Wutzke plenty confident following great week
Western Hockey League Goaltender of the Week. Has a nice ring to it.
“It’s great to get some recognition from the league and now that I’m playing more often it feels good to start getting some eyes on me,” Red Deer Rebels twine tender Chase Wutzke said Tuesday, one day after being anointed as the league’s top netminder for the week ending Dec. 10.
The 17-year-old native of Debden, Sask., was 2-0-0-0 in his two starts with a goals-against average of 0.88 and a save percentage of .970.
Wutzke stopped all eight shots he faced in a relief appearance in Brandon, held the Moose Jaw Warriors to a single goal in a win the following night, then did the same in Prince Albert on Saturday, blocking 35 shots in that one. He was named first star in both Moose Jaw and Prince Albert.
It was a comforting feeling for Wutzke while playing in his home province.
“The road games were like hometown games for me, it was definitely cool to be in front of my family and friends,” he said. “It was definitely cool seeing everybody, seeing them make signs for you in the warmup.
“It was nice to be able to go back home and play in front of your hometown crowds.”
With his impressive showing last week, Wutzke improved his season stats in nine appearances to a 2.61 GAA and .911 save percentage.
Clearly, he’s on a roll.
“I’ve been kind of going into every game with the mindset that it’s just a new game and you never know what’s going to happen,” he said.
“Confidence has played a big role. Now that I’ve seen what I can do in the league it’s been a big confidence booster for sure.”
Selected by the Rebels in round two, 40th overall at the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft, Wutzke played most of the past two seasons with the U18 AAA Saskatoon Contacts. He appeared in three games with Red Deer in 2021-22 — posting a 2-0-1 record — and four more last season.
Wutzke posted numbers of 2.16 and .922 — with a win-loss slate of 10.5-0 — in 22 regular season gave with Contacts last winter and was 1-3-0 in the playoffs with a 2.58 GAA and .914 save percentage.
He checked into training camp knowing the Rebels had two experienced stoppers in Stoesser and Kyle Kelsey. Once Stoesser fully recovered from his knee surgery last February, the team had one too many goaltenders in the stable.
As a result, the Rebels dealt Kelsey to the Tri-City Americans in late October, placing their faith in Stoesser and Wutzke.
“It’s been huge. Kind of going into camp knowing there are three goalies coming in and not knowing what’s going on and who’s going to be getting moved . . . that’s been a huge confidence booster too — knowing that they can trust me and Rhett,” said Wutzke, who shares a special friendship with his crease mate.
“Me and Stoess are really good buddies. We’re both farm boys so it’s kind of cool that way,” said Wutzke. “Me and Rhett are pretty calm guys, we don’t have much that we do before games. Me and him do the same thing — we play a little bit of sewer and that’s about it.”
The six-foot-two, 161-pound netminder added to his impressive stats last week when he recorded his first ever WHL point, an assist on Dwayne Jean Jr.’s goal in a 5-1 win at Moose Jaw.
“That was pretty cool. I got a lucky bounce off my blocker into the guy and we scored off it,” said Wutzke.
The first-year WHL stopper credits Rebels netminder coach Ian Gordon for much of his development.
“Gordo has been amazing. I’ve worked with him for a very long time, even before I was a part of the Rebels,” he said. “He’s been a big help to me. He’s been great.”
Gordon returned the compliments.
“Chase has a great technical base. His foundation of goaltending is really, really strong,” Gordon said Tuesday.
“This is his first year in the league. He’s had games before so there have been some learning lessons along the way. He’s learning how tough the league is. There are small margins for error but he’s really given us some good games this year.”
Gordon, who worked for the Seattle Thunderbirds prior to joining the Rebels in 2021, was introduced to Wutzke several years ago by Thunderbirds goalie Roddy Ross.
“They knew each other and got us connected,” shared Gordon. “I got to work with him at a younger age and continued that relationship before we drafted him.
“It helped having some knowledge of him as a kid before I was scouting for the Rebels. It probably did help our position but both Shaun (Rebels associate GM Sutter) and I had recognized that this was the goalie we wanted to draft.”
The Rebels are 7-3-0-0 in their last 10 outings heading into a meeting with the Hitmen Wednesday in Calgary. Wutzke credited the team’s strong defensive play for the recent success.
“The boys on the back end, even all five guys on the ice, have been really good,” he said. “They’ve been cleaning guys out from in front of the net and letting us see the puck. It’s been good.”
Notable: Wutzke helped Team Canada Red earn a silver medal in the 2022 World U17 Hockey Challenge and also suited up for Team Saskatchewan in the 2021 WHL Cup. In his last four outings Wutzke has a sparkling .956 save percentage and 1.13 goals against average . . . Kalan Lind and Jeramiah Roberts remain on the Rebels’ injury list, both day-to-day with upper body ailments. Fellow forward Carson Latimer is out indefinitely with a lower body injury . . . Stoesser (Nov. 20) and Kelsey (Oct. 10) were named WHL Goaltender of the Week earlier this season . . . The Rebels close out the pre-Christmas portion of their schedule with home games versus the Swift Current Broncos Thursday and Regina Pats Saturday. Central Alberta Co-op is encouraging Rebels fans to bring donations for the Red Deer Food Bank Thursday. Food items or cash will be warmly accepted. Fans who make a donation will be eligible to win some great door prizes . . .
The Rebels Team Store will be open next week for in-person shopping on Dec. 18, 19 and 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. before closing for the holiday season. Online orders (link at reddeerrebels.com) to be shipped prior to Christmas must be made by 2 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 18. Orders made after that will be processed Wednesday, Dec. 27. Orders for shipping will be processed until noon on Monday, Dec. 18, then shipped that afternoon. Call the Rebels office for more information at 403-341-6000.
