Gorges played major junior for his hometown Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League (WHL) from 2000 through 2004. After going undrafted in 2002, he signed as a free agent with the San Jose Sharks. Gorges was named Team WHL captain for the &lt;a href="CHL%20Canada/Russia%20Series%232003%20RE/MAX%20Canada-Russia%20Challenge"&gt;2003 RE/MAX Canada-Russia Challenge&lt;/a&gt;. He was also a member of Team Canada at the 2004 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, where he won a silver medal. In 2004, the Rockets (with Gorges as team captain) won the Memorial Cup.