It’s nothing new for Doug Quinn to go into a hockey season in a rebuilding mode.
Quinn coached in the 15-year-old division for several years and had to start over each season.
Last year he stepped in as head coach of the Red Deer Optimist Rebels midget AAA team and had only two returnees. This season he’s ahead of the pace with three veterans on his 20-man roster.
“There may be one or two others coming back, but we’re not counting on it,” said Quinn, whose squad opens their Alberta Midget Hockey League regular season tonight against the UFA Bisons at 8 p.m. at the Arena.
The trio of returnees are all forwards — Connor Hartley, Wyatt Haustein and Jaret Smith.
Quinn sees a lot of similarities between this year’s squad and the one he took to the AMHL championship and a berth in the Telus Cup last season.
“Looking back at this time of the season a year ago, it’s very comparable,” he said. “But really it’s hard to know how the kids will grow and develop and if they’ll come together as a team, but so far I’ve been happy. We appear to have good balance, good team speed and good size.
“I see a lot of upside and potential for the kids to grow.”
The Rebels should be solid in goal with Tanner Jaillet, who impressed at the Western Hockey League Red Deer Rebels’ camp this year, and Brendan Mandusiak, who attended the Rebels camp two years ago. Jaillet played with the midget AA Pro-Stitch Chiefs last season while Mandusiak was with the midget AA Elks.
“Both goalies have played well in the exhibition schedule,” said Quinn, who had a similar situation last year with Mac Engel and Travis Weber. Both were solid during the season and Engel went on to play a major role in the Chiefs playoff success and earned a spot with the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL this season.
The Rebels defence will be young and includes a pair of 15-year-olds — Joel Topping and Stefan Danielson, both up from the bantam AAA Rebels.
Jon Finnigan and Cole Berreth played 15-year-old hockey with the IROC Chiefs last season while Dallen Hall and Bradley Van Grinsven are up from midget AA. Van Grinsven did play two games with the Rebels last season.
Quinn likes what he’s seen from the defence, including the two youngsters.
“They’ve shown they can play at this level and I’m looking forward to watching them develop,” he said. “Over all our backend lost some talent, but we have a lot of potential and it’s a matter of adjusting to the league.”
Four of the new faces up front — Brady Bakke, B.J. Duffin, Nick Glackin and Dylan Hollman — all played for the IROC Chiefs last season.
Hollman is the only one of the four not to start the season as he broke his ankle and will be out for a couple of months.
“But we’re holding a spot for him” said Quinn. “He earned a berth on the team, especially with his play in the Strathmore tournament.”
The Rebels won the tournament with a 4-1 record.
Trent Hermary and Ty Clay both played with the Sylvan Lake midget AA squad last season while Landon Hiebert and Brody Robinson were with the Elks and Cole deGraaf with Pro-Stitch.
“I think we could have a little more scoring potential than last year,” said Quinn. “Hartley should step up and be our offensive leader and we’re getting points from Clay, Hermary and Hiebert. As well Smith is a second-year player with the ability to contribute more.”
Hartley had 13 goals and 11 assists in 29 games last season while Smith had five goals and six helpers and Haustein three goals and 11 assists.
The Rebels had a solid preseason with the win in Strathmore and a loss and a tie against Leduc last weekend.
“The Leduc games were a wake-up call as they’re a strong team,” said Quinn. “We blew a 3-1 lead in the loss and then had a battle in the tie. They played a very physical game and I was impressed how we responded.”
l Rob Hamill, Peter Friestadt and Al Parada return to the coaching staff with Dion Zukiwsky the new face . . . Lee Sherback is the new trainer.
drode@www.reddeeradvocate.com