Image credit: CFJC Today/Kamloops Storm

By Marty Hastings

IN THE KIJHL

Storm GM Kolle says NCAA rule change having trickle-down impact on roster

Sep 4, 2025 | 5:01 PM

KAMLOOPS — Waiting for clubs at higher levels to make decisions on players is nothing new for the Kamloops Storm at this time of year, but the Junior A Tier 2 team is reporting more roster uncertainty than usual.

General Manager Matt Kolle said the rule change implemented in time for this season that allows Canadian Hockey League players to maintain NCAA eligibility is having trickle-down impact.

“With the NCAA being added to everybody’s plates, it’s changed everything,” Kolle said.

“WHL camps were bursting with players. Now that you have the addition of the Junior A players, a new structure needs to set itself. We had players attending the [Kamloops] Blazers camp, we had players attending other WHL camps, other Junior A camps and at this time we’re waiting for players to return.”

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Kolle said higher-level junior clubs are waiting for more players than usual to return from the WHL ranks and, in the meantime, rounding out their pre-season rosters with players who might normally be released to clubs such as the Junior A Tier 2 Storm.

Storm head coach Andrew Fisher said it has been a challenge to determine what material to teach while he waits for the roster to take shape.

“We’ve got some guys at Junior A camps across the prairies and those teams have got some guys at Western League camps, so it’s kind of just a waiting game of guys to be released from the Western League back to those other leagues and those guys down to us,” Fisher said. “But we’ve been pretty happy with how camp’s gone so far and the caliber of the players we’ve got today.”

Kolle said he may push back the date of Storm training camp in the future.

“We started on the 25th of August, which was before the Blazers’ camp,” Kolle said. “Let’s let those Western Hockey League teams have their camps, then let’s set ours at a following date so that — unless you want your players in early and you want to work with them — the trickle-down effect has time to happen.”

The Storm will begin their pre-season on Friday, with a game against the Eagles in Sicamous.

“It’s a little like Christmas right now,” Kolle said. “Today, I woke up to [find out] another two players are on their way. Heading into the weekend where we looked like we had a bit of a skeleton roster, all of a sudden we’re two players more.”

Kamloops is scheduled to host Merritt in pre-season action on Saturday, a 7:00 p.m. start at McArthur Island Sport and Event Centre.

“We’re starting to feel comfortable heading into the pre-season that our team is starting to take some sort of shape and form and we’re starting to get the players that we recruited,” Kolle said.