If Red Deer Rebels forward Kai Uchacz wished for goals galore this Christmas, he certainly got his wish.
The talent Rebels’ goal scorer notched 10 tallies in four games last week, with hat tricks in three of the four contests. For his efforts, the De Winton product was named WHL player of the week.
“It was a good week for myself and for the team obviously. We got four wins. Bounces went my way and the pucks were going in. Coming in I didn’t know at this point in the season where I would be or how I would be was going, it’s good so far,” Uchacz told reddeerrebels.com.
“I did work a lot on my shot in the summer so it’s good to get those bounces and obviously team success too. We’re having a really good year as a team.”
The 19-year-old forward leads the WHL with 33 goals in 36 games, six more than Connor Bedard, who is currently representing Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships.
Uchacz posted a hat trick on Dec. 27 in a 7-1 win over the Edmonton Oil Kings at home, before posting another hat trick in a 4-1 victory over the Calgary Hitmen at the Peavey Mart Centrium on Dec. 29.
He is the first Rebel to post back-to-back hat tricks since Dean Tiltgen did it on Jan. 26 and 29th, 1993 in the team’s inaugural season.
On Dec. 30, he kept his hot streak alive with a goal and an assist in a 6-2 win over the Oil Kings. He started the new year with a bang, posting another three-goal night in a 5-3 triumph over the Hitmen in Calgary on Jan. 1.
He’s been absolutely scorching of late, with 15 of his 33 goals coming since Dec. 7.
Since joining the Rebels last season, Uchacz has 84 points in 88 games. He is averaging 1.42 points per game this season.
Uchacz and the Rebels are back in action on Friday when they visit the Prince Albert Raiders.