After spending half a decade as a Red Deer Rebel, forward Jhett Larson will play in his final game at the Westerner Park Centrium this weekend.
The Rebels will host the Calgary Hitmen on Saturday, March 22, in the Western Hockey League club's final home game of the 2024-25 season. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
The 21-year-old Delisle, Sask. native is wrapping up his WHL career this year — he first played for the Rebels in the 2020-21 season. In 260 career games with the Rebels, he has recorded 55 goals and 81 assists.
"Saturday's game is going to mean a lot to me," said Larson.
"Over the past five years, it's been a journey. There have been ups and downs, and great players I've been able to play with. There are a lot of great people I've been around. I've learned a lot about myself here — about hockey and everything outside of hockey."
Next season, Larson will play for the Alaska Nanooks, a Division I NCAA club.
The Rebels were officially eliminated from playoff contention last week. Despite knowing the team won't make the playoffs, Larson said he wants to see a strong finish to the season.
"We faced a lot of adversity this year. We struggled to get through it at times, but I think right now we're playing some really good hockey," he said.
"We're gelling as a team. I think we came through that adversity. The biggest takeaway for me this season, is how our team came together over the last month."
Head coach David Struch said he wants his team to play hard for the fans in the final home game of the season.
"The fans have been great all year. We've had a couple tough stretches, but they continued to come out and support us. We owe them a lot, there's no question about it," said Struch.
"We owe the crest on the front of the jersey a lot, we owe the City of Red Deer a lot, and we owe ourselves a lot. Every individual in the locker room has to rise to the challenge and see what they're made of. That support our fans have given us this year, in a disappointing season, ... it should be worth something to us as individuals. We want to put everything on the ice for our fans."
Red Deer will wrap up its season with a road game against the Edmonton Oil Kings on Sunday, March 23. Heading into the weekend, Red Deer has a 26-32-6-2 record, which puts them at ninth in the WHL's Eastern Conference.
