Son of Former Rebels Star Defender Lance Ward Hoping to Make His Own Mark with the Club
August 27, 2019 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Red Deer Rebels News Release
Physically he's not only a dead ringer for his dad, but Mason Ward also sports a similar sense of humour.
"He was more of a tough guy, not much skill," the younger Ward grinned, in reference to his father Lance, who excelled on the Red Deer Rebels blueline in the mid to late '90s and went on to play 209 NHL games with Anaheim and Florida.
"I've seen a couple of his fights and that's about it for his highlight tapes.
I really don't play much like him but I should probably add a little of that into my game."
Mason is bent on earning a berth with the Rebels more than 20 years after his dad played his last game in Red Deer, and through four days of training camp the 17-year-old is certainly in the running for regular-season employment.
"For sure, my dad played here and it would be pretty cool to follow in his footsteps," said the towering, six-foot-four, 194-pound rearguard. "That's the goal here. Hopefully it all works out as planned."
Passed over in the 2017 Western Hockey League bantam draft, the Florida-born Ward who was raised in Lloydminster attended the Rebels prospects camp that year and was eventually listed by the club.
"And it's just been a steady progression ever since," said Rebels assistant GM Shaun Sutter. "He's always had the vision and the hockey sense and he's gotten more in tune with his body.
"He can really handle the puck and shoot it and he's good at the offensive blueline. He's also learned to play the game without the puck and he's continued to show improvement. He's a guy with a really big ceiling."
Ward, who considers himself to be a "two-way defenceman", scored six goals and collected 17 points with the Lloydminster midget AAA Bobcats last season and also contributed a goal and an assist in nine games with the junior A Bobcats.
He will be gladly welcomed back to the AJHL Bobcats if his quest for a Rebels job comes up short, but he insisted that "Red Deer is for sure my first option."
Based on his play through two main camp scrimmages, his chances of playing in the WHL during the upcoming season appear to be more than 50-50.
"Today went pretty well," Ward said of Tuesday's scrimmage. "The boots were moving and I got the puck up quick, so that was good."
Ward and Team Black fell 3-2 to Team White, which got goals from defencemen Christoffer Sedoff, Dawson Barteaux and Chase Leslie.
Jaxsen Wiebe and Ethan Rowland responded in a losing cause.
Through two scrimmages, Team White has outscored its opponent 6-2, yet Black goalie Byron Fancy has yet to yield a goal.
Eric Ward has surrendered five goals while White netminders Ethan Anders and Chase Coward have each given up one.
Rookie camp opens Wednesday with a scrimmage at 10 a.m. The main camp players will scrimmage at 2 p.m. and the rookies will be back on the ice at 4 p.m.
Rebels rookie camp rosters
(Includes year of birth and hometown; a-draft pick, b-listed, c-invited)
Team A Grey
Goal - a-Merik Erickson, 2004, Delta, B.C.; a-Dylan Lacroix, '03, Calgary.
Defence - c-JR Ashmead, '03, Calgary; a-Jace Weir, '04, Coldstream, B.C.; a-Kody Norberg, '04, Warman, Sask.; c-Quinton Unreiner, '03, Medicine Hat; c-Connor Klassen, '03, Crooked Creek, Alta.; c-Luke Marshall, '04, Saskatoon; c-Lane Bull, Revelstoke, B.C.
Forwards - c-Caelan Fitzpatrick, '03, Moose Jaw; a-Carter Anderson, '04, Thompson, Man.; a-Parker Lalonde, '04, Aberdeen, Sask.; c-Levi Fesyk, '04, St. Albert; b-Connor Poffenroth, '03, Okotoks; c-Keagon Little, '03, Wymark, Sask.; c-Zakk Makeiff, '04, St. Albert; c-Matthew Perkins, '04, White City, Sask.; c-Rachonne Henry, '03, Woodmore, Man.; c-Josh Fast, 03, East St. Paul, Man.; c-Adam Ingram, West St. Paul, Man.
Team B Burgundy
Goal - a-Justen Maric, '04, Edmonton; a-Zane Winter, '03, Carlyle, Sask.
Defence - c-Alex Serraglio, '03, Langley, B.C.; a-Hunter Mayo, '04, Saskatoon; c-Aiden Dufault, '03, Narol, Man.; a-Logan Wright, '04, Plymouth, Minn.; c-Samuel Lawson, '04, Calgary; c-Samuel Belanger, '04, Edmonton; c-Ranon Joseph, '03, Sherwood Park.
Forwards - c-Benjamin Schmidt, '04, Southey, Sask.; a-Dylan Fader, '03, Vancouver; c-Logan Breitkreuz, '04, Regina; a-Declan Cosford, '04, Regina; a-Hunter Brown, '03, Fort St. John, B.C.; c-Carter Sachs, '04, Warman, Sask.; c-Riley Teulon, '04, Dubai, United Emirates; a-Jhett Larson, '04, Delisle, Sask.; b-Kyle Heintz, '03, Luseland, Sask.; c-Jackson Rowland, '04, Calgary; c-Cameron Hibbert, '03, Winnipeg; c-Liam Gorman, '04, Leduc.
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.
Western Hockey League Stories from August 27, 2019
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- Son of Former Rebels Star Defender Lance Ward Hoping to Make His Own Mark with the Club - Red Deer Rebels
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