Ryan Gottfried saw the excitement from the stands, now he’s eagerly awaiting his chance to join the action.
The Red Deer Rebels rookie defenceman is still looking to make his WHL debut, but even from watching the home opener last Saturday against the Edmonton Oil Kings, he can’t wait to play.
“It was awesome. I’d rather be out there obviously but it was really neat. There were so many people, it was loud and such a great atmosphere out there,” said the 17-year-old Winnipeg, Man., native.
Gottfried is part of a stacked backend for the Rebels this season and the young blueliner will have to battle for every minute he plays this season.
He is one of eight defencemen to make the Rebels regular season roster after overage defenceman Colin Paradis was released. Gottfried was thrilled when found out he made the final cut but knows there is hard work ahead.
With NHL draft picks Alex Alexeyev and Dawson Barteaux firmly entrenched in the top four, along with Carson Sass, Ethan Sakowich and Jacob Herauf, there isn’t exactly a lot of playing time up for grabs for the youngster. Chase Leslie, 16, has also impressed through the first two games of the year.
Still, that hasn’t deterred Gottfried from working hard and having the confidence that he will get his chance to play eventually.
“I’m a decent skater. It’s just my agility and my quickness in small areas is what I need to work on,” said the 2016 fifth round WHL Bantam Draft pick.
“My first three explosive steps. Off-ice helps the most with plyometrics and explosiveness and that’s where I need to work.”
First-year Rebels assistant coach Brad Flynn is adamant that if Gottfried continues to work and improve his game, he’ll find a spot.
“He’s a great kid. He’s hardworking and a good teammate. Pushes his pace in practice and is a good learner. He’s a student of the game. He’s trying to learn and get better every day. It’s an adjustment for every young player coming into this league,” Flynn said.
“He’s done a great job, he’s watching our veteran guys and is doing everything that’s asked of him. He puts in the extra time in the gym.. he does a lot of things well, it’s just improving his reads and I think that comes with maturity.”
His size, at six-foot-three and a solid 201-pounds, doesn’t hurt his chances either.
The first-year WHLer believes his big frame will help him fit in at the major junior level. He is also looking to improve his foot speed as the season progresses.
“It helps being bigger, especially in front of the net battling and boxing them out and letting the goalie see the puck. Being bigger just helps all around, size is a big factor,” he added.
Last season, in 45 games with the Midget AAA Winnipeg Wild, he recorded five goals and 24 assists. He added five assists in 10 playoffs. In his four WHL preseason games in early September, there was a steep learning curve.
“The speed of the game was by far the biggest step up from playing midget last year,” he said.
“Just them coming down on you so much faster and you have to be moving your feet so much more. A big thing is the physical game, I’m a big guy, that’s kind of my game, I have to be physical to be successful.”
With four games in the next five days, including three home dates at the Centrium in that time, his chance to finally play at the WHL level might arrive sooner rather than later.
The Rebels hit the ice Friday against the Calgary Hitmen at 7 p.m. at the Centrium, then welcome the WHL defending champion Swift Current Broncos to town on Saturday night.
Email sports tips to Byron Hackett
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