Sutter: Goaltending remains position of strength after Kelsey trade
Something had to give.
Running with three goaltenders seldom, if ever, goes well in the long run. The Red Deer Rebels had three on their active roster this season and on Monday reduced it to two by dealing Kyle Kelsey to the Tri-City Americans.
“It was a situation where we couldn’t go on forever with three goalies,” said Rebels owner/president/GM Brent Sutter, who in return for the 19-year-old received a fourth round selection in next year’s WHL Prospects Draft and a second round pick in 2025. “We had to get down to two.
“We waited for the right time to do it and it worked out. It was just a matter of being patient and working through it.
“At some point some team was going to want Kyle Kelsey and it worked out for Tri-City and for the kid.”
The deal leaves the Rebels with 18-year-old Rhett Stoesser and 17-year-old Chase Wutzke as the guardians of their crease.
Kelsey, the WHL’s Goaltender of the Week in early October and a standout in Friday’s 2-1 win over the visiting Portland Winterhawks with 35 saves, was an appealing trade chip.
And yet, Sutter insisted the Maple Ridge, B.C., product wasn’t necessarily the goaltender that would be moved.
“We weren’t fully sure which guy it was going to be, we just let things play out,” he said. “We were going to be very comfortable with whichever two we were going to keep.
“We were comfortable with all three. They have all played well for us.”
Kelsey was in his second season with the Rebels after being acquired from the Moose Jaw Warriors in May of last year. He posted a 21-11-2 record in 2022-23 with a goals-against average of 2.64 and save percentage of .907, and was 7-2-1 in the playoffs with numbers of 2.36 and .912.
Kelsey was 2-3-0-1 in six starts this season with a 2.49 GAA and a save percentage of .917.
“I have nothing but positive things to say about ‘Kels’,” said Sutter. “He played well and he got along with his teammates. He was a good team guy.
“He made himself better through last year and into this season and developed into a No. 1 goalie. And yet we feel like we had three of them. We were dealing from an area of strength throughout it all and we’re very comfortable with the two guys we have.
“This gives Kyle a chance to be closer to home and he’s going to a pretty decent team.
“At the end of the day we knew this was the price we had to get for our goaltender, it was just a matter of patience and time and it worked out. Timing is everything and the timing was to make something happen by the weekend.”
Meanwhile, the Rebels will know more through the week about the severity of the upper body injury suffered by top six forward Kalan Lind in Saturday’s 7-4 loss at Calgary. Lind was helped off the ice and didn’t return after being checked into the boards from behind by Hitmen defenceman Aleksey Chichkin, who was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct.
“We’re hoping it’s not as significant as we first thought,” said Sutter. “We’ll know more probably over the next 48 hours.
“At this point, if we were playing a game tomorrow night he wouldn’t be able to play. We’ll see what happens over the next couple of days, if he feels better and if the swelling goes down.”
The Rebels will head west Thursday on a five-game BC Division jaunt starting Friday at Kamloops.
