By Scott Fisher /
Red Deer Rebels fans have nothing on Chicago Cubs supporters.
Long suffering?
Not exactly.
But back-to-back seasons without playoff hockey at the Centrium must feel like an eternity for the city which is used to watching a winner.
And head coach Jesse Wallin thinks that two-year drought is more than long enough.
“We’ve been rebuilding here for a couple of years and, as a group, we’re expecting to take that next step to become a team that can contend,” Wallin told the Red Deer Advocate.
“Last year, I thought we took some real good strides that weren’t always evident on the scoreboard. But I think we’ve added to our skill this year.
“We’re going to be able to score a little more easily than we did last season and we’re going to continue to have an emphasis on strong defensive hockey and keeping our goals against down.
“Hopefully, that will allow us to win some hockey games.”
Lighting the lamp on a more consistent basis will be priority No. 1.
Last season, the Rebels were the lowest-scoring team in the Eastern Conference — and second-lowest in the entire league.
Landon Ferraro, who potted 37 goals and 55 points in 68 games during his sophomore season, will light the offensive fire.
But Ferraro, snatched up by the Detroit Red Wings with the second pick in Round 2 of this summer’s NHL Draft, won’t have to go it alone this season.
Expectations might be unreasonably high for rookie Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
But the Burnaby, B.C.-product has earned them.
He was the first player chosen in the 2008 WHL Bantam Draft, and has done absolutely nothing to suggest the Rebels made a mistake.
Nugent-Hopkins managed to score a half-dozen points during an impressive five-game stint with the Rebels last season — as a 15-year-old.
“How we handle his ice time will be of importance with him being a 16-year-old,” Wallin told the Advocate. “But having said that, he’s going to be an impact player as a rookie.”
The 6-foot, 155-pounder heads into the season as the odds-on favourite to win the WHL’s top rookie award.
But he knows he needs to put on some weight.
“They say it’ll come in time and I hope it comes in time,” Nugent-Hopkins told thehockeynews.com.
“[I’m eating] a lot of chicken, a lot of pasta, a ton of milk ... protein and vegetables.”
With an improved scoring attack, one of the league’s best goaltenders in Darcy Kuemper, and five returning defencemen, Wallin figures he has the squad to get back into the post-season party.
“I believe that we can be a team that can have home-ice advantage in the playoffs,” Wallin told the Advocate. “I want us to be a top-four team in our conference and I think that’s attainable for us, a realistic goal to shoot for.”
— Scott Fisher covers the WHL for the Calgary Sun. |
