(Red Deer Rebels/ Taylor Lachance)

By Ian Gustafson

Friday and Saturday

Five Red Deer Rebels could be picked at the 2025 NHL Entry Draft

Jun 27, 2025 | 9:00 AM

Five Red Deer Rebels players are hoping to hear their names called at the 2025 NHL Entry Draft this weekend.

The draft, which takes place in Los Angeles, will start off with round one on Friday night at 5 p.m. mountain time followed by rounds two through seven on Saturday.

Five Red Deer Rebels players are draft eligible this year including forwards Matthew Gard, Jaxon Fuder, and Ty Coupland, as well as defencemen Luke Vlooswyk and Derek Thurston.

Last year, Rebels goaltender Chase Wutzke (Minnesota Wild) and captain Ollie Josephson (Seattle Kraken) were selected.

Forward Matthew Gard is ranked the highest at 37th among North American Skaters in NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings.

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Last season, the 18-year-old from Winnipeg, Man. notched a career-high 19 goals and 17 assists for 36 points in 66 games.

Meantime, forward Jaxon Fuder is ranked 125th among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings.

The 19-year-old from Cold Lake, Alta. joined the Rebels early in the regular season last year from the BCHL and it didn’t take him long to start contributing. He finished the 2024-25 campaign with 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points in 46 games.

Defenceman Luke Vlooswyk is ranked 72nd among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings.

The 18-year-old Calgarian made a big impression in his rookie campaign in the WHL last season scoring three goals and 14 assists for 17 points in 68 games. He was also one of four players on the roster who posted a positive plus/ minus on the ice.

His defensive partner Derek Thurston was also one of those four players. The 19-year-old from Delta, B.C. is ranked 163rd among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings.

Thurston racked up nine goals and 13 assists for 22 points in 67 games during his second season with the Rebels in the 2024-25 campaign.

Finally, forward Ty Coupland was ranked by NHL Central Scouting early on but was left unranked in the final report.

However, the 19-year-old from North Vancouver, B.C. could still see his name called after scoring six goals and nine assists for 15 points in 30 games with the Rebels last season. Before he was traded to Red Deer at the deadline in January, he had 21 points in 35 games with the Swift Current Broncos.