Allan Cup - One Month Away

allancup2013.ca

Yesterday at the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, the 2013 ATB Financial Allan Cup organizing committee gave an update to the local media.

With the tournament now just one month away, excitement for the Senior AAA national championship tournament is starting to pick up. 

Ticket sales are a clear indicator of that excitement as the tournament is already more than 80% sold out.  Tournament Chair Dave Mousseau expects that number to reach 100% by the time the tournament starts on April 15th.

"With our choice of venue being the [Red Deer] Arena, I think the atmosphere there is second to none, especially for championship calibre," Mousseau proclaimed.  "But unfortunately there's only a certain amount of seats in that venue.  With the following that senior hockey has now, it is going to be a sellout."

Prime Time Rebels Alumni

On Thursday, the Western Hockey League sent out a release stating 20% of all NHL players who have through the first month of the season are WHL graduates (156 of 778 players).

Here's a list of those players who have suited up for the Red Deer Rebels...

Rebels Gone Wild

Sometimes, as a broadcaster, you get lucky.



Prior to last night’s game at the Enmax Centrium between the Rebels and Regina Pats, Cam Moon and I were saying “How cool would it be if Paul Charles came to the game tonight?  He’d be a PERFECT intermission guest.”



Most of you probably don’t know who Paul Charles is… he is a scout with the Minnesota Wild.  And, as we’ve all seen, there’s no shortage of Rebels-Wild activity to chat about these days.



Sure enough, about 10 minutes later, Paul walked into the media lounge while Mooner and I were still chatting.  Perfect.



Paul is a big reason why Minnesota drafted Mathew Dumba 7th overall in last year’s NHL Entry Draft.  Before that, he was a big advocate for drafting Darcy Kuemper, which the Wild did in the sixth round (161st overall) of the 2009 draft.



That particular selection is turning out to be quite a steal for the Wild, and Charles couldn’t be happier.

DePape Arrives In Red Deer

Jordan DePape skates Tuesday

After being signed by the Rebels at the WHL trade deadline on January 10th, Jordan DePape is finally in Red Deer.

The 20 year old forward arrived in town this past weekend and has taken part in his first ice sessions with his new club. DePape did some individual skating and puck handling drills prior to main Rebels practices Monday and Tuesday.

DePape is right on track with his recovery from shoulder surgery last fall and is scheduled to suit up for the Rebels before the end of the regular season.

I’m super excited,” DePape admitted before hitting the ice on Monday. “Since I got picked up on the trade deadline I’ve been anxious to get out here and it’s finally nice to meet the boys.”

Rebels: Season Turning Point?

Seeing his team's desperate need for a spark... The Captain came through.

Depending on what happens moving forward, an argument can be made that Turner Elson's late second period, and eventual game winning, goal versus the Kootenay Ice last night could be a milestone moment in the Rebels season.

Rebels: Searching For Consistency

I had a chance to spend some time at the rink yesterday to catch up with a few of the Rebels following their three game Saskatchewan road trip… and to film another episode of Southside Dodge Rebels This Week (yup, shameless plug).

In looking back a trip on which they earned three of a possible six points, the Rebels (as they should) are taking the “good, but not good enough” approach.

“In Swift Current, we had a rough game, didn’t do our best,” noted Captain Turner Elson. “We need our work ethic all the time, every sixty minute game, and we didn’t do that for the whole trip.”

Wild Camp Looms For Dumba

It looks like the Minnesota Wild will have their 2012 first round draft pick attending their training camp.

Red Deer Rebels Owner / President / GM / Head Coach Brent Sutter fully expects to lose the services of Mathew Dumba for a few days while he skates with the teams that selected him 7th overall last June.

“Matty will be leaving for sure,” Sutter confirmed before Monday’s practice at the Enmax Centrium. “There’s a good possibility Matty could be leaving before the weekend games [Friday at Saskatoon, Saturday at Prince Albert]. He’ll be gone for a few days and then he’ll be back again.”