Shortly after the Red Deer Rebels worked with prospects hoping to make the club in 2019-20, they secured some pieces for the future.
After a mini-prospect camp with 16 and 17-year-old players on the weekend, the Rebels went to work signing their top picks from the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft.
Without a first-round selection, the Rebels used their first pick of the second round to take defenceman Hunter Mayo of Martensville, Sask. The five-foot-11, 173-pound blueliner had a productive season in the Saskatchewan Bantam AA League, the highest Bantam level in that province. He posted 15 goals and 27 assists in 28 games, along with 16 in nine playoff games for the Martensville Marauders.
Red Deer also inked defenceman Jace Weir out of Coldstream, B.C. The Rebels picked Weir in the second round, 38th overall. The six-foot-one, 162-pound right-shot defenceman played for the North Zone Kings in 2018-19.
At the draft last month, Rebels assistant GM Shaun Sutter said the Rebels liked the mobility of the two defencemen they picked.
“We drafted two defencemen with our first two picks that could skate and move the puck, but they’re guys that are real hard to play against. They have a lot of leadership and they’re guys that when the other team plays against them, they know when they’re on the ice,” Sutter said at the time.
The Rebels were also able to sign forward Carter Anderson, who they selected in the third round, 51st overall. Anderson, from Thompson, Man., played for Rink Academy last season and in 29 games, recorded 17 goals and 11 assists for 28 points.
All three players are not eligible to play in the WHL until the 2020-21 season.
Rebels Sign Three Draft Picks. #RDR
— Red Deer Rebels (@Rebelshockey) June 4, 2019
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