Prize Prospect Grubbe Looks Right at Home in Rebels Main Camp
Published on August 24, 2018 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Red Deer Rebels News Release
Keeping up with the older set hasn't been a problem for Jayden Grubbe this week.
The 15-year-old Red Deer Rebels prize prospect is the youngest player in main camp at the Centrium, but the six-foot-two, 185-pound Calgary native hasn't looked at all fazed by the experience.
"At the start I had to get my feet moving and get used to the pace," he said following a Friday afternoon session. "A lot of older guys, but they were pretty nice introducing me to the rink and what to do around here and where everything is.
"It's been good so far."
Grubbe (pronounced GROOB) was selected seventh overall by the Rebels in this year's Western Hockey League bantam draft after capturing the Alberta Major Bantam League scoring crown with 29 goals and 66 points in 35 games with the Calgary Bisons.
He was in Philadelphia - as a member of the Western Canada team competing in the World Selects tournament for players born in 2003 -
when he received news of his draft status.
"That was really fun, playing with all the top guys my age from the (bantam draft).It was a great experience," said the big centre, who finished 12th in tournament scoring with three goals and nine assists in eight games and placed first in the chin-up segment of the players combine.
Grubbe was absent during the Rebels prospect camp in June due to an off-ice injury and missed the top-80 under-16 Hockey Alberta camp in July. Regardless, he was placed on the short list of 35 players - as were fellow Red Deer bantam draft picks Kyle Masters, Trey Patterson and Josh Medernach, all of whom have registered for the Rebels rookie camp starting Sunday - for the provincial U16 team that will compete in the Canada Winter Games Feb. 15 to March 3 in Red Deer.
"Having some Red Deer people know who you are and playing in the (Rebels) home rink . . . that would be pretty exciting," said Grubbe of the opportunity to compete on the national stage in the city where he will play at the major junior level, almost certainly as early as next year.
As for now, he's just soaking in the experience of skating and honing his various skills while shoulder-to-shoulder with players up to five years older.
The feedback from the Rebels coaching staff has been nothing but positive.
"Just kind of play my game, don't change anything," he said of the advice he's received from the coaches. "I like to play physical. They tell me to just play the same here and don't be intimidated by the older guys."
Grubbe will get a better idea of how he compares to the Rebels veterans when he competes in a 90-minute main camp scrimmage set for 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
"Hopefully I can just play like myself and hopefully put up a couple points . . . just get my feet under me and get up to the pace," he said. "We'll see how it goes."
Grubbe, who isn't eligible to play full time in the WHL until next year, will suit up with the Calgary Buffaloes midget AAA squad this season. He will be allowed to play up to five regular-season games with the Rebels this winter and can join the team once his midget season is over.
"I'll work on my speed so hopefully when I do get a chance to play up I can be used to the pace," he said.
Rebels GM/head coach Brent Sutter is highly confident that Grubbe, who has been skating alongside 20-year-old Branden Hagel and highly regarded Russian rookie Oleg Zaytsev during drills this week, will be an impact WHL player sooner than later.
"He's a big, strong kid who can really shoot the puck, and the thing that's neat about him is he's not intimidated by anything," said Sutter. "He's playing with two pretty good players and he's fitting right in."
Main camp rosters
(Includes year of birth and hometown; x-returnee)
Team Black
Goal - Byron Fancy (2001), Claresholm; Carter Serhyenko ('02), Saskatoon.
Defence - x-Hunter Donohoe ('00), Surrey, B.C.; x-Colin Paradis ('98), Sherwood Park; Ryan Gottfried ('01), Winnipeg; x-Dawson Barteaux ('00), Foxwarren, Man.; Jace Isley ('02), Grande Prairie; x-Ethan Sakowich ('99), Athabasca.
