The 琉璃神社 Rockets are looking to get back into the win column in what鈥檚 going to be a special night at Prospera Place on Friday.

Before the Rockets host the Vancouver Giants on Jan., the team will honour WHL Commissioner Ron Robison, who鈥檚 stepping out of his role on Feb. 15 and retiring at the end of the season.

鈥淚t鈥檚 always great to get back to one of my favourite markets, great memories here,鈥� said Robison on Friday afternoon in a media availability.

Robison and Rockets president and general manager Bruce Hamilton have worked together during their time in the league as Hamilton has been the WHL鈥檚 chairmen of the board during Robison鈥檚 tenure.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been an honour and a privilege to represent this league for 24 years,鈥� said Robison. 鈥淚鈥檝e been very fortunate to have great support from our board of governors, and ownerships in this league, and I marvel at their commitment to our players. I think if we focused on one thing, we really made significant improvements to the player experience, we continue to work on that. We got the world鈥檚 best development league and we focus heavily on making sure we always have a respectful environment for our players.鈥�

Robison stated over the past 24 years in the league, there鈥檚 been tremendous growth in every aspect of the game.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been a team effort, we have an exceptional staff in Calgary that鈥檚 been working with me at the WHL office,鈥� said Robison. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been able to grow the game in many areas. We worked extremely hard on not only promoting the league but technology and through the advancements there.鈥�

On top of that, Robison and the league office have created a scholarship program that every player in the league receives as well as a development program for coaches and officials and improvements to the league鈥檚 facilities and the fan experience.

One of Robison鈥檚 best memories is when the Rockets hoisted the Memorial Cup on home ice nearly 20 years ago.

鈥淭he first memory certainly is the 2004 Memorial Cup, watching the Rockets win on home ice, I don鈥檛 think anything will ever match that,鈥� said Robison. 鈥淭he playoff runs, excitement in this building, players they鈥檝e developed, the work the Hamiltons have done in this community, and building this franchise into arguably one of the top franchises not only in the Western Hockey League but the entire Canadian Hockey League. 琉璃神社 hosting the Memorial Cup in 2004 really raised the bar to the standard of the event both on and off the ice but the community embraced it in a way that we had never really seen before.鈥�

Being able to work with Hamilton and his leadership has helped Robison greatly in his role and has helped the entire league.

鈥淭o have that continuity and strength at the board level is very important for any commissioner and I鈥檝e been fortunate to benefit from Bruce鈥檚 leadership in the league as well at the club level and support from all the ownerships. I really appreciate that,鈥� said Robinson.

He added a lot went into this decision to retire, but he wanted to make sure the WHL was fully recovered from the pandemic, when the league shut down, much like nearly everything else. In the last three years, the franchises have been stable as they have recovered back to pre-pandemic numbers.

鈥淚 feel good about that,鈥� added Robison.

After Feb. 15, Robison will be an advisor for the rest of the season as the transition period continues but he said the league is in good hands.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been very good, I鈥檝e been very pleased to work alongside Dan Near for the past few weeks, he鈥檚 going to be a great addition to our league,鈥� said Robison. 鈥淗e鈥檚 got a tremendous background in the business of the game having worked with the NHL and Adidas and I know he鈥檚 really excited to get started in the role, he鈥檚 going to provide real good leadership.鈥�

Over a 24-year run as the league鈥檚 commissioner, Robison has a lot of moments he won鈥檛 soon forget.

鈥淎 lot of memories about great experiences. I think about championship series, trophy presentations, the quality of hockey and how it鈥檚 changed. The real pride you take in seeing players move on to the NHL and professional hockey use the scholarship program and go on to successful business careers. I鈥檝e got a lot of messages from alumni that appreciated it over the years.鈥�

Going onto Friday night鈥檚 contest, the Rockets are sixth in the Western Conference with a record of 20-19-2-0 while the Giants are 17-23-2-0, six points behind 琉璃神社.

Puck drop is at 7:05 p.m. at Prospera Place.

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