In the end, they were a flawed team with a few too many holes.
The Red Deer Rebels were what they were when the curtain was finally drawn on the 2018-19 WHL season.
Relying heavily on a top line of 20-year-old forwards became too much of a burden to bear down the stretch when they won just five times in the final 25 games. That pressure was extrapolated in the playoffs, without top defenceman Alex Alexeyev, who was injured late in the year. Prince Albert was too strong and had too many weapons that the Rebels were unable to contain.
At the start of the year, goals were always going to be hard to come by, yet they seemed to come easy between October and December for the Rebels.
They were one of the top teams in the WHL in the first half and were in the CHL Top 10 at one point. Eventually, they backed into the final wild-card spot that neither them nor Brandon seemed to want to claim.
Red Deer finished the season with just 223 goals for and 225 against. Although their goal differential was middle of the pack, where they struggled was the third period. They were outscored 85-68 in the final frame in the regular season and 7-2 by the Raiders in four playoff games.
In the first two periods during the regular season, Red Deer outscored opponents 145-134.
Of the Rebels 223 goals this season, 110 came from five players, 95 of those from Brandon Hagel, Reese Johnson and Jeff de Wit.
“There’s no easy games in this league and when you’re playing top teams you’ve got to be at a level that you need to be at to win games. We move on. I was proud of our three 20-year-olds,” Rebels GM/head coach Brent Sutter said.
“They’ve been warriors for us throughout the whole year. Great leaders, all three of them. When you look back at the start of the season and where we are at (Wednesday), you could say all three had great years in their own right.”
Ethan Anders, who looked like a sure-fire pick in the 2019 NHL Draft early on, seemed to be just ordinary by the end of it all.
The 18-year-old had a 3.09 goals against average in the regular season and a .907 save percentage. In the playoffs, he had a 3.82 goals against and .888 SV%. He faced a ton of rubber from the Raiders in the playoffs and at times, was the only reason the games were even close.
The Rebels blueline navigated the loss of Alexeyev a few times in the regular season, but when they needed to step up in his absence during the playoffs, it didn’t happen. Most Rebels were in the minus after four losses in the playoffs. Barteaux, Ethan Sakowich and Jacob Herauf were a combined minus-16 in four games.
Alexeyev will likely start next season elsewhere at the direction of the Washington Capitals, so those three defencemen will carry much of the load on the backend for Red Deer next season, too. Chase Leslie and Ryan Gottfried will also need to take a leap forward on defence.
With three of their biggest offensive weapons out of the fold, 19-year-olds Cam Hausinger and Brett Davis are expected to be a big piece of the puzzle up front for Red Deer when the puck drops next September.
The experience of Dallon Melin, Jordan Borysiuk, Alex Morozoff and Arshdeep Bains this season, combined with an 18-year-old Oleg Zaystev, has the makings of a competitive team again.
As tough as the last half of the season and the quick playoff exit was, Brent Sutter might have a group that will knock on the playoff door again in 2019-20.
Email sports tips to Byron Hackett
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