Rebels Shelves Stocked with Promising Prospects
Published on January 22, 2020 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Red Deer Rebels News Release
There are no guarantees when it comes to projecting who will be an impactful Western Hockey League player.
But there are signs that suggest and signify that certain prospects will be successful at the major junior hockey level, Red Deer Rebels assistant general manager Shaun Sutter said this week.
The Rebels, Sutter feels, certainly harbour their share of promising youngsters currently playing midget AAA and junior A, but again, there are no guarantees regarding how this or that player will perform down the road.
"Our '04s have played well at the WHL Cup and any other major events, and that's all you can go by," Sutter said of last year's 2004-born bantam draft picks.
"It's no different than all the players on our team now. If you're not a good player at midget AAA then you're not going to be a good player with us or even have a chance to play."
At the top of the 2019 draft picks is defenceman Hunter Mayo, a member of the Saskatoon midget AAA Blazers who was the Rebels' first selection last year, 23rd overall.
"Hunter had, for him, a slow start. But basically he was one of the best defencemen at the WHL Cup (in November), and was kind of the key guy for Saskatchewan when they won it," said Sutter.
"Ever since then, and including the Mac's tournament (during the Christmas break in Calgary) all he's done is score and play well.
"He had the most goals there (three in four round-robin games) and was right up there for points (five). Counting his WHL Cup, the Mac's and the league games he's played since, he's scoring a goal every other game."
Mayo, who stands six-foot-one and checks in at 185 pounds, brings more than an offensive touch (he has 10 goals and 21 points in 30 games with the Blazers).
"He's a bit of a throwback," said Sutter. "His skating is OK but he plays a real heavy, hard game and he can really shoot the puck. Hunter has done well in midget ( as a 15-year-old) and he's a hard guy to play against."
Jace Weir, the Rebels' second pick last year, is another rearguard bursting with potential. The six-foot-two defender has appeared in 22 games with the Okanagan Rockets - the top team in the BC Major Midget League - and has contributed five goals and 15 points.
"He's a guy when you watch him . . . he has a ton of upside," said Sutter. "He sees everything and thinks the game real well. He's a tall kid who skates well. When you watch him there's no debate if he's going to be a player or not, it's just a matter of when.
"We've had a number of (WHL) teams say to us that they're kind of pissed off they passed on him. He's a late second-round pick who looks like a first-rounder and he's playing on one of the top teams in midget hockey."
Mayo and Weir have already signed standard players agreements with the Rebels, as has forward Carter Anderson, the team's third pick in 2019.
"He had a standout WHL Cup. He scored one or more game-winners for Manitoba and was really good there," said Sutter.
Anderson plays with the Rink Academy prep team in Winnipeg and has a goal and two assists in nine outings. His lack of games is due to any injury resulting from a collision with Mayo in the WHL Cup final.
"Mayo ran him over in the final game and Carter suffered a high ankle sprain and just got back to playing after Christmas," said Sutter.
"He's playing well and is what you would call a 'riser' in that age group. One of our scouts watched him play and said he looks like a first-rounder."
Goaltender Justin Maric suited up with the Alberta team in the WHL Cup and is currently stopping pucks with the midget AAA Edmonton Canadian Athletic Club.
The Rebels' fifth-round pick last year has a 3.38 goals-against average and .900 save percentage with CAC, which has a 9-13-5 record.
"He's the only Alberta born goalie playing midget AAA at 15," said Sutter. "He's always been on good teams and been one of the best goalies in the province.
"He just needs to get stronger. Maybe his stat lines say he's just having an OK year, but watch him and you can see there's something there."
The Rebels perhaps pulled off a steal last May when they took smallish forward Jhett Larson (pictured above) in the eighth round. The five-foot-eight native of Delisle, Sask., has produced 10 goals and 21 points in 27 games this season with the Notre Dame midget AAA Hounds.
"He's having a tremendous year," said Sutter. "He was arguably Saskatchewan's best forward at the WHL Cup and he's doing well at Notre Dame.
"Basically he looks like a top-two round pick that we got in the eighth round. He's small but that doesn't matter because he plays big."
The remainder of the 2019 bantam draft picks:
Kody Norberg, defenceman, Beardy's midget AAA
"They have seven defencemen with Beardy's so Kody doesn't get to play as much," said Sutter. "But he's an interesting guy for his size (six-one, 175 pounds). He has some ability and is a guy we'll stay patient with.
"We knew he would be playing midget AAA this year and that's part of the reason we took a chance on him."
Norberg has one goal and one assist in 30 games this season.
Michael Valdez, forward, Colorado Thunderbirds U16
"He was having a good year but needs surgery for a recent shoulder injury so he won't be playing for the (U.S.) national development team," said Sutter of the American player, who scored 13 goals and collecting 34 points in 38 games this winter.
That being said, what are the chances of Valdez ever showing up in Red Deer?
"It's still a long shot because he will get a lot of NCAA interest," Sutter added.
Declan Cosford, forward, midget AA Regina Rangers
"He's a big guy with skill, a big, thick kid," said Sutter. "He has skill and he's playing at a lower level."
