The Week That Was – Sutter steps down as Rebels head coach
Each week, CHL.ca goes coast to coast to highlight the top stories from around the league.
Sutter resigns in Red Deer
It is the end of an era in Central Alberta.
On Saturday, longtime Red Deer Rebels bench boss Brent Sutter announced his resignation as head coach, a move that follows a slow start to the abbreviated season, with the decision coming after the club had secured six points through its first 14 games.
“It is disappointing. I am not going to say it is not. It hurts, that is all part of it,” Sutter told Troy Gillard of Red Deer News Now. “But I have to do what is right and I have always been this way through playing and as a coach. The front of the jersey is always going to come first. If there are ways I can help out better in other areas then that is what I have to do.”
Brent Sutter steps down as Rebels head coach.
Details – https://t.co/tk3nFPGtxS pic.twitter.com/jccMdGJaPk
— Red Deer Rebels (@Rebelshockey) April 10, 2021
While Sutter will no longer be behind the bench, the 58-year-old will remain as owner, president, and general manager. In the interim, assistants Ryan Colville and Brad Flynn as well as assistant general manager Shaun Sutter will assume the coaching duties for the remainder of the season.
“When you are the head coach, you are so engaged in it that there is other things inside the organization that you miss out on,” Sutter added. “You are not really part of it in both the hockey operations and the business side. Now this gives me time to focus on the other side of the organization and help it out.”
Assuming ownership of the franchise in 1999, Sutter needed little time to guide the club to national glory as it claimed its first-ever Memorial Cup title just two years later in addition to the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL playoff champions.
In all, Sutter has been behind the bench for 15 of his 20 years of franchise stewardship, minus a five-year absence when he served as head coach of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils and Calgary Flames from 2007-12.
Campbell sets Leafs record
Jack Campbell has a spot in the record books.
Notching his 10th straight victory in a 3-2 decision versus the rival Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday, the Toronto Maple Leafs red-hot goaltender and Soo Greyhounds graduate eclipsed the NHL franchise’s high-water mark for consecutive wins.
Three Maple Leafs netminders had previously reached nine-straight victories, including Chicoutimi Sagueneens graduate Felix Potvin who was the last to do so in 1994, while Campbell becomes the first to reach double digits in the history of the 100-plus year-old franchise.
“It is pretty awesome. I am lost for words right now,” Campbell told Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. “It has been a long journey and just to have (my teammates’) support, every single guy, it is crazy. It is a dream come true, something I worked very hard for.”
ALUMNI STORY; 'Campbell sets record while taking advantage of latest opportunity'
➡ https://t.co/sVWLjTsYaE pic.twitter.com/WmlDxWx9zu— Soo Greyhounds (@OHLHoundPower) April 8, 2021
Acquired from the Los Angeles Kings last February, the move to Toronto reunited Campbell with Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas – the two had previously been together as part of the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds.
In fact, that deal was not the first time Dubas had made a move for the goaltender. In his first year at the helm of the Greyhounds, Dubas made a blockbuster transaction with the Windsor Spitfires, adding Campbell as part of a nine-piece move that sent two skaters and six draft choices to Windsor.
A highly touted netminder, Campbell was selected 11th overall by the Dallas Stars in the 2010 NHL Draft before spending the next two seasons in the OHL, splitting 91 career contests between the Spitfires and Greyhounds.
Biasca finding his comfort zone
Rookie seasons are unforgettable, and even more so for Halifax Mooseheads freshman Attilio Biasca.
Skating in his inaugural season, the first-year Swiss-born forward has made 19 appearances with the Mooseheads as part of a unique campaign that has counted occasional interruptions and reoccurring contests against the same five Atlantic Canadian squads.
“It was a dream for me from when I was a little kid to come here so I was always waiting in the summer to come here but I wasn’t able to because of COVID,” Biasca told Willy Palov of the Halifax Chronicle Herald. “Then after the World Juniors, it was great to come here and I am really happy about it. Everyone has helped me since I got here. My billets are great and everybody’s nice so it was very easy to settle in.”
⚠️1ST CAREER GOAL⚠️
🚨Biasca (1) PP 6:44 1st period
🍎L'Heureux, Desnoyers | #GoMooseGo pic.twitter.com/Y6ElKtVYbQ— Halifax Mooseheads (@HFXMooseheads) April 2, 2021
With eight points on the season including two goals and two assists in his past five appearances, Biasca has rounded into form and seemingly found his comfort zone in recent weeks as he continues to adapt to the North American game.
One of four Mooseheads skaters slated for selection in the upcoming NHL Draft, Biasca saw three showings with his native Switzerland at the World Juniors before making his debut with Halifax in late January. However, an untimely injury then sidelined the talented winger for another month.
“It was tough for me because of the injury and my shape. I lost almost everything when I was hurt,” added Biasca, the fifth-overall selection from the 2020 CHL Import Draft who continues to build his case as part of the 2021 NHL class. “But now I am back to 100 percent and I have to bounce back and show everyone here what I can do in hockey.
“I love the hockey here. It is for sure different for me and it is tougher too, so I have had to change my game and I think I have been getting better all the time. But that is good for my career and I am really happy to be here.”