Rebels head coach Dave Struch. (Red Deer Rebels/ Donovan Wagner)

By Ian Gustafson

Future Outlook

Rebels head coach Dave Struch hopes to see continued growth from young talent

Mar 28, 2025 | 1:32 PM

As WHL Playoffs begin on Friday, the Red Deer Rebels are disappointed they won’t be a part of it.

As hard as it may be, Rebels head coach Dave Struch said the team should use it as fuel heading into next year.

“[We’re] developing a young leadership core with a good start with Josephson as the captain,” he said.

“With these young guys, the added skill, hockey sense, and the work ethic they got this year, I mean they got to play. They got an opportunity most guys didn’t get in this league because of the injuries. I think moving forward with that it’ll be good moving forward.”

Leadership, preparation, and an understanding of how to improve their overall game after a down year were the main messages Struch relayed to his team earlier this week.

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As the Red Deer Rebels season came to an end late last week, they completed individual exit meetings before heading their opposite ways for the summer on Monday.

“It’s disappointing to not go through what we went through last year. We had some success in a short period of time, and we hope to get back to that again,” said Struch who was hired shortly before the playoffs in 2024.

“Again, I go back to the group that’s in the room, young guys that get to take over and provide the next standard moving forward, get back to the playoffs, and win some hockey.”

During their 13-game losing streak that spanned from December through January, Struch explained their young players got a lot of ice time, which was good for their development. Through that tough stretch the older players, he said, kept the dressing room together, which was important when they went through adversity.

They saw the most change at the trade deadline when management overhauled the roster trading away the likes of Matteo Fabrizi, Hunter Mayo, and Carson Birnie to name a few, all of whom were leaders on the team.

Red Deer also had injuries to some of their top players who were out of the lineup for extended periods of time.

Kalan Lind missed just under half of the season. Meanwhile, Jhett Larson and captain Ollie Josephson both missed 20 games.

Import forward Kasper Pikkarainen, who was released from the team, missed all but one game with a knee-injury, which required significant surgery.

In those stretches other players had to step up.

“We went through [the trade deadline] with those guys being injured, so we never even saw a full practice until we got the injured guys back with the new guys in the trades,” Struch said.

“We put together something good in the last 20 games when we got things in place, and they built some chemistry, and started to win some hockey games.”

When asked how the team is positioned heading into next season, Struch said it’s hard to tell at this point but liked what he saw from some of the younger players who will have increased roles next year.

Those players watched and learned daily habits from leaders on the team and will need to be ready to take the next leap.

“They talked about players they watched along the way this year and when they take ownership as a young group, we get to start the next year on time,” he said. “Those guys now take ownership of the new set of leaders… You look at a captain like Ollie Josephson, his daily habits are NHL level and his work ethic on the ice, these guys have somebody special to follow.”

As for whether Struch will be back or not, that will be up to owner Brent Sutter. However, Struch certainly has a desire to return.

The Rebels accumulated a healthy number of draft picks this season though, which could benefit them down the road or by moving them to acquire a player.

Struch said regardless of what the team looks like heading into the 2025-26 camp they’ll continue to play their brand of hockey, which is hard to play against.

“You talk about the asset of playing with a competitive edge, that’s what being a Red Deer Rebel is,” he said.

“You know it from the Sutter’s watching them as a youngster growing up. That’s what this team is and that’s what it’s going to be forever.”

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