Cosford's stats line: Seven goals, 19 points in 34 games with the Rangers and one assist in three games with the midget AAA Regina Pat Canadians.
Merik Erickson, goaltender, major midget Valley West Giants
"He having a real good year playing major midget at 15. He's played well," said Sutter of the B.C. netminder with a 3.26 GAA.
Logan Wright, defenceman, Omaha midget AAA
Sutter is high on the potential of the towering, six-foot-six American rearguard.
"I saw him play a couple weeks ago with Omaha and he's really improved," said Sutter. "He has significant interest in coming (to Red Deer). All signs are this is the place he wants to play.
"He's big and he can skate, he's just learning how to play. There's something there with him, he's one of those big, hard-nosed guys who's hard to play against. If we wouldn't have drafted him (in the 12th round) some other team would have listed him.
"His mother said he plans on attending both of our camps (prospects camp in June and rookie camp in August), so we'll see."
* * * * * * * *
Two of the Rebels 2018 draft picks - Jayden Grubbe and Kyle Masters - are already with the big club, while defenceman Trey Patterson, 16, played his first game with the Rebels last weekend.
Patterson, currently replacing Chase Leslie - out week-to-week with an upper body injury - has seven points (2g,5a) in 23 games with the Calgary midget AAA Buffaloes this season. He's also appeared in three games with the junior A Calgary Canucks.
"He played well with us, he was fine. He's one of those guys who plays better at a higher level," said Sutter. "Canucks coach Brad Moran said he played well with them whenever they brought him up. He's a guy who can move the puck."
Other viable prospects from the 2018 draft include forwards Josh Medernach and Hunter Brown, defenceman Jeremy Hancock and goaltenders Zane Winter and Dylan Lacroix.
Medernach toils with OHA Edmonton and has produced 10 goals and 35 points in 24 games.
"He has good numbers but will be more of a two-way, hard-working guy at this level," said Sutter.
As for Brown, who has 11 goals and 20 points in 27 games with the Caribou midget AAA Cougars . . .
"He can skate and is good defensively. He plays hard and his coach loves him," said Sutter. "His numbers are just OK but he's one of those guys who might find a way with his work ethic."
Hancock is a six-foot-four rearguard with the midget Tisdale Trojans who has recorded one goal and seven helpers in 32 games.
"He has all the tools. It's just a matter of is he going to figure it out," said Sutter.
Winter and Lacroix are also playing midget AAA with the Saskatoon Blazers and Calgary Flames respectively. Their numbers: 2.39 GAA and .910 save percentage for Winter, and 3.34, .895 for Lacroix.
"They're both big guys with upside," said Sutter. "If we deleted them (from the Rebels' 50-man protected list) someone else would pick them up."
Both might be in tough to crack the Rebels roster next season, with the recently listed and signed Chase Coward, also 16, the likely front-runner to snare the back-up position.
"Either one of those guys could possibly pass somebody, although Coward has been the best of the three this season," said Sutter.
Coward has appeared in a single game with the Rebels and boasts a 1.95 GAA and .930 save percentage with the midget AAA Moose Jaw Warriors.
Defenceman Noah Barlage, acquired as part of a trade with Seattle earlier this season, will be in the running for regular employment next fall if he decides to go the major junior route.
Barlage, 16, has scored one goal and collected six assists this season with his hometown Humboldt Broncos of the SJHL.
The Rebels list several players every year and recently added three forwards- Caiden Gault, 17, and 15-year-olds Levi Fesyk and Josh Schenk - and defenceman Ethan Guthrie, 15.
Gault, as a member of the junior A Selkirk Steelers, has 17 goals and 33 points in 42 games.
He's also participating in the current SJHL/MJHL showcase event in Regina and scored twice and picked up an assist in a Tuesday game.
Fesyk is with the North Alberta Extreme elite 15s (15g,15a in 27 games), while Schenk, a Whitehorse native, has eight goals and 15 points in 22 games with the Notre Dame Hounds 15s, and Guthrie has contributed two goals and three points in 14 games with his midget AAA team in Brandon.
"Guthrie broke his leg about a month into the season and will be back playing soon," said Sutter.
"Whether or not all these guys will end up playing here remains to be seen, but they've shown potential and are performing like they can play in the WHL," he added.
"That's all we can go by."
The Rebels return to action Saturday against the visiting Calgary Hitmen.
Western Hockey League Stories from January 22, 2020
- Oil Kings Register WHL Season-High 62 Shots on Goal in 5-3 Win over Broncos - Edmonton Oil Kings
- Melnyk Signs with Tri-City - Tri-City Americans
- Winterhawks Soar to Second in Kia CHL Top 10 Rankings - WHL
- Rebels Shelves Stocked with Promising Prospects - Red Deer Rebels
- Wheat Kings Busy on and off the Ice this Week - Brandon Wheat Kings
- Blazers Sign Forward Fraser Minten - Kamloops Blazers
- Pats Re-Call 16-Year-Old Easton Armstrong - Regina Pats
- Massive Weekend of Hockey Incoming for Blades - Saskatoon Blades
- Doust Making An Early Impact with Warriors - Moose Jaw Warriors
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