Rebels Confident Their Shelves Remain Well-Stocked Following Trades

Shaun Sutter

“The Red Deer Rebels are selling the farm to load up for the Memorial Cup!”

This has been a common refrain from pundits near and far in wake of the blockbuster trades the Rebels have made over the past couple of weeks.

There’s a concern out there that the Rebels are doomed to follow the lead of the Saskatoon Blades in going all out now by giving away their future. (We all know how that worked out for them )

Team brass, however, is confident in their belief that the Rebels cupboard for next year and beyond is not as empty as many believe.

Assistant GM Shaun Sutter spoke with Cam Moon during Wednesday night’s broadcast on 106.7 The Drive of the Rebels’ 5-0 win in Saskatoon. Sutter presented the team’s case that they are indeed not talent-strapped for the post-Memorial Cup era.

“A lot of people see what’s going out the door, the abundance of draft picks and players going out,” Sutter noted. “But, we’ve accumulated an abundance of draft picks for this reason, to hopefully keep our younger players in the fold, those on our roster and those who aren’t on our team, so we can have success down the line.”

REBELS: Skill and Size improved with additions of DeBrusk and Rattie

There's no secret about what Taden Rattie is expected to bring to the Red Deer Rebels.

The team acquired Rattie's WHL rights from Portland Monday in exchange for a 4th round pick in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft. Rattie reported to the Rebels Tuesday morning. 

He's here to make his imposing presence felt and make the Rebels a tougher team to play against, and Rattie has the credentials.

"My size factor, they [Brent and Shaun Sutter] talked about it," Rattie said prior to his first practice with the Rebels. "I'm 6'4" so I've got to use my body out there, finish checks and just forecheck hard and do what I can."

The Airdrie native has racked up 297 penalty minutes in 87 career games in the AJHL, including 142 in 34 games with the Calgary Mustangs this season (3rd in the league).

Rebels Prospects Update

The Red Deer Rebels continue to build toward the future in addition to their mission to win the 2016 Mastercard Memorial Cup they’ll be hosting in May.

The goal is to return to being the perennial championship contender they were in the early 2000’s. For that to happen, you need not only to have a strong current roster but also a full cupboard of prospects.

Cam Moon, being the legendary voice of the Rebels that he is, recently sat down for a chat with Shaun Sutter, Assistant GM and Director of Player Personnel. Sutter, as he does so well, gave Mooner a rundown of some prospects that are off to strong starts this season.

“A lot of guys are playing well and that’s what we want to see,” Sutter said. “We want to see progress and development throughout the year in areas where guys want to work on and where they need to improve.”

“Internally, there is probably as much talk about next year and what we have inside our organization for what we are building going ahead because we are striving toward being a contending team every year and these guys are going to be a part of that.”

Here’s what Shaun had to say about some of them, starting with a hometown Red Deerian…

#RebelsTC15 The Rookies

For you diehards... here are the rookie rosters for Red Deer Rebels training camp...

2015 Red Deer Rebels Rookie Camp                                   
                                   
                                   
    Team Burgundy                                                                   Team Grey       
                                   
    Goaltenders                                                                       Goaltenders       
Burgundy    Ben Rishaug    Sherwood Park, AB    00         Grey    Lucas Leisen    Edmonton, AB    99
Blue            Riley Kohonick    White City, SK    00              Green    Lukas Shaw     Vancouver, BC    00
                                   
    Defence                                                                             Defence       
2    Carson Sass     Melville, SK    99                            2    Jacob Herauf    Sherwood Park, AB    00
3    Jace Foskey    Southlake, TX    00                          3    Boo Grist    North Saanich, BC    99
4    Matthew Kasowski    St. Albert, AB    99                 4    Jacob Thomson    Brandon, MB    00
5    Holden Parsons    Sherwood Park, AB    99           5    Spencer McHardy    Calgary, AB    00
6    Kelton Travis    Strathmore, AB    00                      6    Christian Riemer    Regina, SK    00
7    Sam Pouliot    North Vancouver, BC    00               7    Evan Simpson    Kitscoty, AB    99
                                   
