Sports stats



WHL Red Deer Rebels

Rebels Rookie Masters Soaked up Knowledge While out with Injury for a Lengthy Stretch

February 21, 2020 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Red Deer Rebels News Release


While it was difficult for Kyle Masters to grasp, his three-month absence from the Red Deer Rebels lineup might have been a blessing in disguise.

"You're up there (in the stands) for three months and near the end you're kind of counting down the days," the 16-year-old defenceman, who returned to active duty in early February after being on the injury list since November, said Friday.

"At the start (of the layoff) you just want to get out there and help the team out any way you can. But when you're out you're trying to watch what the other guys are doing and then apply it to your game when you get back."

So far, so good, said Rebels GM/head coach Brent Sutter.

"Being able to watch a lot of hockey, watch us play and understand the game better was a really good tool for him," said Sutter, who has seen a definite uptick in the rookie's game.

"When he came back we knew we wanted to throw him in the lineup and just let him go," said the Rebels boss. "You can see an improvement just in his maturity as to where he was at the start of the year."

Masters was injured during the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in early November and was sidelined with the lower body ailment until Feb. 7.

"I guess things happen for a reason," said Sutter. "He got to watch a lot of games and see the way a defenceman needs to play . . . just making the easy plays and head-manning the puck, allowing for speed to happen for our team."

Masters, a first-round pick in the 2018 WHL bantam draft, possesses a high degree of offensive skill and is working on becoming a well-rounded rearguard.

"The D side of my game is something me and (assistant coach) Brad Flynn have been working on . . . the defensive part of my game so I can become a full 200-foot player," said the Edmonton native, who has contributed one goal and one assist in 17 games this season.

For now, though, he's just pleased to be injury free and active.

"I had never been out that long with an injury but now after a few games (seven since returning) I feel like I'm back up to speed," he said.

"Coming back from the injury, it was just the whole timing part. Everyone else had been on the ice and together for so long. I had to pick up where everyone else was and learn like where you're supposed to be in the defensive and offensive zones so you can create scoring chances and stop plays."

And for a player with immense talent, Masters is slowly rounding into the all-around top-paring blueliner he's projected to be in the not-too-distant future.

"In midget hockey a lot of it was one-on-one hockey for him," said Sutter, in reference to Masters' impressive offensive talents. "To be quite honest he fought that early on with us, he struggled with that.

"Major junior is a huge step up from midget hockey. What you got away with in midget you can't away with at this level. He got to see a lot of that while he was out, how you can't play that way at this level.

"It's tough enough playing in this league as a 16-year-old. It's extra hard as a defenceman."

Masters is a well-spoken, positive individual who's not lacking in confidence and has a high degree of faith in his teammates.

"That's a huge part of my game. I think I make a few high risk plays but having confidence in myself and the other guys is huge," he said. "Whether it's the spin-o-ramas or just making no look passes, the whole timing thing is nice . . . just knowing where the guys are so I can make those plays."

"He still does some things, that just because he's so talented, he gets away with," said Sutter. "I don't want to ever hold him back but he's also just learning the (WHL) game and how he has to play and he's taken big steps with that.

"Now we have a foundation with him and he can build off that foundation without taking away from what he does well."

The Rebels are riding a two-game win streak entering Saturday's contest against the visiting Tri-City Americans. Red Deer struggled late in losses to Victoria, Vancouver and Kamloops during their recent BC Division jaunt, but won their last two starts in Kelowna and Prince George.

"I think we could have won all five games. We just couldn't string those third periods together and that's something we can learn from," said Masters.

Rebels vs. Tri-City Americans

Saturday, 7 p.m., Centrium

The Americans opened a three-game Central Division trip on Wednesday with a 5-1 win over Swift Current and were in Medicine Hat on Friday. Tri-City, despite sitting 20th overall in the WHL with a 17-32-4-1 record prior to Friday, was 4-0 versus Central teams this season after - due to strong goaltending - a sweep of games in Lethbridge, Calgary and Edmonton in November. The Americans were 3-7-0-0 in their last 10 games prior to Friday and are fifth in the US Division and 10th in the Western Conference . . . RW Sasha Matela is far and away Tri-City's top weapon with 24 goals and 62 points heading into Medicine Hat. From there the offensive production fell off to the 37 points (10g,27a) recorded by C Connor Bouchard. C Krystof Hrabik has 29 points (13-16), three more than C Jadon Joseph (10-16-26). The Americans have four other players with more than 20 points, including rookie RW Edge Lambert (14-9-23 prior to Friday) . . . Hrabik, currently out with an injury, is an overage player who signed with the San Jose Barracudas last fall and scored two goals in two AHL preseason games before being returned to Tri-City. The six-foot-four, 209-pound Hrabik was a member of Team Czech Republic in the 2019 world junior championship in Vancouver and Victoria . . . Tri-City No. 1 G Talyn Boyko owned a 4.60 goals-against average and .888 save percentage prior to Friday. Rookie Mason Dunsford's numbers were 6.31 and .841.

Injuries: Tri-City - D Ian Ferguson (illness, day-to-day), C Krystof Hrabik (upper body, week-to-week), RW Dayton Bjorklund (upper body, week-to-week). Red Deer - None.

Special teams: Tri-City - Power play 21 per cent prior to Friday, 13th overall; penalty kill 77.5 per cent, 14th. Red Deer - Power play 16.4 per cent, 18th overall; penalty kill 77.1 per cent, 15th.

Check out the Red Deer Rebels Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from February 21, 2020


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Red Deer Rebels Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central