Fuder’s fire fueling Rebels’ scoring attack
By DANNY RODE – If you would have told Jaxon Fuder a year ago he’d be signed with the Dallas Stars, he wouldn’t have believed you.
But that’s exactly the case for the Red Deer Rebels second-year forward.
“I’ve come a long way, but I wouldn’t have done it without the coaching staff supporting me,” said the 19-year-old Cold Lake, AB native.
A little over a year ago Fuder was playing for the Powell River Kings of the BCHL. But four games into the season he was offered a contract by the Rebels, and he used that to his benefit.
Fuder had hoped to be NHL drafted this past summer and was naturally disappointed when his name wasn’t called. But that disappointment was quickly erased when he received an invite to Dallas Stars development camp.
“Obviously, I sat at home during the draft hoping,” he said. “My name wasn’t called but I went down there to their development camp to prove myself and got the invite to the main camp and I guess I made the best of my opportunity.
“I’m grateful I got the opportunity to go there and to be around those professionals.”
Fuder can only thank all the people who have helped him along the way.
“I couldn’t have done it without my coaches and teammates supporting me. It’s pretty cool the progress I’ve made the last couple of years.”
And he’s continuing that progression this season with the Rebels.
Jaxon played 46 games last season finishing with 11 goals and 15 assists and a minus-9 plus-minus. This year he’s on his way to a 20-plus goal season as he’s scored seven goals and added 16 helpers in 20 games and is a plus-1.
“I came in at the start of the year and struggled a little bit,” he explained. “But I found chemistry with my line mates the last couple of games.”
Jaxon is on a career high five-game point streak while his linemate Samuel Drancak has scored in eight straight games and the third member of their line – Ty Coupland – has six points over the past six games.
“Sammy has been on a scoring streak that’s sweet to be part of, and Copes and I are producing as well and that helps the team at the end of the day,” added Fuder, who admitted it took a while to adjust after returning from an NHL camp.
“The big thing for me was the speed of the game,” he said. “The game is a lot quicker there and coming back it took a little time to adjust to the speed of the game here, finding my rhythm and finding my game.”
Jaxon has been in constant contact with the Stars, and they’ve liked what they’ve seen.
“The thing for them is being the best player you can be for your team, that’s what they’re looking for and I feel I’ve been doing that fairly consistently.”
One of Fuder’s highlights during his five-game point streak was scoring his first WHL hat trick versus the Saskatoon Blades.
“I had my parents and sisters in the stands, which was awesome. Hopefully next time we can come out with a win,” he said.
The Rebels have been playing better and better as the season has progressed. They have posted a 4-2-1 record over their last eight games.
“We’re coming together as a team,” said Fuder. “The progression from the beginning of the year has been pretty big, even the fans we’ve heard it from. It’s been awesome.
“I think spending a lot of time together away from the rink has helped us and it carried over to the ice. Our practices we take so seriously it carries over to the games, and we’ve been putting some wins together.”
Outside of his contribution to the team on the ice, Fuder, who wears an A, is helping as one of the team leaders.
“We have a lot of young guys, a lot of rookies this year and I kind of help lead the way, especially as a guy coming back from camp and seeing what it takes to get to the next level. I come back and try to lead, and I think that helps the team get some wins as well.”
The Rebels return to action Friday when they host the Eastern Conference leading Edmonton Oil Kings at 7 p.m. at the Marchant Crane Centrium. They visit the Calgary Hitmen Sunday at 2 p.m.
