Thurston’s game continues to grow in push for roster spot
When the Red Deer Rebels selected Derek Thurston in the sixth round of the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft, associate general manager Shaun Sutter described the defenceman as a smart player with a hint of a mean streak.
“He’s a guy we wanted to take a chance on because he’s a guy who’s going to find a way,” Sutter said at the time.
Flash forward close to two years (the 2021 draft was held in December of that year due to the pandemic) and it appears that Thurston has indeed found a way.
The 17-year-old rearguard from Delta, BC, has looked right at home in main camp at the Peavey Mart Centrium and could very well be on the Rebels’ opening night roster later this month.
“When we drafted him we liked him,” Sutter said Sunday. “That ’06 (players birth year) draft was a different draft but right away at training camp last year he did very well.
“We talked about signing out of camp and then he went and played for the U18 (prep) team at Delta (Hockey Academy. They had a very good team and we thought he was their best defenceman.
“Their coach, Milan Dragicevic, spoke real highly of him.”
Thurston, five-foot-eight and 126 pounds when drafted, scored four goals and recorded 20 points and 38 penalty minutes in 33 games with the Delta HA U18 squad last winter while gaining size and strength.
“I feel much better at camp this year,” Thurston said Sunday. “I’ve gotten bigger and stronger and I’m more confident in my game overall.”
Thurston, who now checks in at roughly six-foot-one and 181 pounds, is comfortable handling and transporting the puck and has no problem with playing the body.
“I’m more like a two way puck mover but I’m not afraid to use my physicality as well,” he said.
“He’s a smart player who’s got some edge to him and he’s real steady, so I think he’ll fit well with our team,” said Sutter, whom the Rebels signed to a standard player agreement last November.
Thurston, whose older brother Trevor played in the WHL with the Kamloops Blazers, Lethbridge Hurricanes and Prince Albert Raiders from 2019 to 2022 and will suit up with the Reading Royals of the ECHL this season, followed his draft selection with a solid showing with the Delta U16 prep team in the 2021-22 campaign.
That season Thurston racked up 36 points, including 12 goals, to finish tied among Canadian Sports Schools Hockey League defencemen in scoring and was named the top blueliner in his division.
Clearly, he continued to grow his game last winter.
“He’s a real solid player, he’s steady and reliable. He makes good plays and he plays hard,” said Sutter.
“He’s one of those trustworthy guys who can eat minutes.”
Thurston said the feedback from the Rebels coaching staff in camp has been on the plus side.
“What I’ve heard is pretty positive . . . just play my game and see what happens,” he said. “I’m just here this week to play my game in camp and hopefully that’s good enough.”
