Lind back in fine form for Rebels
By DANNY RODE
Injuries have played a frustrating role in Kalan Lind’s time with the Red Deer Rebels.
Only once over the past four seasons has the 19-year-old Shaunavon, SK., native played more than 46 games in a season, and that was in his rookie season.
He played 61 games in 2021-22, scoring 20 goals and adding 18 helpers.
The following two seasons he played 43 and 46 games. This year he’s been in 28.
“I just need to put on some weight, I’m a bit undersized for the way I play, so putting on weight is the big thing,” said the six-foot-two, 150-pound winger.
Lind is not one to back down from physical contact whether it’s in the corners or in front of the net.
It’s that style that’s hard on his body but impresses head coach Dave Struch.
“Size is important for sure, but we all see what kind of player he is. You know what they say, it’s not the size of the dog, but the fight in the dog, and he has that fight in him.”
Lind has been back for the past 12 games and it’s no surprise the Rebels have posted a winning record.
“For me it’s the consistency of him being in the lineup every night and in practice,” added Struch. “It’s something we didn’t have for three-quarters of the year.
“He’s had such a tough couple of years when it comes to injuries,” continued Struch.
Kalan has 20 points on eight goals and 12 assists over the season with nine points coming over the latest 12 game stretch.
“It’s definitely been an off year for me, but I’m feeling good now and everything is going good and we’ve been clicking as a team and finally got some chemistry in our lines. The guys are rolling and we’ve been getting some wins … things are going good.”
Struch believes having Kalan healthy is good “for him and for us, because he’s been real consistent.”
Lind was only one of severel Rebels key players on the sidelines for a number of games, joining Ollie Josephson and Jhett Larson amongst others.
“We’ve talked about it, it’s been good for the past three or four weeks to get the guys back,” said Struch. “We have some consistency, some chemistry in our lines and in our lineup.
“And as for Lind he’s really come into his own. He’s good offensively and good in front of the net. He’s a pest out there and gets under the opponent’s skin, plus he does some really good things without the puck.
“A lot of our success over the past two or three weeks has been those guys stepping up and being leaders for us.”
Plus, the fact the Rebels power play has been clicking at an extremely high level.
The Rebels were zero-for-19 over one stretch, but the coaching staff decided to put five forwards on the power play, with Josephson anchoring the point.
“It’s been awesome the past three or four games,” said Lind on Thursday. “It’s been building up to it. You could see steps and little pieces throughout the year and finally we broke through. We’ve scored nine goals over the last three games … it’s been awesome.”
Having Josephson control the play has been a plus.
“It took him a little while to adjust. With me being an up front guy we talked about it, about different times when to shoot it, when to move the puck, just different looks. He adjusted. He’s an awesome player, smart and has awesome speed. I knew he’d adjust and he’s been really good up top for us.”
The Rebels will need the power play to continue to be red hot as they sit 11 points back of the Swift Current Broncos in the battle for the final playoff spot with eight games remaining.
Two of those games are against the Broncos, who they host tonight (Saturday) at 7 p.m. at the Centrium.
The meeting against the Broncos will see former longtime Rebels defenceman Hunter Mayo returning to Red Deer. Mayo has been a solid contributor for the Broncos with 20 points in 21 games.
“It will be awesome of have Mayo back in the building,” said Lind. “We were long time teammates, since the bubble (2020-21 shortened season).
“But he’s on the other side and we’re chasing Swift Current so we can’t worry about him, we just have to go out and win.”
Struch agrees.
“He’s the opposition. We have to win a hockey game.”
As the season comes to a close in a few weeks, Lind may see his season continue in the Nashville Predators system. He was a second-round pick by the Preds in the 2023 NHL Draft and is signed by the club.
“They’ve been in contact with me, but we’ll see what happens. Our goal is to make the playoffs and go from there.”
