The B´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ· Rockets announced today that they have released 20-year-old goaltender Jari Kykkanen.
The Lloydminster, AB product cleared WHL waivers earlier today. He is now a free agent eligible to join other leagues.
"Following the trade yesterday we are forced to make a difficult decision on our goaltending tandem," said Rockets President and General Manager Bruce Hamilton. "We thank Jari for his effort and commitment to the B´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ· Rockets and we wish him the best moving forward."
Kykkanen has appeared in 109 regular season games, entirely with the Rockets. He went 54-38-6-1 and has a career goals-against-average of 3.50 to go along with a .893 save percentage. Kykkanen also has five shutouts in his career. His best season came in 2023-24 when he played in 51 games, going 28-16-2-1 with a 3.38 goals-against-average and an .896 save percentage.
Kykkanen also played in 16 playoff games for the Rockets, posting a 3.39 goals-against-average and .904 save percentage. In 12 games this season Kykkanen went 4-7-1 with an .871 save percentage and 3.81 goals-against-average.
Twenty-year-old forwards Max Graham and Michael Cicek remain on the Rockets with one overage player slot available.
The Rockets next home game will be on Friday, November 22nd against the Vancouver Giants.
