Byron Froese has been a welcome addition to the Red Deer Rebels this season for many reasons.
Including his navigating abilities.
The former Everett Silvertips star put those navigational qualities to use in his old stomping grounds earlier this week, guiding Red Deer’s team bus through the surface streets of Lynnwood to the well-hidden entrance to the Lynnwood Ice Center for a practice session.
But as useful as Froese’s GPS impersonation was, it’s his hockey qualities that have had the biggest impact on the Rebels.
After two seasons as one of Everett’s core players, Froese is now plying his trade for Red Deer, and so far he’s been everything the Rebels could have hoped and more.
“He’s played really well,” Red Deer coach Jesse Wallin said of Froese. “He’s come in and done probably exactly what we expected and maybe a little more. He’s a very well-rounded player. He’s solid in his own zone and he brings a lot of leadership. Most importantly he’s a real character guy. He fits into our dressing room very well, he’s very team oriented, he’s very hard working — he’s one of the last guys on the ice, we always have to kick him off the ice at the end of the day. He’s just a real good kid to have around.”
Froese made his return to Comcast Arena Tuesday as the Rebels took on the Silvertips and picked up an assist in a 2-0 Red Deer win. It was an unusual experience for Froese, who was sitting on the visiting bench for the first time.
“It feels a little weird,” said Froese a day earlier, before meeting with his old billets and former teammates. “It feels good to be back, but at the same time it feels weird to be in a hotel and playing against the guys I’d been playing with.”
The return to Everett brought Froese back to the location where his hockey career took off. When he arrived for the Tips’ 2008 training camp he was an undrafted and unknown 17-year-old just hoping to make the team. Within a year his stock as a prospect rose to the point where he represented Canada at the U-18 World Championships and was selected in the fourth round of the NHL draft by the Chicago Blackhawks.
Froese also left a lasting impression on Everett. During his two seasons with the Tips Froese compiled 48 goals and 70 assists in 142 games, was one of the team’s most-active members in the community, and he’ll always be remembered by Tips fans as the center on the vaunted “Kid Line” alongside Kellan Tochkin and Tyler Maxwell.
But the Tips reluctantly parted ways with Froese during the offseason, including him in the trade that brought center Landon Ferraro to Everett.
Froese more than landed on his feet in Red Deer. Through 21 games he’s amassed 30 points (11 goals, 19 assists) and is tied for third spot in WHL scoring.
He’s being used in all situations, including playing the point on Red Deer’s power play. His contributions have helped the Rebels be one of the league’s top teams during the early part of the season.
“Things have been going real well,” Froese said. “I’ve been jelling with the team. We’ve got a really tight-knit group, a good group of guys. I think we have a good team and we’ve just got to work together and play our hearts out. I like my game. I just need to get better on the defensive side of the game. I’ve had a couple nights where I haven’t had a good plus/minus. I want to pride myself on having good defense first and being reliable the last few minutes of the game.”
When asked to compare his experience in Red Deer to his experience in Everett, Froese had to think a moment before replying.
“One of the key things is we have such a tight-knit group here,” he said. “We had it a bit in Everett, too, but you live so much closer together and it’s easier to hang out. It’s been a great experience both ways, I can’t say anything negative about either one.”
As for the Rebels, they feel they did well with the trade — it was Froese and a third-round bantam draft pick for Ferraro and a conditional fifth-rounder — considering they were in a position where Ferraro had asked out.
“It was a trade that had to happen,” Wallin said. “The mindset for us is we had to get someone back who was going to be a top-end guy for us. We had a lot of offers, some significant offers from other teams. But we weren’t in a position where we could trade Landon Ferraro for young players or prospects or draft picks. We needed a guy who was going to fit into that top-six role, essentially replace what we needed Landon to be for us.”