Rebels Prospect Isley Coming off An Excellent Midget AAA Season That Featured Plenty of Points and Penalty Minutes
August 25, 2019 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Red Deer Rebels News Release
Jace Isley doesn't apologize for his rugged style of play.
But the 17-year-old Red Deer Rebels forward prospect is a mite hard on himself for the amount of penalty minutes he racked up last season while with the midget AAA Sherwood Park Kings.
"It was a bad year for that, but I like to play aggressive," he said Sunday at the Centrium, following a Rebels main camp practice session. "I can't be happy with that many penalty minutes though."
The Grande Prairie native spent 80 minutes in the bad box last winter, but was also a major contributor to his team. Isley was a point-per-game player with 12 goals and 22 assists in 34 regular-season outings.
"We had a slow start but as we moved on during the year we got better," Isley said of the Kings, who finished fifth in the Alberta Midget League's North Division with a 13-17-4 slate.
The same could be said of the six-foot, 181-pound winger.
"It was a great development year for me. I had lots of great help during the season," Isley stated.
Rebels assistant general manager Shaun Sutter liked what he saw from Isley last winter, considering the fifth-round pick in the 2017 WHL bantam draft had spent all of the previous season at another position.
"He went from playing defence the year before to playing forward," said Sutter. "He had played forward a lot in minor hockey, but in his second bantam year he played back for awhile due to injuries on his team, and he played 'D' as a 15-year-old.
"Last year he went back to his usual position and had a real good year. He was a really good two-way player for Sherwood Park. He was good offensively so developmental-wise, he had an excellent season,"
As a signed prospect, Isley played one regular-season game for the Rebels last season, March17 in Cranbrook against the Kootenay Ice.
"At the start it was hard because it was a faster pace than midget. But then as the game went on I started matching the pace, started moving my feet more," he said.
"At the end of the year when he came and played with us he played well, so we were pretty happy with the year that he had last year," said Sutter.
Isley, who played with the major bantam Grande Prairie Storm in 2015-16, then spent the next two years with the Edmonton OHA bantam prep, elite 15 and midget prep squads before joining the Kings, has a solid shot at earning full-time employment with the Rebels for the upcoming WHL season.
"I want to make this team. I'm way more ready this year," said Isley, who impressed the Rebels scouting staff by recording five assists in five games during the 2017 Alberta Cup tournament with Team Northwest.
If Isley in fact lives up to his expectations and is on the team's roster on opening night, Sutter doesn't expect him to alter his aggressive style.
"He's got edge and he'll use his size," said Sutter. "He's a gritty guy and a physical guy, so he's a bit of a throwback that way."
Training camp resumes Monday with a 3 p.m. main camp scrimmage. (See the camp schedule on this site).
Main camp rosters (includes year of birth and hometown; x-returnee)
Team A Black
Goal - x-Byron Fancy, 2001, Claresholm; Eric Ward, 2001, Edmonton.
Defence - x-Ethan Sakowich, 1999, Athabasca; Kyle Masters, 2003, Edmonton; Trey Patterson, 2003, Calgary; x-Jacob Herauf, 2000, Sherwood Park; x-Hunter Donohoe, 2000, Surrey, B.C.; Mason Ward, 2002, Lloydminster.
Forwards - x-Josh Tarzwell, 2000, Red Deer; Keaton Sorensen, 2002, Red Deer; Jaxsen Wiebe, 2002, Moose Jaw; Braden Fischer, 2002, Winnipeg; x-Alex Morozoff, 2001, Saskatoon; x-Zak Smith, 2001, Austin, Man.; Jace Isley, 2002, Grande Prairie; Ethan Rowland, 2002, Calgary; x-Cameron Hausinger, 1999, Anchorage, Alaska.
Guest forward: Reese Johnson, Saskatoon.
Team B White
Goal - x-Ethan Anders, 2000, Pilot Butte, Sask; Chase Coward, 2003, Swift Current.
Defence - Christoffer Sedoff, 2002, Helsinki, Finland; x-Dawson Barteaux, 2000, Foxwarren, Man.; x-Chase Leslie, 2002, Camrose; Jeremy Hancock, 2003, Melfort, Sask.; x-Ryan Gottfried, 2001, Winnipeg; Blake Gustafson, 2002, Ardrossan.
Forwards - x-Dallon Melon, 2002, Czar; x-Brett Davis, 1999, Winnipeg; Jordan Borysiuk, 2002, Lloydminster; x-Arshdeep Bains, 2001, Surrey, B.C.; Jayden Grubbe, 2003, Calgary; x-Chris Douglas, 2000, Richmond, B.C.; Josh Medernach, 2003, Lloydminster; x-Blake Sydlowski, 2001, St. Albert.
Guest forwards - Brandon Hagel, Morinville; Scott Feser, Red Deer.
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