                                   
    Forwards                                                                          Forwards       
8    Chase Stevenson    West Kelowna, BC    99          8    Jake Mulder    Abbotsford, BC    00
9    Eli Zummack    Kelowna, BC    00                          9    Brendan Budy    Langley, BC    00
10    Cole Basnett    Fairview, AB    00                         10    Brayden Labant    St. Paul, AB    99
11    Dylan Bourlai    Edmonton, AB    99                     11    Chance Adrian    Dalmeny, SK    99
12    Brandon Cutler    Stony Plain, AB    00                 12    Chase Lowry    Edmonton, AB    00
13    Jack Langenhahn    St. Albert, AB    99                13    Parker Saretsky    Wainwright, AB    99
14    Randen Schmidt    Regina, SK    00                      14    Bryce Osepchuk    Smoky Lake, AB    00
15    Martin Rudolf    St. Albert, AB    00                       15    D-Jay Jerome    Lethbridge, AB    99
16    Deklan Whillans    Grande Prairie, AB    99          16    Sam Robinson    Sherwood Park, AB    99
17    Chase Nameth    Regina, SK    00                         17    Joshua Belcher    Rapid City, MB    00
18    Eric Sorensen    Grimshaw, AB    00                     18    Hunter Floris    Vanderhoof, BC    00

Rebels and Pats Make A Rather Big Deal

Fans of The Godfather will best appreciate what happened at Rebels headquarters today.

Regina Pats VP of Hockey Operations and Head Coach John Paddock made Brent Sutter an offer he couldn’t refuse. In the process, he pried away one of the Rebels most tantalizing prospects.

Sutter sent forward Jake Leschyshyn to the Pats on Monday in exchange for Regina’s leading scorer, 19 year old forward Connor Gay. The Rebels also get Regina’s 1st round Bantam Pick in 2016, 2nd round pick in 2015 and 7th round pick in 2017. 

"It’s a hard thing to do to trade away your first round pick that you took sixth overall," Sutter admitted while speaking about the trade Monday afternoon. "It was something I was approached on by Regina [to see] if I was interested in moving a player like that. To be quite honest, I really wasn’t and yet we got into discussions and one thing led to another."

Rebels: December Deals Have Memorial Cup In Mind

The WHL Trade Deadline does not arrive for another two weeks (January 10).
Brent Sutter isn’t waiting that long to make what he hopes are drastic improvements to his Red Deer Rebels club.
Four new names have been added to the Rebels roster since December 1…

• Riley Sheen, F, 20, acquired from Lethbridge along with a conditional 5th round selection in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft in exchange for 20-year old Devan Fafard and 17-year old forward Brayden Burke
  
  
• Nelson Nogier, 18, D, and Austin Adamson, F, 18, acquired from Saskatoon in exchange for in exchange for 17-year old forward Mason McCarty, the Rebels 1st round selection in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft, and a 2nd round pick in 2015
  
  
• Colton Bobyk, D, 18, acquired from Spokane along with a 4th round selection in 2016 in exchange for 19-year old defenceman Nick Charif, a 2nd round pick in 2015 and a conditional 6th round selection in 2016

Clearly, the Rebels have paid high prices to bring these players in. It is also clear that Sutter believes these players are the right fit for his club.

TRAINING CAMP: THE ROOKIES

Here's is the rookies roster for the opening day of Rebels Training Camp (Thursday).  They hit the ice at 10 a.m.

Of note, Jeff de Wit is not with the rookie group.  He'll skate with the veterans group once he's healthy enough to do so.  

REBELS: IT'S TIME

‘Twas the night before training camp and all through the rink…

Nah, who am I kidding. I suck at poetry. Some think I also suck at writing, for that matter, but here it comes anyway.

Welcome to the 2014-15 season, Red Deer Rebels fans. After another much longer than hoped for off-season, the boys are back in town and ready to hit the ice starting Thursday.

