Monday, April 23, 2012

Rebels Prospects To Do Battle In Leduc - UPDATED**

**IN MY ORIGINAL VERSION OF THIS POST I HELD OFF OF MENTIONING SCOTT FERGUSON UNTIL I WAS ABLE TO CONFIRM A FEW DETAILS I WAS LOOKING FOR.  I HAVE NOW INCLUDED FERGUSON IN THIS VERSION UPDATED MONDAY EVENING**

While four weeks of campaigning in the Alberta provincial election has come to an end (please... get out and vote on Monday!) a foursome of Red Deer Rebels will be some campaigning of their own this week in Leduc.

The Red Deer Optimist Rebels are representing the Pacific Region at this week's Telus Cup national midget championship tournament.  The Optimist Rebels feature forwards Scott Ferguson, taken by the Red Deer Rebels in the 6th round (122nd overall) of the 2010 WHL Bantam Draft, and Scott Feser, selected by his hometown Rebels in the 8th round (166th overall) in the same draft.

The Saskatoon Contacts are in Leduc representing the West Region and feature two Rebels drafted players.  Defenceman Vukie Mpofu was selected in the 4th round (87th overall) in last year's bantam draft while forward Rodney Southam was selected by the Rebels in the 6th round (131st) overall.

It just so happens that the Optimist Rebels and Contacts meet in the opening game of the tournament (Monday, 12:30pm) meaning fans of the big Rebels will get an early look at their potential future players.  Here's a quick look at all four...



SCOTT FESER (F) - 5'10 170lbs, 01/05/1995, Red Deer AB
Feser finished second on the Red Deer Optimist Rebels in regular season scoring with 40 points (18 G, 22 A) in 49 games played.  He followed that up by leading all AMHL skaters with 11 points (8G, 3A) in 10 games. Scott was held pointless in the two game pacific region final versus the Vancouver NW Giants.  Feser was called up to the WHL Rebels this past season, playing nine games and collecting two assists.  His older brother Justin is a star player for the Tri-City Americans.



SCOTT FERGUSON (F) - 6'0 182lbs, 04/22/1995, Red Deer ABSize is definitely one of Ferguson's strongest assets.  He used his frame to record a respectable 23 points (12G, 11A) in 33 regular season games and another 7 points (2G, 5A) in 12 playoff games.  Ferguson was not called up by the big Rebels this season but did appear in three games with the Camrose Kodiaks of the AJHL.  He did not record a point for Camrose in those games.

 


VUKIE MPOFU (D) - 5'9, 165lbs, 18/02/1996, Saskatoon SK
When it came to scoring during the Saskatchewan Midget AAA regular season, Vukie finished fourth among Contacts defencemen with 19 points (7G, 12A) in 43 games played.  He also racked up 45 penalty minutes.  Mpofu followed up with 6 points (2G, 4A) in 16 playoff games played for the Contacts, good for second among team blueliners.





 







RODNEY SOUTHAM (F) - 5'10, 170lbs, 08/09/1996,
Saskatoon SKNot a particularly dominant force offensively, Southam was 10th in Contacts team scoring this season with 23 points (12G, 11A) in 43 games played.  But if penalty minutes are any indication, he ranked 4th on the team and 2nd among forwards with 93PIM, Southam isn't afraid to throw his weight around (he's not overwhelmingly big but 170lbs will still get you places).  Southam had just one assist and 16 penalty minutes in 17 playoff games for the Contacts.


Admittedly, it's easier to get a read on Feser having watched him play numerous times this season.  It will be interesting to watch Mpofu and Southam in action today.  A good showing by both players would serve them well heading into Rebels Prospects Camp this June.


You can follow the Telus Cup on Twitter @HC_TelusCup and online at hockeycanada.ca

TG 

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