Thurston continues to impress with consistency
By DANNY RODE
Derek Thurston knew he had to change his game slightly once he was drafted by the Red Deer Rebels out of the Delta Hockey Academy.
During his minor league days he was an offensive defenceman, scoring 12 goals and 24 assists in 33 games during the 2021-22 season with the U16 Prep team and then adding four goals and 16 helpers in 33 games in a season with the U18 squad.
“I had a little bit of offence coming up (the ranks), but once I got into the (WHL) and worked my way up I tried to build my defence up,” said the six-foot-one, 190-pound native of Delta, B.C.
He’s done just that. Thurston posted a plus-four rating during his rookie season last year with the Rebels. This year it’s even more impressive, leading the team with a plus-12 rating.
“I try to work on that as best as I can,” he added.
Thurston sees himself as a player “hard to play against, with a solid defensive style and able to make good passes out of defensive zone.”
Derek also scored his first WHL goal last weekend at Portland and has five assists this year after picking up just one point in 41 games last year.
His overall play as impressed head coach Dave Struch.
“He’s been one of our most improved guys since I’ve been here,” said Struch, who joined the Rebels in March. “We’re really excited for him. He still makes mistakes, but those mistakes are from trying to do the right things. He plays a hard, physical game, which he has to do.
“He’s involved … invested and as far as consistency goes. He’s one of our most consistent and reliable players.”
Derek was drafted by the Rebels in the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft in the sixth-round, 112th overall.
He admitted he knew very little about the Rebels at the time.
He thought about Vancouver as a potential draft destination, or even Spokane, a team his dad, Brent, played for along with the Victoria Cougars, back in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Brent is now an assistant coach with the Delta Academy.
Derek always wanted to play in the WHL, following in the footsteps of his father and his brother, Trevor, who played for Kamloops, Lethbridge and Prince Albert and his now with the Birmingham Bulls of the SPHL.
“The Western League was where I wanted to play as my brother and dad played,” he said.
His rookie season and early this season Thurston found himself paired with younger players. Of late he’s been alongside veteran Hunter Mayo.
“I think it gives me even more confidence playing with another older D-man,” he said.
Struch feels he deserves the added ice time, playing with one of the Rebels top offensive defencemen.
“He’s a big part of our lineup and he’s moved himself up in the lineup. He’s been playing a lot of late with Hunter Mayo and as a reliable, hard to play against defenceman it puts him in positions to play against the other team’s top lines, not all the time but a lot of the time, because he takes ownership of his game.”
While Thurston continues to work on being the best he can be in the defensive zone, he’s also looking to add more offence.
“That’s one of my goals,” he said. “I’m trying to get more opportunities and build on my defence as well.”
Struch believes Thurston has the offensive abilities he showed in minor hockey.
“He has it for sure. It’s coming. He’s a year older and with his maturity he gets more opportunities. A lot of guys during their development go through the motions, but right now Derek is taken it upon himself to learn from different situations in the game.
“As much as we do with those guys behind closed door, with video and practice, he’s learning a lot from his experience in the games and it’s really helped in his development.”
Like everyone in the league his ultimate goal would be to be to play professionally.
But he also knows to get there he needs to get bigger, faster, stronger.
“I’ll continue to build towards that,” he concluded.
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On the heels of two trades this week that saw forward Jeramiah Roberts and goalie Rhett Stoesser head to new destinations, the Rebels announced another roster move on Frida.
The club has added affiliated player Dmitri Toporowski, who could be in the lineup as early as Saturday when the Rebels host the Victoria Royals at 7 p.m. at the Peavey Mart Centrium.
Toporowski, an 18-year-defenceman from Shrewsburg, MA, was selected in the first round of the 2021 WHL U.S. Prospects Draft by Prince Albert.
He never got into a game with the Raiders. This season he played two games with the Melfort Mustangs of the SJHL before being traded to the La Ronge Ice Wolves.
In 16 games with La Ronge he had three goals and six assists and 50 PIM.
Toporowski’s dad (Shayne), uncle (Kerry), and cousins Luke and Jake have all played in the WHL.
