Petrovic to u18's

Red Deer Rebels defenseman Alex Petrovic will soon be heading overseas to play for his country. The 17 year-old Edmonton native (Red Deers' 2nd round pick in the 2007 WHL Bantam Draft) has been named to Canada's World U18 team.

The team finalized it's roster on Tuesday after a weekend-long camp in Calgary. Petrovic is one of seven WHL'ers on the squad, and one of only two WHL d-men (Edmonton's Mark Pysyk is the other).

The annual Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament is set to go in the Czech Republic starting Tuesday, August 11th.

Petrovic is heading into his second season with the Rebels, and could wind up being a first-round pick in next summer's NHL entry draft.
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Former Rebel F Matt Ellison (2002-2003) signed a one-year contract with HC MVD Balashikha (Russia KHL). He had 15 goals and 24 assists in 55 games for Dinamo Riga (Latvia, KHL) last season.

Meanwhile, former Rebel goaltender Gerry Festa has signed on with the CHL's Laredo Bucks. Festa has spent the last four seasons at UBC.

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It's been a little slow on the blog as of late, but things will be heating up very soon. Hard to beleive that WHL camps will open up in less than three weeks.

The Rebels open training camp on Sunday, Aug. 23, and the McDonald’s Black and White intrasquad game will be played on Wednesday, Aug. 26 at the Centrium.