Capital City Challenge was “cool” experience for Lind
It’s been two weeks since Kalan Lind competed in the Capitol City Challenge in Ottawa and the memories are still vivid.
“It was a really cool experience, everyone there was great to me,” the Rebels second-year forward said Tuesday. “I got to meet some great people, all my teammates were great to me when I got there.
“I also met some really nice guys who play in our league and I still talk to them quite a bit. I made a couple of real good friends coming out of that.”
The tournament, held from Nov. 25 to Dec. 1, featured three under-17 teams from across the country and the Canadian National women’s team.
“We played the ladies twice and it was a weird experience, not being able to play the body, which is a big part of my game,” said the 16-year-old. “I just had to play a more skilled game and try and control the puck and play with speed.”
Lind, who scored three goals and added an assist in five games in Ottawa while helping Team White win bronze, is an in-your-face player who loves to play a physical brand of hockey.
If he’s not involved in a scoring play he’s banging bodies and getting under the skin of his opponents.
“I think that’s one of the biggest staples of my game,” said the product of Shaunovan, Sask. “It gets me into the game and keeps me into the game.
“If I’m not producing points in a game I’m in guys’ heads, throwing the body and making them make quick decisions and turn the puck over.
“That’s a huge part of a lot of players’ games and I’m trying to bring it into my game more and more.”
Lind, of course, is also a highly skilled player who this season has scored six goals and recorded 10 points in 24 games. He’s also racked up a team-high 41 minutes in penalties and is an impressive plus-9 in the plus/minus department.
Clearly, he’s built off of last winter’s experience when he joined the Rebels as technically a 15-year-old player — although he had turned 16 in January — and potted four goals and added two helpers in 15 contests during a pandemic shortened 23-game season.
“Brent (GM Sutter) made the call to bring me in and I was very excited when he did it,” said Lind, selected by the Rebels sixth overall in the 2020 WHL draft after putting up mind-boggling numbers — 68 goals and 52 assists for 120 points in 27 games, plus 90 minutes in penalties — during his second season with the bantam Swift Current Broncos.
“I got here and got my confidence playing with some great guys. Then coming into this year I kind of knew the league and how much more I had to improve key parts of my game,” he said. “I learned from last year and I think I’ve kind of performed well this year.”
Josephson practising with Rebels
Ollie Josephson is getting a first-hand look at how his future teammates train and practice.
The Rebels’ first-round pick in last week’s WHL prospects draft — fifth overall — flew from Victoria to Calgary on Sunday and arrived in Red Deer at 3 a.m. Monday.
“It’s been pretty cool just to see everything and how everything works here. It’s been great so far,” he said.
Josephson, who signed a WHL standard player agreement with the Rebels shortly after the draft — a transaction that was announced Monday — practiced with the team for the first time Monday and was set to be back on the ice Tuesday.
“It was a lot faster with a lot better players than what I’m used to, but I think I’ll be able to figure it out,” said the 15-year-old centre, who helped Team BC win gold in the WHL Cup at the Peavey Mart Centrium in October — scoring four goals and adding three assists in five games — and this season has contributed 11 goals and 23 points in 12 games with the major midget South Island Royals.
Josephson brought his school work from Victoria and is doing classroom duty with the Rebels this week.
“I’m here for just a week so I can get a feel for everything and get on the ice with the guys,” he said.
The Rebels return to game action Wednesday versus the Swift Current Broncos at the Peavey Mart Centrium.
Rebels vs. Swift Current Broncos
Wednesday, 7 p.m., Peavey Mart Centrium
The Broncos enter the game with an 11-13-2-1 record, good for fourth place in the Central Division and eighth spot in the Eastern Conference . . . C Matthew Ward leads the Broncos in scoring with 11 goals and 30 points and is currently riding a five-game points streak in which he’s scored three goals and added four assists. Next in line are RW Josh Filmon (10-11-21) and C Raphael Pelletier (8-11-19) . . . Veteran G Isaac Poulter has recorded three shutouts this season and owns a 9-7-1-1 record with a 2.79 goals-against average and .919 save percentage. Teammate Reid Dyck is 2-7-1-0 with a 3.98 GAA and save percentage of .894 . . . RW Arshdeep Bains continues to lead the Rebels points parade with 32, including 12 goals, while C Ben King has recorded 27 points (16-11), RW Blake Stevenson has contributed 23 (8-15) and C Kai Uchacz (8-14) and D Christoffer Sedoff (1-21) have each garnered 22 . . . G Connor Ungar has an 8-2-1-0 record with a 2.34 GAA and .914 save percentage. Chase Coward, meanwhile, is 9-7-0-4 with a GAA of 2.42 and save percentage of .915 with one shutout.
Injuries — Swift Current: None to report. Red Deer: C Josh Medernach (lower body, indefinite), C Ethan Rowland (upper body, indefinite), D Matteo Fabrizi (upper body, week-to-week), D Joel Sexsmith (upper body, week-to-week).
Special teams — Swift Current: Power play 16.5 per cent, 18th overall; penalty kill 76.3 per cent, 19th. Red Deer: Power play 23.4 per cent, seventh overall; penalty kill 82.5 per cent, fifth.
