Brigley enters final Rebels season approaching major milestone
By DANNY RODE – If all things go as expected, Talon Brigley will put his name in the Red Deer Rebels record book this season.
Brigley goes into his fifth season with the WHL club 39 games behind Jon Zukiwsky’s team record of 301 regular season games played between 1993-98.
“It’s weird to hear my name in that category,” said the 20-year-old native of Sylvan Lake. “But it’s also really cool as well. I never would have thought that growing up, but it’s cool and we’ll see what happens. Hopefully I can stay in the lineup.”
Brigley, who has played in at least 60 games in all four seasons with the club, sits 16th overall in games played at 262, one back of Derek Meech.
During that time the talented winger and dependable two-way forward has seen a number of changes to the roster and behind the bench. This year is no different with Marc Habscheid taking over as head coach and Clayton Jardine coming in to work with the offence.
“It’s always a new experience when a new coaching staff comes in, and of course there’s new players every year,” Brigley said. “But it’s fun to meet the new guys and create new friendships.
“The coaching staff has been great and it’s fun to learn new systems and figure out what they want us to do. Habby (Habscheid) has been great so far and Clayton has been as well. Having them in our corner has been great.”
Talon indicated there’s a different feel coming to the rink.
“Different but in some ways similar,” he said. “The guys are really enjoying it.”
Despite missing four veterans who are away at pro camps, the Rebels showed a significant improvement during their four-game exhibition season. They opened with two lopsided losses to the Calgary Hitmen but came back a week later to defeat the Lethbridge Hurricanes 2-0 and the Edmonton Oil Kings 5-3.
“There needed to be a lot of learning but not much time between camp and the first two preseason games to figure things out,” said Brigley. “But we had a full week of practice after those first two games and the guys learned a lot on how they want to play and how Haby wants us to play, and it showed.”
The Rebels improved considerably in the defensive zone.
“Our play in the D zone is different from before but it’s a good thing. We’re just learning, and the guys are getting used to each other and dialing in the details. Defence will be key for us this year”
The Rebels also showed they are solid in goal with Peyton Shore, Matthew Kondro and Chase Wutzke, who is at the Minnesota Wild camp.
While the team is coming together, management provided a top-notch place to do it with major overhauls to the dressing room and player facilities.
“It’s awesome being able to come to the rink and be in the space we have. The guys have really come close in a short period of time we’ve been together and having a lot of fun and anxious to get going this weekend.”
The Rebels open the regular season against the Oil Kings Friday at 7 p.m. with the Red Deer Advocate Home Opener at the Marchant Crane Centrium. They have a return visit to Edmonton Saturday at 4 p.m.
Talon is grateful to play his 20-year-old season in the renovated facilities.
“I can remember coming in with the green seats and now to see the renovations and be part of it I’m super grateful.”
The Rebels will be a younger group this season, but not without talent.
“As I’ve gotten older the younger guys keep getting better as they come up … it’s awesome to see,” Brigley said. “We’ll have a younger group this season, which is good. There’s a lot of talent and I think we’ll be really deep on defence and up front.
“From what I’ve seen so far in camp we’ll be a gritty team as always. We’ll work as hard as anyone else in the league and I think we have to capabilities to put up more points than we did last year. We’ll see how it goes, but I’m confident.”:
Brigley is looking to add to his offensive numbers this season, although he’s still concentrating on playing a two-way game.
“I’m still looking to play a hard defensive game and to be reliable in the D zone,” he said. “Any time I’m on the ice I want to be that reliable guy and to be put in any situation.
“Obviously guys want to see their names on the score sheet more times, so we’ll see how it goes, but I’m feeling confident in my game, and I want to take that next step and be a guy to put up more points and help the team win.”
Brigley is looking forward to his final season and hasn’t spent a lot of time looking beyond.
“We’ll see what happens, but right now I’m focused on here and now. It will eventually come and with the new NCAA rules there are so many options. It’s a different route and I’m interested to take it and to get some education, but we’ll see what happens. It will depend on what kind of year I have, but as I said I’m focused on this year and the team and seeing what we can do.”
