Red Deer Rebels' Jayden Grubbe and Edmonton Oil Kings' Jaxsen Wiebe at the Peavey Mart Centrium on April 2. (Red Deer Rebels/Rob Wallator)

By Alessia Proietti

First game May 5

Rebels head into second round playoff series with Oil Kings as underdogs

May 4, 2022 | 5:00 PM

The Red Deer Rebels may be the underdogs against the Edmonton Oil Kings in the next round of the WHL playoffs but they aren’t seeing that as a bad thing.

“It just goes to show that we’re going to play a really desperate game. We’re putting all our cards on the table, we’re not going to sit back and let them push us. We’re going to try and push them and do whatever we can to get the wins,” said Liam Keeler, playing centre for the team.

The Rebels finished their first round playoff series successfully over the weekend, defeating the Brandon Wheat Kings in six games. Game six was won 5-4 in triple overtime. Driving back to Brandon for the longest game in Rebels’ franchise history on Sunday, Keeler says it was a learning experience for the team.

Ben King, second in WHL point leaders behind dynamic duo partner Arshdeep Bains, holding 105 and 112 points respectively, says everyone contributed for the team.

“That was one of the hardest fought battles in the whole league in the first round so I think it might help us going into Edmonton,” said King, also a centreman.

Last seen March 31

Missing: Eugenie Headman, 66, of Maskwacis

Apr 04, 2026

mayor hopes to meet housing minister this month

Alberta demands Ottawa back off on housing funding stripped from Red Deer

Apr 02, 2026

Last seen Jan. 15

Missing: Courtney Cattleman, 17, of Maskwacis

Apr 02, 2026

On the other hand, the Edmonton Oil Kings swept the Lethbridge Hurricanes in four games for their first round playoff series.

The Oil Kings finished first in the WHL’s Central Division this season and second in the Eastern Conference, with 104 points and a record of 50-14-3-1, behind only the Winnipeg Ice who finished with 111 points.

Not far behind, the Rebels finished second in the Central Division and third in the Eastern Conference, with 94 points and a record of 45-19-2-2.

“Everybody’s picked to win the league. They [Edmonton] traded an awful lot to give themselves the best chance so we’re expecting a real good team and we got to be ready,” said Rebels coach Steve Konowalchuk.

In 10 regular season games against each other, the Rebels won half, three of which being on home ice, earning themselves 10 points. Two of Edmonton’s losses were in overtime, earning them two extra points.

But that feeling of being the underdog is what both the coach and team say may be to their advantage.

“Obviously, Edmonton has a lot of pressure on them being a top team and we kind of have that underdog mentality that we’re coming to play our best game and show them what we can do,” said Keeler.

Having been drafted by the Oil Kings in 2016, Keeler says he still has kept in touch with the team and made friends with the players, potentially being able to pass along some of that intel to his teammates.

Both Keeler and King say their team will be playing the way they have all year, with a focus on forechecking, strong defense, playing physical and wearing down their opponents.

Konowalchuk says the Rebels will head into the second round against the Oil Kings to play hard and have fun at the same time.

“They [Edmonton] definitely have one goal in mind and I think for them anything less than a championship would be disappointing but it doesn’t mean that our guys aren’t going to go out and compete,” he said.

After all, who doesn’t love it when the underdog wins?

The Rebels will play their first game in the WHL playoffs against the Oil Kings on Thursday, May 5 at Rogers Place. Puck-drop is at 7 p.m. with the broadcast live on 106.7 REWIND Radio.