Now former head coach of the Red Deer Rebels, Derrick Walser. (Red Deer Rebels)

By Josh Hall | @Vancan19

DAVE STRUCH TO TAKE OVER

Rebels fire coach after 7-5 loss and WHL Playoffs looming

Mar 2, 2024 | 9:51 AM

The Red Deer Rebels lost 7-5 Friday night, and then parted ways with their head coach.

The team announced late Friday that Derrick Walser is no longer with the club.

Dave Struch has been named interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

President and GM Brent Sutter called the decision difficult, but said that the play on the ice has been inconsistent and below expectations this season.

“After meeting following our game tonight, we mutually agreed that in the best interests of our players and on-ice performance, we needed to make a change,” said Sutter.

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“We want to thank Derrick for his contributions to the Rebels. He’s a good man with an exceptional work ethic that will serve him well going forward.”

Walser came in as coach last July and led the team to a record of 30-22-2-6 to sit third in the Central Division and a virtual lock for the WHL playoffs with eight games remaining on the 2023/24 schedule.

The 45-year-old came to Red Deer from the Peterborough Petes of the OHL where’s he’d been an assistant coach since 2017, helping to guide the Petes to a league championship and Memorial Cup appearance in 2022-23.

Struch, 53, served as hockey director at Notre Dame College in Wilcox, SK this past season. He played four seasons in the Western Hockey League for the Saskatoon Blades before embarking on a 14-season professional career. He has five years of head coaching experience in the WHL with Saskatoon and Regina, and 12 years as an assistant coach with Saskatoon, Regina, and Everett.

Struch was drafted in the ninth round of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by Calgary, and played four games with the Flames during the 1993/94 season.

The team plays tonight at home versus Calgary with a 7 p.m. puck drop. The broadcast can be heard live on 106.7 REWIND Radio.