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Red Deer Rebels

Rowland Waiting to Make Rebels Debut Upon Completion of Midget AAA Season

March 1, 2018 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Red Deer Rebels News Release


He has yet to appear in his first Western Hockey League game, but Ethan Rowland has at least gotten a taste for the calibre of play at the major junior level.

The Red Deer Rebels prize prospect participated in his third practice with the team Thursday after being called up earlier in the week following the conclusion of the midget AAA Calgary Northstars' season.

"The speed is a lot faster, you have to be working every day," said the 15-year-old centre, in reference to what he has learned during the Rebels' on-ice workouts.

"It's a lot of fun and a big jump up from midget. But I'm just happy to be here and soak it all in. It's really exciting."

Red Deer's first-round pick - 22nd overall - in last year's WHL bantam draft took part in the team's prospects camp in Penhold last June, but missed basically all of training camp in August after suffering a leg injury the first day.

Rowland eventually returned to action with the Northstars, but then broke his collarbone and missed a rather large chunk of the Alberta Midget Hockey League season.

"I had a tough year for injuries," he under-stated.

He also had a rather underwhelming season in terms of offensive production, due in part to being with an older, experienced midget squad.

"It wasn't the way I wanted it to go, but we had a lot of good, older players on our team so it kind of took away opportunities for me to play big minutes," said Rowland, who scored once and added four assists in 19 regular-season outings and was held pointless in four playoff games.

"But I thought as the year went on I got better and started to get back into game speed, and I'm here now."

While he had hoped to put up bigger numbers, Rowland was nevertheless an effective player with the Northstars due to his competitive, team-first approach.

"You just have to make sure you're staying positive and doing whatever you can to help the team out and make sure you're using your energy effectively," he said.

Rowland was summoned to the Rebels shortly after the Northstars were eliminated from the AMHL playoffs and is unsure of when, or if, he'll be inserted into the Red Deer lineup this season.

"They (Rebels coaches) haven't really said anything, I'm just hoping that I can prove myself and get in the lineup. That would be exciting, to play my first WHL game," he said. "But it is what it is if I don't get in."

Rowland is confident that his personal and physical attributes will eventually help him become a dependable, two-way WHL player.

"I think I'm an energy guy who can play offensively and defensively and just do whatever the coach needs me to do," he said. "If he needs me to be a scorer or needs me to be an energy player, I can do almost all of that."

Rebels GM/head coach Brent Sutter hasn't set a date for Rowland to make his team debut, but he's confident the Calgary native will be a standout WHL player sooner than later.

"He's obviously a very good player. He's a good skater, he's got tremendous skill, great hands," said the Rebels boss.

"And the thing you don't see in practice is that he's a gritty guy. He's a gritty player and that's why he's had a tough year injury wise . . . just because of the way he plays.

"The way he practises, he's one of those guys who has leadership written all over him with his tenacity and the way he treats the game and his competitiveness within the game."

Rowland's fiery on-ice manner and his game-changing potential compensates for his current lack of size (five-foot-eight and one-half inches, 173 pounds).

"There's a reason why we took him in the first round. He showed where he was in the Alberta Cup last year," said Sutter, in reference to the spring showcase for the province's top graduating bantams, an event in which Rowland put up three points (2g,1a) in five games as a member of the Calgary North team.

"He was certainly very noticeable and you could tell that he's one of those complete players who plays the right way and plays hard."

° On a negative note, Sutter learned Thursday morning that defenceman Alex Alexeyev will be out for six weeks after suffering a hand injury in Wednesday's 3-2 overtime win over the Calgary Hitmen.

The timeline would indicate that the Russian defenceman won't be available to the Rebels unless the team qualifies for the playoffs and advances to the second round.

Scouting Report

Rebels vs. Kootenay Ice, 7 p.m. Friday, Centrium

The Ice fell 5-2 to the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors Wednesday, their ninth loss in their last 10 games. Kootenay, which was once 12 points up on Red Deer for the final playoff berth in the Central Division, now trails the Rebels by six points. The Ice sit 10th in the Eastern Conference and fourth in the Central Division with a 25-37-3-0 record . . . Despite their win-loss record, the Ice have four players who have garnered 50 points or more. C Colton Kroeker leads the way with 55 (12g,43a), followed by RW Alec Baer (26-28-54), RW Brett Davis (23-29-52) and rookie LW Peyton Krebs (16-34-50). RW Colton Veloso (23-20-43), RW Cam Hausinger (18-19-37) and D Jonathan Smart (5-26-31) have exceeded the 30-point mark . . . Duncan McGovern is 16th among WHL goaltenders with a 3.21 goals-against average. His save percentage is .889 . . . Davis was selected by the Dallas Stars in the sixth round of the 2017 NHL entry draft.

Injuries: Kootenay - D Dallas Hines (upper body, one week). Red Deer - D Alexander Alexeyev (upper body, six weeks).

Special teams: Kootenay - Power play 17.9 per cent, 19th overall; penalty kill 79.1 per cent, seventh. Red Deer - Power play 17.9 per cent, 18th overall; penalty kill 77.9 per cent, 13th.

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