By Troy Gillard

North Central Hockey League

Rustlers round up new talent for year two

Oct 3, 2019 | 7:30 PM

The Red Deer Rustlers are looking to take things up a notch.

In their first year in the North Central Hockey League in 2018-19, the Senior AA squad finished second overall in the regular season and made it to the second round of playoffs.

That early taste of success has the Rustlers hungry for more.

“We’re a lot younger than we were last year,” shares Jonny Li, Rustlers Vice President/Forward.

“Last year we kind of hand-picked a group of guys we thought might want to play Senior AA hockey. This year, having open tryouts definitely opened some new avenues with some new, younger talent.”

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Former WHL, Jr. A, Jr. B and college players all came forward interested in suiting up for the Rustlers this year.

“Lives catch up to us. People get married, people have children, jobs require you to move,” Li noted. “(But) we wanted to compete again at a high level. So we wanted to bring in some new talent, while other guys retired after last year.”

On the ice, the Rustlers made a concerted effort to assemble four solid lines to roll out each game.

Off the ice, the Rustlers are looking to build on the encouraging fan support they received in year one.

“It was pretty incredible, we weren’t sure what to expect.” said Ted Emmett, Rustlers marketing and public relations guru.

“The community really rallied around these – we’ll call them ‘past their prime’ – hockey players. It was great hockey to watch. The atmosphere in Penhold was great with our home opener drawing about 400 fans and then around 200-250 every other game.”

The Rustlers are looking forward to another season of taking on local rivals, including those with new homes following relocations from Eckville to Lacombe and Sylvan Lake to Blackfalds.

“I can tell you from the preseason game with Blackfalds that the rivalry is the same, maybe even more so than it was last year,” Emmett noted. “A bit of a new look and some new/old competition, but I think even more of a fire under these guys now to really go out and compete.”

Scott Odegard is back as head coach for the Rustlers. Colin Christensen and Mike Stickland are also on the staff.

The Rustlers are hosting their annual pub night fundraiser this weekend at Bo’s Bar and Stage. Their home opener goes Saturday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. at the Penhold Multiplex.

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Red Deer Rustlers roster:

Forwards:
Ty Berkholtz*
Braden Corbett*
Mike Dempster ‘C’*
Brennan Francon*
Landon Kletke
Riley Kloss*
Jonny Li ‘A’*
Cory Millette
Justin Moir*
Connor Patchett*
Kyle Pess ‘A’*
Cody Rainaldi
Lane Sim
Taylor Sincennes
Jaret Smith

Defence:
Blake Goehring*
Brody Kalinowski
Keagan Kingwell
Cory Kloss*
Jason Lundmark
Cody Mast
Derek Pess*
Jason Pess*
Derek Ryckman*
Curtis Smith

Goalies:
Aaron Dyck*
Carter Gendreau
Mike Salmon

* Returning player