With Return of Alexeyev, Barteaux, Rebels Have Full Roster to Open Regular Season
September 19, 2018 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Red Deer Rebels News Release
The Red Deer Rebels will have all hands on deck when they take on the host Edmonton Oil Kings Friday in the WHL regular season opener for both teams.
The Rebels learned Wednesday that defencemen Alex Alexeyev and Dawson Barteaux were on their way back to Red Deer after attending the training camps of the Washington Capitals and Dallas Stars, respectively.
Both players were set to arrive in Red Deer late Wednesday and will practise with their teammates Thursday afternoon at the Centrium.
Rebels GM/head coach Brent Sutter talked to coaches from both NHL teams and received glowing reports on the two drafted players. Alexeyev was picked by the Capitals in the first round - 31st overall - of June's NHL entry draft and Barteaux was the Stars' sixth-round selection.
"They were happy with the way the kids played," said Sutter. "I asked them to be honest with me and they said both Barts and Alex were good, that they just need to work on their game and continue to get stronger and just learn how to play the game the right way.
"But they really like where they're at."
That Alexeyev is back this early is somewhat surprising, considering NHL teams generally keep first-round picks around for at least the duration of the preseason before returning them to their junior clubs. The Russian defenceman picked up an assist in the Caps' 5-2 exhibition loss to the Boston Bruins Tuesday.
"You don't know, teams are different regarding where they're at," said Sutter. "Washington just won a Stanley Cup, they have a lot of defencemen back and they have guys in the minors who are pushing to play on the big team.
"They were respectful of the fact that our regular season is starting . . . get the kids back, get them settled and get them going. It's where they're going to be anyway. Some teams look at it a little bit differently too. They want to give the kids more games, or maybe they have injuries or whatever.
"Everybody is a bit different, it just depends on where they're at that season and that training camp. All NHL teams are respectful to when the young kid's seasons start, but there might be some things that take place within their own team that they send kids back at different times.
"We're certainly happy to have both of them back."
Indeed, having their top two rearguards in the lineup for Game 1 of the regular season is huge for the Rebels.
"They just have to come back and make sure that they're mentally where they need to be and in the right place," said Sutter. "Come back and have a good year and help our team be successful."
The Rebels boss said the coaching staff is leaning towards using both Alexeyev and Barteaux on the first power play unit.
"Barts certainly can be a guy who can play up top and Alex can play there or on the side," said Sutter. "The great thing about them is one is a right-handed defenceman (Barteaux) and one is a left-hand defenceman."
With last week's return of three players - Brandon Hagel (Montreal), Reese Johnson (NY Rangers) and Jacob Herauf (Pittsburgh) - from NHL camps, the recent reassignment of 16-year-old forwards Ethan Rowland and Jordan Borysiuk and the release of overage blueliner Colin Paradis, the Rebels roster sits at 24 players.
Rowland was sent to the junior A Calgary Canucks and Borysiuk will play midget AAA in Lloydminster, while Paradis was put on WHL waivers early this week and cleared Wednesday. He will apparently explore the possibility of joining a Quebec Major League team or, failing that, will likely play at the junior A level this season.
Sutter said he's comfortable with the size of his season-opening roster.
"We wanted to start the season with eight defencemen and we feel the 14 forwards we have here right now are the right 14 at this point in time," he said.
The Red Deer roster includes two 16-year-olds - defenceman Chase Leslie and winger Dallon Melin, both of whom have proven they deserve to be with the club, Sutter insisted.
"We're happy with where they're at, we feel they're in the right environment right now," he said. "Rollie (Rowland) and Bors (Borysiuk) . . . we could have kept them here too. They're both certainly good players but we just felt that they needed to be put in situations where they're top offensive guys.
"Les (Leslie) has certainly earned the right to get a chance to play and Meler (Melin) is one of those kids who we feel is in the right environment here to continue to improve his skills with Lodgy (Erik Lodge) as our skills coach.
"Also, he's a big, strong kid, so he can handle the physical side of the game at this level."
The Oil Kings will visit the Centrium Saturday for the Rebels' home opener.
Western Hockey League Stories from September 19, 2018
- 2018-19 Promotions Schedule Released - Swift Current Broncos
- With Return of Alexeyev, Barteaux, Rebels Have Full Roster to Open Regular Season - Red Deer Rebels
- Hurricanes Storm into Third in Pre-Season CHL Top 10 Rankings - WHL
- Winterhawks to Make Fred Meyer Appearance - Portland Winterhawks
- Silvertips Captain Connor Dewar Returned from Minnesota Wild, Forward Riley Sutter Returned from Washington Capitals - Everett Silvertips
- NHL Campers Return - Saskatoon Blades
- Chiefs Debut at Sixth in 2018-19 CHL Top 10 Rankings - Spokane Chiefs
- Winterhawks Announce Roster Moves - Portland Winterhawks
- Wheat Kings Deal Myskiw to Oil Kings - Brandon Wheat Kings
- Oil Kings Acquire Goaltender Myskiw from Wheat Kings - Edmonton Oil Kings
- Nick Henry Sent Back to Regina by Colorado - Regina Pats
- Nolan Volcan Named Team Captain - Seattle Thunderbirds
- Oil Kings gear up to spread literacy during READ IN Week - Edmonton Oil Kings
- Jake Leschyshyn Returns from NHL Training Camp - Regina Pats
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