While the off-season was indeed a long one, it was not completely uneventful for the Rebels. Here is a recap of some of the bigger happenings…

RDC Kings, Queens Ranked #1 Heading Into Volleyball Provincials

ACAC Men’s Volleyball Championship - Hosted by Red Deer College

Edmonton, February 18, 2014 – Red Deer College is honoured to host the 2013-14 Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Men’s Volleyball Championships on February 21-23, 2014. The top teams from Northern and Southern Alberta will converge on Red Deer College to determine who this year's top volleyball team will be. It's going to be a weekend tournament filled with tough competition!

Friday, February 21
1:00 PM Game 1 GPRC (#6) vs. SAIT (#3)

3:00 PM Game 2 NAIT (#7) vs. GMU (#2)

6:00 PM Game 3 BC (#8) vs. RDC (#1)

8:00 PM Game 4 UAA (#5) vs. MHC (#4)

Saturday, February 22
1:00 PM Game 5 LG2 vs. LG1

3:00 PM Game 6 LG4 vs. LG3

6:00 PM Game 7 WG1 vs. WG2

8:00 PM Game 8 WG3 vs. WG4

Sunday, February 23
11:00 AM Game 9 WG5 vs. WG6

1:00 PM Game 10 LG 7 vs. LG8

3:30 PM Game 11 WG7 vs. WG8

ALL GAMES AT RDC MAIN GYM


ACAC Women’s Volleyball Championship - Hosted by Grande Prairie Regional College

Friday, February 21
1:00 PM Game 1 King’s (#5) vs. BC (#4)

3:00 PM Game 2 LAKE (#8) vs. RDC (#1)

6:00 PM Game 3 OC (#6) vs. GPRC (#3)

8:00 PM Game 4 NAIT (#7) vs. GMU (#2)

Saturday, February 22
1:00 PM Game 5 LG2 vs. LG1

3:00 PM Game 6 LG4 vs. LG3

6:00 PM Game 7 WG1 vs. WG2

8:00 PM Game 8 WG3 vs. WG4

Sunday, February 23
11:00 AM Game 9 WG5 vs. WG6

1:00 PM Game 10 LG 7 vs. LG8

3:30 PM Game 11 WG7 vs. WG8

www.acac.ab.ca

Local Athletes Head To Alberta Winter Games

The 2014 Alberta Winter Games get underway on Thursday in Banff and Canmore.

The 2014 Alberta Winter Games run from February 6-9th young athletes from eight zones will participate in 22 sporting competitions in both locations.

Below is the list of athletes representing Zone 4 from Red Deer and Red Deer County.  For a list of the rest of our local Zone 4 athletes visit www. albertagames.com.

Aasman	Jayda	Volleyball Female	Red Deer
Adkins	Ryan	Archery	Red Deer
Allin	Erin	Ringette	Red Deer
Beaudoin	Spencer	Ringette	Red Deer
Biletsky	Parker	Volleyball Male	Red Deer
Bilodeau	Shaelynne	Hockey Female	Red Deer
Boorse	Mikayla	Curling	Red Deer
Brown	Wade	Cross Country Skiing	Red Deer
Bussard	Jade	Hockey Female	Red Deer
Butler	Ruby	Artistic Gymnastics	Red Deer
Carriere	Tye	Hockey Male	Red Deer
Colonna	Skylar	Hockey Female	Red Deer

Coutts	Tyra	Hockey Female	Red Deer
Cudillo	Lester	Boxing	Red Deer
Cudillo	Lowie	Boxing	Red Deer
Cundict	Elizabeth	Ringette	Red Deer
DeMale	Shae	Hockey Female	Red Deer
Domoney	Kaylee	Ringette	Red Deer
Evans	Tracey	Archery	Red Deer
Fairbrother	Keesha	Ringette	Red Deer
Farguson	William	Judo	Red Deer
Fitzsimons	Mandi	Hockey Female	Red Deer
Flanagan	Anthony	Judo	Red Deer
Freeman	Mya	Synchronized Swimming	Red Deer
Frenette	Natalie	Volleyball Female	Red Deer
Fuerbringer	Joshua	Speed Skating	Red Deer
Garbe	Janaya	Ringette	Red Deer
Graham	Christopher	Volleyball Male	Red Deer
Gray	Kieren	Speed Skating	Red Deer

