically, six of the WHL players are Alberta-born, four are from Saskatchewan, three are from British Columbia and one from Manitoba. Two imports have been invited, including Volek (Czech Republic) and Bozon (Switzerland).

The Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Skills Competition takes place Tuesday night with the game to be broadcast live on Wednesday night at 7:00 pm Pacific on Sportsnet.