It was an emotional day for Red Deer Rebels captain Kai Uchacz on Friday.
Just days after being eliminated by the Saskatoon Blades in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, he and the rest of his teammates cleaned out their lockers before heading home for the summer.
Only this time around Uchacz knew he wouldn’t be returning in the fall after graduating from the WHL as a 20-year-old, which made it more difficult.
“It’s been a little emotional. Coming to the rink and saying goodbye to some familiar faces who’ve been family to me here for the last three years,” Uchacz said while fighting back tears.
“I can’t thank the organization enough for taking me in and giving me a chance to be a Rebel.”
Uchacz was acquired by the Rebels in a trade before the 2021-22 season with the Seattle Thunderbirds following an incident with the club that got him suspended.
He leaves the franchise as one of the most dynamic scorers in team history.
He scored 106 goals and 93 assists for 199 points in three seasons with the franchise. He added 13 goals and 10 assists for 23 points in 31 playoff games.
His 106 goals earned him fourth all-time in goals in Rebels franchise history behind Arron Asham (131), Justin Mapletoft (115), and B.J. Young (112).
He also served as team captain in his final season.
“It was a huge honour to get named captain and be able to lead this group. It came with a lot of responsibilities, hard work, and dedication,” he said.
“That’s what I tried to bring every night to this city and team. I’m very thankful for the opportunity to be a captain.”
For now, Uchacz has yet to receive any training camp invites from professional clubs but explained he’d keep media and fans posted.
Since he was brought to the Rebels he developed into not only a lethal goal scorer but someone who did plenty of volunteer work in the community, which earned him two Humanitarian of the Year awards with the team.
“There’s so much that I’ve learned since I showed up here as an 18-year-old. One of the big things was just how to carry myself as a man each day,” he said.
“Different character traits that I learned about myself that I didn’t know I had in me. One thing being a leader and a captain is something I knew I had in me but it’s something I really got to show and develop out of me this year.
On the ice, he also learned how to be a professional and what it took to move on to the next level of hockey. In particular the importance of taking care of himself physically and mentally.
What he’ll miss most is being with his teammates not only on the ice but off the ice and the memories they made. He even gave a shout-out to legendary dressing room attendant Mikel McIver.
“I’m going to miss that guy so much with all the moments, laughs, and smiles. Like I said before I can’t thank everyone enough who’s been involved and all the laughs we had off the ice,” Uchacz said.
In his second season with the Rebels, Uchacz scored an incredible 50 goals and followed it up with 42 this year. That led to a lot more Uchacz jerseys around the Centrium, especially with young fans.
“It was really awesome to see jerseys and different posters, signs, and people cheering me on. It’s what keeps you going when I come to the rink and I get to play in front of the best fans in the league,” he said.
“I’ve got kids, parents, and grandparents screaming at me it’s awesome. I can’t thank my family enough for all the support that they’ve given me.”
Uchacz left his teammates on Friday with a couple of emotional speeches in the dressing room. For those players moving up the ranks next year he said it’s important to live in the moment.
“It goes by quickly and you have to enjoy each day… Some days are going to be really tough and you have to find a way to push through. Just enjoying every moment,” he said.
“You never know when your last game is and when your last time is here. You could get traded… You really have to take it day by day and live in the moment.
“That’s what I did here for the last three years and I hope those guys could see my emotion when I was talking and how much this city and team means to me.”