With the Central Division beginning to be sorted out for the start of a 24-game season, it’s time to take a look at the Red Deer Rebels roster.
Red Deer was on the outside looking in regarding the WHL Playoffs in 2019-20, trailing the Saskatoon Blades by 19 point. Based on points percentage, the Rebels posted their worst record since the 2008-09 season. This gave the Rebels an opportunity to select sixth overall at the 2020 WHL Draft and landed highly touted Kalan Lind.
There has been no movement on the Rebels roster following the early end to the 2019-20 season, the team last conducted a trade on deadline day in 2020.
Only two players were playing their 20-year-old season in 2019-20, Cameron Hausinger and Ethan Sakowich, therefore the team only saw the two players move on.
Unfortunately due to COVID-19 restrictions, defenseman Christoffer Sedoff will not return this season, and 2002-born Czech forward Tomas Chlubna will not make his debut with the team.
The forwards
The Rebels return all but one forward (Hausinger).
At the end of last season, Hausinger was injured and was replaced by 2002-born Keaton Sorensen on the third line. This means that the forward lines that were in place at the end of the last season can generally stay intact.
Red Deer added 2003-born Josh Medernach as well as 2004-born Jhett Larson and Carter Anderson to their roster for the 24-game sprint.
Medernach is the only player of the three to have played in WHL regular-season contests, seeing action a game in each of January and February 2020. He will share ice-time on the fourth line with Larson and Anderson as the Rebels will continue to develop the young players in hopes of a full season in September 2021.
Dallon Melin and Ethan Rowland will need to work hard to keep the youngsters from taking ice-time from them on the fourth line.
(Photo – Dave Brunner)
The Rebels are blessed with a top-6 one could consider lines 1 and 1A. The top two point-getters (Arshdeep Bains and Ben King) are joined by Jace Isley while Josh Tarzwell, Jayden Grubbe, and Jaxsen Wiebe make up the other trio. Tarzwell led the team in goals with 32, while Bains led with 33 assists and 51 total points.
Expect a big step forward for Jayden Grubbe as he is NHL draft eligible and would like to improve his current C ranking from NHL Central Scouting. Tarzwell and Douglas are both entering their final season of junior hockey eligibility, look for them to secure professional try-outs or USports commitments.
Pencil in the forward group to look like this:
| Bains | King | Isley |
| Tarzwell | Grubbe | Wiebe |
| Smith | Douglas | Sorensen |
| Melin | Medernach | Rowland |
| Anderson | Larson |
The defensemen
Red Deer had been playing with a young defense corps for the last few seasons. It was hoped that the young defensemen would develop and become a strength of the team, especially with Christoffer Sedoff. The Rebels lost the services of 20-year-old Ethan Sakowich and Sedoff is unable to enter Canada to play this season. This means there will be a lot of movement on the back end this season.
General Manager Brent Sutter invited 2004-born Hunter Mayo, 2003-born Jace Weir and 2003-born Trey Patterson to join Chase Leslie, Kyle Masters, Mason Ward, Blake Gustafson, and Joel Sexsmith.
Masters is NHL draft eligible this season and will look to make some improvements following a season in which he was injured while participating in the 2019 U-17 Hockey Challenge for Team Canada Red.
Mayo is a highly touted defenseman selected with the Rebels first pick at the 2019 WHL Draft.
Pencil in the defense group to look like this:
| Masters | Leslie |
| Patterson | Ward |
| Mayo | Gustafson |
| Weir | Sexsmith |
The goalies
The netminding group remains the same as last season, with Ethan Anders and Byron Fancy taking the mlion’s share of the starts.
2003-born Chase Coward is on the roster and will see some ice time this season, but in a 24-game schedule, how much time will he will actually receive will be based on the play of those ahead of him on the depth chart. Coward played 21 minutes over two games in November 2019. He will learn some important lessons both on and off the ice this season as he prepares to be the goalie of the Rebels future.
Special teams
This is an area that is tinkered with often, especially on the penalty kill, where Sutter likes to have the majority of his team pitching in.
Bains and Tarzwell were a threat while the Rebels had a player in the penalty box, with each netting three goals. Douglas and King also spent time killing penalties in regular rotation.
The defense will contribute as a group as has been the case in the past. The youngsters will be given an opportunity to prove their mettle as well.
Red Deer was the second most penalized team in the WHL last season, averaging 13.4 minutes per game. The team will want to work on taking less penalties, as they were 18th in the league killing off 76.7% of their time short-handed.
Having the man-advantage gives Sutter options, where he has played several different combinations of forwards and defensemen. Red Deer’s powerplay will need all the firepower it can get, as it ranked 18th in the league, scoring at a 17.2% clip.
Gone are Hausinger, Sedoff, and Sakowich, three players frequently used on the first powerplay unit.
The team does have other options on defense though as Leslie and Masters have spent some time with the man-advantage.
Bains led the team with 19 powerplay points and Grubbe had nine points as a rookie. Tarzwell often spent time on the second unit and might be looked upon to take a bigger role as an overage player. King is also another good option.
Leadership group
Smith and Tarzwell are the only remaining leaders from last season’s team. Both wore an ‘A’ and will be given an opportunity to be a part of the leadership group again last season.
While media is not often given insight to the goings on in the lockerroom, based on the on-ice play of players like Grubbe and Masters, they will challenge for the captaincy of the Rebels as early as the 2021-22 season. Look for Tarzwell to wear the ‘C’ this season as the other three players will all be given an ‘A’.
