Latimer excited to move on from injury-plagued regular season
By DANNY RODE
It’s been a tough season for Red Deer Rebels forward Carson Latimer.
The White Rock, B.C. native almost missed as many games as he played this season, suffering a leg injury mid-season that sidelined him for 19 games, and then breaking his jaw in practice in February, which led to 13 more games on the sidelines.
Overall the 20-year-old played 35 of 68 games, finishing with 10 goals and 15 assists.
‘You certainly don’t want to be hurt, that’s the worst thing that happens in the game, but it’s part of it,” said Latimer, who returned to the Rebels lineup last weekend for a pair of games against the Edmonton Oil Kings.
The six-foot-one 190-pound winger looked as if he was never away.
“One thing about the jaw injury, it didn’t affect my legs,” he said. “I was on the ice with Lodgy (Erik Lodge) for the past three weeks and so was able to come back and not be too rusty. It was just a matter of getting into the flow of the game and I felt good.”
Rebels head coach Dave Struch was glad to see him back.
“”He was our best forward on the weekend,” said Struch. “We talk about the fatigue and conditioning work the guys have put in the last several weeks and he (Latimer) had the energy and played well for us.”
Latimer came back at the right time as the Rebels prepare to face the Medicine Hat Tigers in the best-of-seven opening round of the WHL playoffs.
The Rebels are on the road Friday and Saturday before returning home April 2 and 3. If any or all additional games are needed they go April 5 in The Hat, April 7 at the Peavey Mart Centrium and April 9 in the southern Alberta city.
Latimer, who played 14 playoff games last season with the Winnipeg Ice, knows what to expect in the post-season and can’t wait to get going.
“I’m focusing on what’s ahead and want to be a big part of this team in the playoffs,” he said.
Knowing how to handle the mental side of injuries is a big part of returning to full strength.
“It’s mentally challenging, a lot of adversity, but it makes you stronger,” he said. “I think I’ve grown in that capacity over the past year dealing with things.”
‘I feel normal … there’s a good jump to my game … I feel like myself and I’m ready for the playoffs.”
Latimer is one of 14 Rebels players with WHL playoff experience.
“One of my goals is to be a leader in the room and on the ice,” he said. “I’m ready to go and want to be factor in scoring some goals and making plays .,.. be an overall solid presence on the ice.”
He knows the Tigers won’t be a pushover.
“They have great skills, fast and play hard. We’ll need to bring our A game if we want to win this series.”
Rebels captain and team scoring leader, Kai Uchacz agrees, but feels the team is ready.
“There’s a lot of energy and excitement in the room … it’s a cool feeling,” he said. “We do have several young guys making their first trip to the playoffs and we’re all feeding off that energy they provide.”
Uchacz, along Latimer and the other veterans, have been mentoring the youngsters.
“We had some good team meetings and video sessions and for me it’s an opportunity to share my experience I’ve had the past two years … to bounce ideas around.”
Uchacz added that it’s key for the Rebels to play their game.
“We know what kind of team they are, but it’s big for us to play our style … our game,” he said.
The fact they open on the road doesn’t hurt either.
“No matter where we play there will be that intensity and adrenalin,” he said. “We’re going in with the mindset of winning both games before bringing it back home in front of our fans. It’s always exciting playing at home come playoff time.”
The Rebels finished the season with a number of injuries, but Struch is hoping they’ll be close to 100 per cent healthy by Friday. The Rebels were without defencemen Matteo Fabrizi and Elias Carmichael, and forwards Frantisek Formanek and Carson Birnie last weekend.
“We’ll see by Friday … we’ll evaluate them this week at practice and see where it goes.”
Struch, who took over as head coach at the start of the month, feels all the work the team put in after he arrived leaves them in a good position.
“The last three weeks we put in a lot of conditioning and fitness work, learning to play the right way,” he said.
“It takes a lot of work when you’re playing physical, moving your feet and checking with your legs and practicing that way.
“Everything we did was to prepare us for this. We had a day off on (Monday) and there’s a new energy in the room. The guys are ready to turn the page and go onto the next chapter.
“They have a good team … will be a challenge but we’re ready for them.”
ICE CHIPS – Oasiz Wiesblatt had four goals and eight assists in the six games against the Rebels … Outstanding rookie Gavin McKenna of Whitehorse led the Tigers in scoring with 34 goals and 63 assists for 97 points … The Tigers power play was third in the league at 28.7 per cent with their penalty kill fourth at 80.7 … Red Deer’s power play was 18th at 20.2 and penalty kill fifth at 80.6 … Medicine Hat last won the Ed Cheynoweth Cup league title in 2007 … Red Deer won in 2001 the year they won the Memorial Cup.