Rebels moving on from Zaytsev, Sass off to Tri-City

The Red Deer Rebels are moving on from Oleg Zaytsev.

Rebels GM/head coach Brent Sutter tells Greg Meachem in an article on the team’s website that they are no longer expecting the Russian forward to be back for a second season in Red Deer.

Zaytsev was honoured as the Rebels’ Rookie of the Year after posting 13 goals and 43 points in 66 games in 2018-19. He played in the CHL-NHL Top Prospects Game at the Westerner Park Centrium in January but was not selected in this year’s NHL Draft.

The Rebels enter the new season with just one import player on their roster, Finnish defenceman Christoffer Sedoff, whom they selected in the 2019 CHL Import Draft.