Gray	Nolan	Speed Skating	Red Deer
Green	Owen	Alpine Skiing	Red Deer
Guthrie	Adam	Squash	Red Deer
Halford	Claire	Synchronized Swimming	Red Deer
Hayes	Nina	Synchronized Swimming	Red Deer
Heron	Matthew	Volleyball Male	Red Deer
Hovdestad	Amy	Synchronized Swimming	Red Deer
Huddleston	Mackenzie	Volleyball Female	Red Deer
Hurry	Devyn	Fencing	Red Deer
Jewkes	Lauren	Ringette	Red Deer
Johnson	Bailey	Cross Country Skiing	Red Deer
Junck	Adam	Volleyball Male	Red Deer
Kopec	Bryce	Badminton	Red Deer

Kosack	Zachary	Cross Country Skiing	Red Deer
Krause	Liam	Volleyball Male	Red Deer
Lamont	Kameron	Fencing	Red Deer
Laye	Sierra	Volleyball Female	Red Deer
Lee	Daniel	Judo	Red Deer
Love Hollman	Eryn	Curling	Red Deer
Love Hollman	Mason	Curling	Red Deer
Macleod	Logan	Squash	Red Deer
Marshall	Luke	Hockey Male	Red Deer
Mast	Cody	Cross Country Skiing	Red Deer
Meckling	Abby	Volleyball Female	Red Deer
Metcalfe	Janelle	Volleyball Female	Red Deer
Morlock	Justin	Curling	Red Deer
Mulder	Amy	Ringette	Red Deer

Nadon	Evan	Badminton	Red Deer
Nasewich	Maegan	Figure Skating	Red Deer
O'Connell	Brandon	Speed Skating	Red Deer
Oakes	Jared	Alpine Skiing	Red Deer
Ostrikoff	Megan	Fencing	Red Deer
Paarup	Jace	Hockey Male	Red Deer
Packard	Kallan	Synchronized Swimming	Red Deer
Patrick	Mercedes	Synchronized Swimming	Red Deer
Pimm	Owen	Cross Country Skiing	Red Deer
Rodger	Logan	Judo	Red Deer
Sandquist	Chantelle	Hockey Female	Red Deer
Saunders	Brad	Biathlon	Red Deer

Saunders	Brad	Biathlon	Red Deer
Saunders	Brielle	Biathlon	Red Deer
Saunders	Devin	Biathlon	Red Deer
Schlachter	Alison	Ringette	Red Deer
Sikora	Genevieve	Freestyle Skiing	Red Deer
Sikora	Sydney	Freestyle Skiing	Red Deer
Sorokan	Hope	Synchronized Swimming	Red Deer
Sosnowski	Gina	Hockey Female	Red Deer
Spicer	Lauren	Speed Skating	Red Deer
Spicer	Stefanie	Speed Skating	Red Deer

St. Pierre	Isabel	Ringette	Red Deer
St.Pierre	Jenna	Hockey Female	Red Deer
Starratt	Bailey	Archery	Red Deer
Stecyk	Cale	Hockey Male	Red Deer
Suhalj	Anna	Volleyball Female	Red Deer
Tieken-Maerz	Kendra	Ringette	Red Deer
Towers	Talyn	Archery	Red Deer
Very	Jason	Hockey Male	Red Deer
Wiebe	Dahlin	Cross Country Skiing	Red Deer
Wiley	Kaitlyn	Archery	Red Deer
Wlad	Carley	Hockey Female	Red Deer
Doyon	Joshua	Cross Country Skiing	Red Deer County
Flewell	Journey	Volleyball Female	Red Deer County
Janssen	Kendall	Volleyball Female	Red Deer County
Linnell	Kaitlan	Hockey Female	Red Deer County

