(Inset of Brent Sutter: Red Deer Rebels)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

optimistic for 2023/24

Rebels’ GM Brent Sutter: Next season is about getting back in the saddle

May 2, 2023 | 5:13 PM

Red Deer Rebels owner, president and general manager, Brent Sutter, believes he can pinpoint where the tables turned on the team before their upending of a second round exit from the WHL Playoffs.

Despite losing the series to Saskatoon after being up three games to none — a fate only two teams in WHL history had suffered before — Sutter still relishes in the fact the club had such a great regular season, finishing top three in the Eastern Conference, and holding onto the Central Division lead all season.

Their record-breaking 15-0 start put the Rebels in the proverbial driver’s seat, he says, adding that the team handled the playoffs really well, even up to their final minutes.

“Playoffs, it’s a different animal. In the second round, our first three games were really good, and not just in the sense we were up 3-0, but the way we played; we were disciplined and our specialty teams held good momentum,” says Sutter, speaking to media a few days after team exit interviews.

“The turning point for me was in game four; halfway through, we had a four-minute power play, and could’ve gone up 3-0 in the game, yet our first unit really struggled on it. The Blades got momentum, we had some system breakdowns, they won game four and it gave them life.”

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Sutter notes the Blades had a better regular season, even though Red Deer got higher seeding in the first round by virtue of winning the Division.

“At the end of the day, that’s a really good team we played,” he says. “They finished several points ahead of us, and I thought our season was exceptional. They didnt need many scoring chances, they just made the most of scoring chances.”

One thing Sutter, who’s owned the team since purchasing it in 1999, won’t do is empty the cupboards in order to load up.

That’s what Seattle and Kamloops did this season, in advance of runs at a WHL title and a berth in the Memorial Cup — something the Blazers are guaranteed as hosts, but want to win instead of just getting there.

The Blazers traded away their next several years, Sutter says, when they dealt four players and 10 draft picks — including four first rounders — to Everett for two players — namely star 19-year-old Olen Zellwegger (32G, 48A, 80P, 55GP), back in January.

For Sutter, it’s something he simply won’t do, opting instead to look internally for players to grow and take their game multiple levels higher.

“I do know our strengths going into next season. I know goaltending should be very good, our defense should be very good, and we’re going to have some good 19-year-old defensemen. We have a good core of young players, but those players have to take the next step this summer, and that means getting stronger and quicker,” says Sutter.

“I want our transition game to be better, I want our discipline to get better, but you still build your team from within and work from within to see what your needs might be. The core of your team is a group you’ve developed from within.”

This season, Red Deer was the second most penalized team in the WHL with 987 minutes spent in the sin bin, behind just Kelowna’s 1,006. That works out to 14.5 minutes per game, and is something Sutter says the team must clean up in order to be successful.

“I think we’re going to be really competitive next year, at least we should be. We have to have a good training camp, a good off-season, and we have be very fit and well-conditioned, which we always have been, Sutter says, adding that he’s really pleased with the work of Head Coach Steve Konowalchuk.

“A 16-year-old like Ollie Josephson, even though he had a great year, he should be that much better next year. Kalan Lind is going to a different level next year, and the only way it can happen though is those kids getting stronger. Kalan Lind is only 160 pounds, Talon Brigley is only 160 pounds. Would you like them to be 175, 180? Yeah, but they’re genetics aren’t allowing them to be that right now, and those kids work out pretty hard.”

As for player exit interviews, disappointment from them wasn’t as apparent as you’d think, says Sutter, saying this generation has a short memory and ability not to dwell.

“It’s disappointing we let it get away on us, but it does happen when you play good teams, give them the momentum, and they hold serve; you’re trying to fight for that back, but we never seemed to have an answer,” he says.

“Overall, I thought our year was a really good season. Did it end the way we would’ve wanted? Absolutely not. We’re all disappointed. But I’m not going to sit around and be critical. The disappointment is there, but you have to get back up in the saddle and get going again.”

READ MORE: Rebels coach and players reflect on season after historic loss