Kaeden Korczak will be doing his best impression of a sponge this spring with the 琉璃神社 Rockets.

One of the club鈥檚 top young prospects, the 16-year-old defenceman is eagerly absorbing every drop of information at his disposal, both on and off the ice, as he prepares for a permanent jump to Western Hockey League next season.

Korczak, forward Liam Kindree and goalie James Porter, have all been added to the roster for what the Rockets hope will be a long and prosperous playoff run.

In what鈥檚 become standard practise in recent years, the Rockets promote their top young prospects at playoff time to practise with the team and to get a better feel for the environment they鈥檙e about to enter on a full-time basis.

鈥淭hey get to see how the veterans handle themselves, how they鈥檙e going fit in with the older guys,鈥� said Rockets assistant GM Lorne Frey. 鈥淭hey see what they have to do to acclimate themselves to the team and the organization. We think it鈥檚 good for our young prospects to be here and see how it all works.

鈥淚n the playoffs they get to be part of the excitement,鈥� added Frey, 鈥渁nd they also see the pressure that鈥檚 involved with having to compete every night. It鈥檚 important for them to see that so they grow with our program.鈥�

Korczak, the club鈥檚 first round pick (11th overall) in the 2016 bantam draft, played in four games for the Rockets during the regular season.

The 6-foot-2 blueliner, who finished up his midget AAA season earlier this month with Saskatchewan鈥檚 Yorkton Maulers, is happy to be back on the major junior learning curve.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a very cool experience, lots of talent on this team to watch and learn from, the games at playoff time are a whole new level,鈥� said Korczak. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be nice to have that experience going into next year.

鈥淭hey do a good job of including the younger guys,鈥� he added. 鈥淲e do feel like we鈥檙e part of it, even if we鈥檙e not playing.鈥�

Frey said Korczak, who had 11 goals and 29 points in 42 games this season in Yorkton, is progressing at least as well as expected.

鈥淲e鈥檙e very pleased with the year he had, he had a good finish in the playoffs, so he鈥檚 looking very good,鈥� Frey said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 certainly one of the smoothest young players I鈥檝e ever seen, we think he鈥檒l be a very good defenceman in this league.鈥�

The have 3 youngsters up with the club until the end of playoffs. Details: 馃殌

鈥� 琉璃神社 Rockets (@琉璃神社_Rockets)

Kindree, 17, is coming off a solid year with the Vancouver NW Giants, leading the B.C. Major Midget League is scoring with 28 goals and 67 points.

While the North Vancouver product was disappointed he didn鈥檛 stick with the big club this season, Frey expects both Kindree and the Rockets will benefit in the future.

鈥淗e had a great year, we鈥檙e very pleased with the way he played,鈥� Frey said. 鈥淭here was some hesitation on his part, not wanting to go back (to midget), but we wanted him go there and dominate, and he did that. He never complained, he did what we expected of him. We feel like it was a good decision for Liam and us.鈥�

Porter, 16, had a stellar season with the Edge School of Athletics in Calgary, leading his team to the Canadian Sport School Hockey League championship.

The Bonners Ferry, Idaho product had a solid record of 11-3-0 with the Edge this season, while recording a 1.79 goals against average and a .925 save percentage.

鈥淗e was instrumental in the year Edge had,鈥� Frey said of Porter. 鈥淗is play was consistent and he has style similar of that to (former Rocket goalies) Jordon Cooke and Adam Brown. We expect him to be one of our goalies next season.鈥