Forwards - x-Josh Tarzwell ('00), Red Deer; x-Reese Johnson ('98, Saskatoon; Jordan Borysiuk ('02), Manville; x-Austin Schellenberg ('00), Grande Prairie; x-Alex Morozoff ('01), Saskatoon; Jeff de Wit ('98), Red Deer; x-Zak Smith ('01), Austin, Man.; Jayden McCarthy ('01), Morris, Man.; x-Justin Svenson ('01), Ile Des Chenes, Man.; Garrett Valk ('02), North Vancouver.
Team White
Goal - x-Ethan Anders ('00), Pilot Butte, Sask.
Defence - x-Alex Alexeyev ('99), St. Petersburg, Russia; Nic Draffin ('01), Lethbridge; x-Carson Sass ('99), Melville, Sask.; x-Sam Pouliot ('00), North Vancouver; Chase Leslie ('02), Camrose; x-Jacob Herauf ('00), Sherwood Park.
Forwards - x-Brandon Hagel ('98), Morinville; Oleg Zaytsev ('01), Moscow, Russia; Jayden Grubbe ('03), Calgary; Blake Sydlowski ('01), St. Albert; x-Chris Douglas ('00), Richmond, B.C.; x-Arshdeep Bains ('01), Surrey, B.C.; x-River Fahey (;01), Campbell River, B.C.; Ethan Rowland (;02), Calgary; x-Brandon Cutler ('00), Spruce Grove; Jaxson Wiebe (;02), Moose Jaw.
Rookie camp rosters
(Includes year of birth and hometown; x-draft pick; y-listed; z-invited)
Team Grey
Goal - x-Zane Winter (2003), Carlyle, Sask.; z-Nolan McDowell ('03), Edmonton.
Defence - x-Blake Gustafson ('02), Ardrossan, Alta.; z-Quintin Unreiner ('03), Medicine Hat; x-Trey Patterson ('03), Calgary; y-Jordan Edwards ('02), Saskatoon; y-Connor Klassen ('03), Crooked Creek, Alta.; y-Mason Ward ('02), Lloydminster.
Forwards - z-Evan Forest ('03), Spruce Grove; x-Dylan Fader ('03), Vancouver; z-Ethan Matthews ('02), Calgary; z-Nicholas Steciuk ('02), Regina; y-Keaton Sorensen ('02), Red Deer; x-Josh Medernach ('03), Lloydminster; z-Simon Pollock ('03), Victoria; z-Hezekiah Mbaja ('03), Fort McMurray; z-Riley Borody ('03), Portage la Prairie, Man.; z-Jordan Saunders ('02), Olds; z-Austin Berezowski ('03), Humboldt, Sask.; z-Zach Cain ('02), Pilot Butte, Sask.
Team Burgundy
Goal - x-Dylan Lacroix ('03), Calgary; z-Owen Anderson ('03), Calgary.
Defence - x-Anthony Williams (;02), Trail, B.C.; x-Kyle Masters (;03), Edmonton; y-Skyler Cameron ('02), Nanaimo, B.C.; z-Matthew Quebec ('03), Okotoks; z-Boris Protsenko ('02), Calgary; x-Jeremy Hancock (;03), Melfort, Sask.
Forwards - z-Foxx Doell ('03), Blackfalds; x-Nick de Beurs (;02), Cochrane; z-Nathan Flodell ('03), Prince Albert; z-Kaiden Korolchuk ('03), Quill Lake, Sask.; y-Jamie Valentino ('02), Thompson, Man.; x-Hunter Brown ('03), Fort St. John, B.C.; z-Liam Hughes ('03), Edmonton; z-Ryan Chambers ('03), Drayton Valley; z-Kaiden Tocher ('03), Esterhazy, Sask.; z-Andrew Alonzo ('03), Bonney Lake, Wash.; z-Connor Poffenroth ('03), Okotoks; z-Jackson Smith ('03), Regina; z-Davis Chorney ('02), Tisdale, Sask.
Western Hockey League Stories from August 24, 2018
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- Silvertips Represented by 16 Players From or Residing Nearby the State of Washington at 2018-19 Training Camp - Everett Silvertips
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