The Red Deer Rebels will once again be strong in net.
With goaltender Rhett Stoesser back for his 19-year-old season with a clean bill of health, he looked like he's returned to full form through his play in the preseason.
And who can forget Chase Wutzke who as a rookie solidified himself as one of the top goalies last year winning multiple WHL Goaltender of the Week honours and a Goaltender of the Month award.
Wutzke has yet to return from Minnesota where he attended NHL training camp with the Wild just months after he was drafted by them 142nd overall in the fifth round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.
In his absence, 16-year-old rookie netminder Peyton Shore will join Stoesser in Saturday night's home opener against the Lethbridge Hurricanes as the tandem attempts to start the season on a high note.
Director of goaltending for the Rebels Ian Gordon said they had a healthy competition among all four goalies who attended training camp and the preseason.
"In particular, Rhett Stoesser showed up in excellent shape. He had a chance to have a really good summer and he didn't get that opportunity last year because of the injury," Gordon said.
"He's determined to have a good start and try to replicate where he was in the Fall of 2022."
Stoesser said that every day had been a battle but thought the team as a whole got better leading up to the season opener.
"Through training camp, I thought I was just okay but I've just been working hard in practice," he said. "I've had a couple of injuries over the last few years but I'm finally good to go again."
Last season, Stoesser attempted to make a save in practice but the puck caught one of his fingers which later required surgery. After a short rehab, Stoesser was back to training early in the summer where he worked on his lateral speed and core.
"I just felt like in lateral movements, especially desperation plays when your core's better you're more stable and can keep your feet under you," Stoesser added.
Gordon was also impressed by Shore, who he said had a really good training camp and preseason. In two games, Shore posted a 1.65 goals against average and a .956 save percentage.
"Every day he kept showing that he was capable of being here so I thought he was great in Edmonton on Saturday night and was good in Calgary the week before," Gordon said.
"He was very consistent all the way through camp so we're really happy with where he's at."
The Rebels recently sent goaltender Taylor Tabashniuk back home following the last preseason game. Gordon explained even though he suited up for the Rebels in the playoffs last season their decision to keep Shore this year instead of him was because they know Tabashniuk was poised for a big year in the SJHL with the Melville Millionaires.
"I believe in his long-term development and him playing junior this year gives him the best opportunity for success at the WHL level," Gordon said. "Just out of respect, we wanted to get him into a situation where he can get comfortable and play."
Red Deer didn't get a chance to see much from Wutzke before he left for his National Hockey League camp but Gordon expects him to have another big year.
"He's set himself to a standard with his performance from last year that we want to see him build off of," he said.
"He had some really good stretches of goaltending for us last year and we want to see him continue to building on what he started. We know what he's capable of so he has to be consistent."
