Ferry achieves first goal by making Rebels roster
By DANNY RODE
A year ago Nikolas Ferry indicated his goal was to make the Red Deer Rebels this year.
He’s done just that as the six-foot, 196-pound rearguard has suited up for three of the team’s first six games to start the regular season.
“It’s awesome, I love being here,” said the native of Los Angeles, who was the Rebels’ first-round draft pick (15th overall) in the 2024 WHL U.S. Priority Draft.
Ferry indicated he worked to earn a spot on the WHL squad, but “I can’t say I expected to be here.
“It was a battle through camp, a battle up to now and is still going to be a battle.”
Part of that battle was against fellow 16-year-old blue liner Graeme Pickering, who was the Rebels’ top pick in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft.
“We battled, but we’re still close,” said Ferry, who hopes to team up beside Pickering for several years down the road. “We have two different styles. He’s more of an offensive guy while I’m more of a defensive guy.”
That defensive ability played a major role in making the roster.
“He has the size, is a good skater, but plays heavy,” said Rebels head coach Marc Habscheid. “He has a heavy stick, plus he’s thick and strong for a young guy which is important. We like what we’ve seen so far and he’s a great kid on top of that. We’re looking for him to continue to improve and he wants to, which is important.”
Habscheid understands there will be a growing period for Ferry having come out of the 15U program in the States.
“Being from California there will be a culture change, and the hockey is different from what he’s used to. We just have to be patient, but he wants to learn, and we’ve seen that already.”
Ferry has the offensive skill to play that side of the game as well, but understands his role is on defence.
“We have other offensive guys on defence,” he said. “I can do a lot of that stuff as well, but I’ve always been told I have to play defence first before offence, have to be reliable in my own end.”
Ferry played last season with the Anaheim Jr. Ducks 15U program.
“It was a really good program, good guys and we played a lot of good teams, but it’s nothing like it is here,” he said.
“The game here is a lot faster. The guys are bigger … everything takes a big jump. But that’s what you expect coming into this league.”
Although he was at training camp last year, this year was different in that he went from training camp to preseason to the regular season.
“Camp and preseason were faster, but nothing like these games,” he said.
Ferry has played in three regular season games and while he has yet to record a point, he also has a zero plus minus.
Ferry has played on travelling teams since he was 10 with most trips being done by plane.
“We don’t fly here. That trip to Prince Albert was still long,” he said with a smile.
While Ferry played all his minor hockey in LA and Anaheim he wasn’t going home if he didn’t make the Rebels. He was going to join the Calgary CHA U18 Prep team.
“They have a great program, and it would have been a good backup for me,” he said. “The coaches there are really good, and they told me they were going to run that club as close as they could to a Western League team.”
He would have also been close to the Rebels in case he was to be called up because of injury.
“That was another reason why.”
Ferry is in Grade 11 at Notre Dame High School. His billet family is also new this year and his family is expecting to visit on American Thanksgiving.
“I’m looking forward to seeing my family, but my billet are taking care of me.”
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The Rebels players who are still in high school are continuing their studies online while the teacher strike in Alberta continues … Assistant Coach Clayton Jardine is back with the club after missing Tuesday’s game vs. Lethbridge as he and wife Lindsay welcomed the arrival of their third daughter … It’s a two-game weekend for the Rebels as they host Moose Jaw Friday at 7 p.m. at the Marchant Crane Centrium before visiting the Hurricane in Lethbridge Saturday at 6 p.m.
