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.

Fleury Working To Rock It Like A Hurricane

[Here goes my latest attempt at blogging, based on some good interviews we've had on recent Rebels broadcasts]

Haydn Fleury hasn’t exactly been piling up the points this season with the Red Deer Rebels. But, that doesn’t mean his play isn’t trending in the right direction.


Last weekend, the Carolina Hurricanes, sent a familiar face to Red Deer to get a firsthand look at the progress of their first round draft pick.


Glen Wesley is the Director of Defencemen Development for the Hurricanes. The Red Deer native knows a thing or two about patrolling NHL blue lines, having done so for 1457 games joining Carolina’s hockey staff.

WHL Coaching Carousel

As I start getting some things ready for Rebels broadcasts this season, I put together a quick list of all of the offseason coaching changes in the WHL.  I figured I might as well share it with you...

TEAM	2013-14	2014-15
Calgary	Mike Williamson	Mark French
Edmonton	Derek Laxdall	Steve Hamilton
Kamloops	Dave Hunchak	Don Hay
Kelowna	Ryan Hunka	Dan Lambert
Moose Jaw	Mike Stothers	Tim Hunter
Portland	Mike Johnston	Jamie Kompon
Regina	Malcolm Cameron	John Paddock
Saskatoon	Dave Struch	Bob Woods
Tri City	Jim Hiller	Mike Williamson
Vancouver	Don Hay	Troy Ward

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…

BACK IN BLACK (AND WHITE)

Enjoy the final weekend of the off-season, folks.

Starting Thursday, your local hockey heroes hit the ice as they work toward the ultimate major junior hockey goal of winning the Memorial Cup.

You can find a rundown of the Red Deer Rebels 2014 Training Camp schedule at their website.

On Wednesday, GM and Head Coach Brent Sutter will be chatting with us in the local media to offer up a camp preview and his (lofty, no doubt) expectations for the 2014-15 season.  We'll also probably as him for an update on the 2016 Memorial Cup bid (you're damn right it should come to Red Deer!)

We definitely look forward to bringing you all the action once again as 106.7 The Drive will carry each Rebels regular season and playoff game live.

Enjoy golf, or whatever it is you like doing when the weather is nice, because life at the rink is about to resume. 

See you there!

TG

REBELS: Draft Day 2014

Once again, the Red Deer Rebels tapped into some NHL bloodlines in the first round of the WHL Bantam Draft.

There was Brandon Sutter in 2004, Adam Musil in 2012, and today Jake Leschyshyn whose father, Curtis, patrolled the blue line in both the NHL and WHL and was an Assistant Coach with the Saskatoon Blades last season.

Leschyshyn, the 6^th overall selection in today’s draft, headlines the group of 11 players selected by the Rebels. The group of 11 also includes a local product and a pair of very intriguing American players.

Overall, Rebels Assistant GM Sutter feels the club was able to address the needs they had identified heading into today’s draft.

REBELS: The Final Curtain

Just like that… it’s all over.

After a frantic finish to the regular season that centred on an ultra-tight race for a playoff spot, the finality of the Red Deer Rebels’ tiebreaker game loss to the Prince Albert Raiders is tough to stomach, real tough.

Many observers had high hopes for the 2013-14 Red Deer Rebels, and it was with good reason that they did. They brought back a large chunk of the roster that last season rallied to finish 4^th in the WHL Eastern Conference and swept the Prince Albert Raiders in the opening round of playoffs. They had the reigning WHL and CHL Goaltender of the Year, a stud defenceman to build around, a promising group of forwards, and a solid coaching group with a ton of pedigree. Seemingly, the ingredients were there for a recipe for success this season.

In the end, those ingredients didn’t mix as well as many had expected and the Rebels are on the outside looking in for this year’s playoffs. It certainly wasn’t a boring season, no season ever is in my opinion, and here some of the highs and lows, as I saw them, from the campaign that was…

LOCAL RECAP: Kings and Queens Volleyball Win Gold, Rebels Split Pair

Both the RDC Kings and Queens Volleyball squads lived up to expectations over the weekend in winning their respective ACAC Championships.

The Kings, playing on their home court at RDC, swept Grant MacEwan in Sunday's final by hard fought set scores of 25-22, 25-21 and 26-24. Kings Setter Sam Brisbane was named Tournament MVP while Tim Finnigan and Braden O'Toole were named as Tournament All-Stars. Prior to the tournament, Finnigan was named ACAC Player of the Year and Aaron Schulha was named Coach of the Year.

The Queens, playing at Grande Prairie, also swept their final match at provincials by set scores of 25-17, 25-12 and 25-19 over the host Wolves. Queens Power Hitter Amber Adolf was named Tournament MVP while Brooke Sutter and Bronwyn Hawkes were named as Tournament All-Stars.

MORE BELOW...

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 Sports: February 18

The Red Deer Rebels solid grip on a WHL playoff spot is now rather tenuous.

The Rebels sit just two points ahead of Prince Albert for 8th in the Eastern Conference after a 7-1 drubbing in Calgary on Monday. The Rebels also fell 4-1 at home to Saskatoon on Saturday, one night after their 3-2 overtime win in Edmonton.

The Rebels host the Oil Kings for their first of five straight games at the Enmax Centrium.
---

Senior AAA Provincials

The Bentley Generals beat the Stony Plain Eagles 3-2 in overtime on Monday at the Red Deer Arena. The Generals have a 3-0 lead in the provincial semi-final series with game four coming this Saturday at Stony Plain.

The Innisfail Eagles and Fort Saskatchewan Chiefs are tied 1-1 in the other semi-final series, game three goes Friday night in Innisfail.

--- MORE BELOW ---

Feb 10: Local Sports Recap

The Red Deer Rebels finished off their 4 games in 5 nights road trip with a 7-1 loss in Prince George on Saturday. The Rebels picked up just 1 one a possible 8 points on the trip. They return home this week for games on Wednesday (Medicine Hat) and Saturday (Saskatoon) sitting in 8^th place in the WHL Eastern Conference standings.

---


Regular season play wrapped up in the Chinook Hockey League over the weekend...

Friday
Innisfail Eagles 1, Fort Saskatchewan 0








Saturday
Bentley Generals 6, Stony Plain 3

 






Final Regular Season Standings
1. Bentley 42 points
2. Innisfail 32 points
3. Fort Saskatchewan 31 points
4. Okotoks 15 points (not taking part in AAA Provincials)
5. Stony Plain 14 points

(PLAYOFFS INFO BELOW...)

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

Lacombe's Hodgson Ready To Rock At Home

Final preparations at the Lacombe Arena
(photo from twitter @C_hodgy)

The Lacombe Arena will be rocking this week. (Sorry, I just had to haha)

A field of twelve teams, highlighted by two former world champions, hits the ice for the 2014 Albert a Boston Pizza Cup men’s provincial curling championship starting Wednesday.

And while the Kevin Martin and Kevin Koe rinks are the overwhelming favorites heading in, there is another team that will have the support of plenty of hometown Lacombe fans behind it.

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

Sutter Said What Many Are Thinking: Change Is Needed

Brent Sutter is right, absolutely 100% right.

His comments about grassroots hockey in our country, which were spat on by Don Cherry, are right on the mark.

Sutter’s contention is that our current focus when it comes to building hockey players is off the mark.