Former Rocket Calls It a Career

Former Kelowna Rocket and long time NHL veteran Vernon Fiddler has announced his retirement from playing hockey after 877 games in the NHL.

Those 877 games were stretched out between the Nashville Predators, Phoenix Coyotes, Dallas Stars, and New Jersey Devils. Fiddler collected 104 goals and 157 assists for 261 points along with 558 career penalty minutes.

Before Fiddler made his ascent into an NHL role, or even an AHL role, he played 267 games in the Western Hockey League. 200 of those games were spent right here in Kelowna playing for the Rockets. From the 1997-1998 season until the beginning of the 2000-2001 season, Fiddler was a key cog in the Rockets roster.

Fiddler collected 85 goals and 100 assists for 185 points in his WHL career, 52 of those goals and 114 of those points with Kelowna.

Fiddler also won the Calder Cup in the AHL in 2004 with the Milwaukee Admirals.

Fiddler announces his retirement at 37 years of age, following parts of 14 seasons in the big league. In his final NHL season he helped the Nashville Predators all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in their franchise history.