MacDougall	Bryndelle	Speed Skating	Red Deer County
MacDougall	Connor	Speed Skating	Red Deer County
Sinnamon	Connor	Volleyball Male	Red Deer County
Weberg	Ethan	Hockey Male	Red Deer County
Wood	Adam	Freestyle Skiing	Red Deer County

Faze Times Pretty Good These Days, Polei Express Send Shockwaves

Truth being told… I meant to write about Scott Feser on Tuesday but, as luck would have it, I simply didn’t get the time.

Thankfully, for me, this write up is timelier following Feser’s two point performance in the Rebels 4-3 shootout win last night over the Brandon Wheat Kings [GAME STORY] for which he was named as the game’s 1st star.

Feser worked a perfect give-and-go to set up Presten Kopeck for the game’s opening goal then later banged home a slick pass from Haydn Fleury for his 6th goal of the season (in his 24th game played).

It’s quickly developing into a great story. A hometown Red Deer kid comes back after being sent down to Junior A for the second time in as many seasons and makes the best of his opportunity.

Tommy Gun's Outdoor Winter Classic - A True Hockey Celebration

The Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks may be playing at the legendary hockey setting that is Dodger Stadium (nothing screams “Hockey” like palm trees). A true celebration of the game, however, takes place in Red Deer again this weekend.

The 4^th annual Tommy Gun’s Outdoor Winter Classic [@TGWinterClassic] is on at the Bower Community Rink this weekend. Eight midget teams hit the outdoor ice for games starting Friday afternoon and running through Sunday afternoon.

This year, four Red Deer midget teams are joined this year by squads from Grande Prairie, Lloydminster, Claresholm and Kelowna.

“We just wanted to do a Midget ‘A’ tournament and there was never any ice to do it,” explains Tournament Organizer Al Sim. “We originally planned to do an indoor tournament but something got lost and we never got the indoor ice time. So we looked at the outdoor winter classic the NHL was doing and decided ‘Why don’t we do that too?’”

(more below)

Lacombe Athletic Park Continues To Score Big

Central Alberta Buccaneers in action
at MEGlobal Athletic Park

2013 was a banner year for the Lacombe Athletic Park Association (LAPA).

The group, which operates and oversees events at MEGlobal Athletic Park, held its Annual General Meeting last night. They shared many of the facility's highlights from the past 12 months and set the stage for more exciting things to come.

If you're not familiar with the facility, check out this video from their new and improved website (It's a great video despite my cameo lol)

Among the event highlights from last year…

• A number of improvements to the park were made including new sidewalks, landscaping, fencing and storage, new soccer nets, and improved access to the adjacent grass practice field
• Two midget football teams called MEGlobal Athletic Park home for their 2013 seasons
• In May, the park hosted a regional high school soccer tournament for the first time
• The U of C Dinos hosted another successful camp for minor football players in June
• The Central Alberta Buccaneers of the Alberta Football League used the park as their home for a second year
• Central Alberta Field Lacrosse started up two teams that called MEGlobal Athletic Park “home”
• “Football Day in Lacombe” in September was highlighted by generous donations from Richard Pioneer ($50,000), Lacombe Rotary Club ($15,000) and another $25,000 from the Gord Bamford Foundation, boosting their total donations to the park to $75,000
• In November, the park was the setting as Lacombe residents gathered to set the new world record for the largest human Christmas tree

REBELS: Big Weekend Ahead

With the spectacle that was the Subway Super Series now in the books, the focus for junior hockey fans in Central Alberta returns squarely on the exploits of the Red Deer Rebels.

The Rebels are coming off of what was perhaps their best home effort of the season thus far, definitely their best since their return from November’s ArgiTrade induced road trip.  My question for Lukas Sutter on Thursday, what was the key to success that night?

