Rebels select Finnish defenceman, stay patient with Zaytsev
The Red Deer Rebels made one selection at the 2019 CHL Import Draft on Thursday, taking 17-year-old Finnish defenceman Christoffer Sedoff at 25th overall.
The left-shooting rearguard from Helsinki is listed at six-feet tall and 184 pounds and has played for his country at the U16, U17 and U18 levels, including at last year’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
“He is a smart player, a competitive player, a guy who advances the puck well. He can be a hard guy to play against and be aggressive. He’s not a guy who the coach is going to have to push,” explains Shaun Sutter, Rebels Asst. GM.
“The nice thing about him being a player from Finland is he’s very adjusted to the North American style. Obviously, he’s used to playing on bigger ice, but just in terms of the way he plays we’re confident, even though he’s only 17 and there will be some adjustments with him coming over, that his style of play is going to fit right into the WHL and how we want to play.”