The Hard Hitting Topic of Body Checking

Hey gang.

I am fortunate enough to have been invited by Hockey Alberta to serve as moderator for an interesting, and quite possibly emotional, forum discussion taking place tomorrow night as part of their Annual General Meeting.

The topic of discussion… body checking. There has been no shortage of opinions voiced both for and against Hockey Alberta’s, followed by Hockey Canada’s, decision to eliminate body checking from pee wee hockey.

The bottom line is there’s no turning back. The decision has been made and the focus of tomorrow night’s forum will be on “what’s next.” Now that this change is being made, how do we (coaches, managers, officials, players, parents, etc.) move forward while also improving the game of hockey?

Midget Chiefs: Best In Canada, Again

Here's is today's Hockey Canada media release re: Red Deer Optimist Chiefs Telus Cup victory...

RED DEER CHIEFS WIN 2013 TELUS CUP

SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. – The Red Deer Chiefs (Pacific) have won the 2013 TELUS Cup, claiming Canada’s 40th National Midget Championship with a 5-0 win over the Ottawa Jr. 67’s (Central) in Sunday night’s gold medal game at the Essar Centre.



The victory makes the Chiefs just the fourth team in the history of Canada’s National Midget Championship to win back-to-back gold medals, joining the Couillard/Gouverneurs de Ste-Foy (1978, 1979), Prince Albert Mintos (2006, 2007) and Notre Dame Hounds (2009 and 2010).

Generals: Oh, What a Relief It Is

2013 Allan Cup Champions

Jubilation.  Celebration.  Satisfaction.  These are words that usually come to mind when a team wins a championship.

But for the Bentley Generals, who won their second Allan Cup title on Saturday with a 3-0 win over the Clarenville Caribous, there are another words which are perhaps more fitting.

Relief.

You would be hard pressed to find another team facing as much pressure to win as this year's Bentley Generals.  They already knew they'd be playing in the 2013 Allan Cup as the host team.  But the Generals shocked the senior hockey world when they fired coach Brian Sutter. 

Bentley Generals - Allan Cup Champs (again)

Here's the Hockey Canada media release for the Bentley Generals 2013 Allan Cup championship win...

RED DEER, Alta. – For the second time in five years, the Bentley Generals have won the Allan Cup, claiming Canada’s 105th National Senior Championship with a 3-0 victory over the Clarenville Caribous in Saturday’s championship game at Red Deer Arena.

Bentley and Clarenville Battle for Allan Cup (again)

Here's a look at Hockey Canada's media release for today's Allan Cup final between the Bentley Generals and Clarenville Caribous...

(visit my soundcloud page for some audio from Generals coach Brandin Cote and captain Sean Robertson)

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RED DEER, Alta. – After semifinal victories on Friday, the Bentley Generals and Clarenville Caribous will meet for the 105th Allan Cup, Canada’s National Senior Championship, on Saturday at the Red Deer Arena. The championship game can be seen on TSN beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT. Check your local listings for broadcast times in your area.

Bentley defeated the Kenora Thistles 3-2 in Friday’s late semifinal, while Clarenville topped the Rosetown Redwings 6-2 in the early game.

Rebels and Hitmen Renew Rivalry

It just seems wrong that the Red Deer Rebels and Calgary Hitmen have gone nearly a full decade without meeting in the playoffs. (not nearly as bad as the Oilers / Flames playoff drought, but still…)

During the Rebels “glory days” a yearly postseason date with the Hitmen was pretty much set in stone. In the six seasons between 1999 and 2004 they met in the playoffs four times…

1999 – Hitmen swept the Rebels 4-0 in the second round on their way to winning the WHL Championship
2001 – Rebels beat the Hitmen four games to two in second round in their way to winning the Memorial Cup
2003 – Rebels beat the Hitmen four games to one in the opening round on their way to winning the Eastern Conference
2004 – Rebels beat the Hitmen four games to three in the opening round