By Troy Gillard

meet the new guy

King excited to bring his talents to Rebels

Nov 12, 2019 | 2:12 PM

The Red Deer Rebels have high hopes for their newest player.

GM/head coach Brent Sutter feels the addition of 17-year-old forward Ben King is big for not only this season, but beyond.

“He’s like a foundation piece for us,” Sutter told Cam Moon on 106.7 The Drive last Friday.

“I’m a big believer that if you’re not strong down the middle it makes it tough. We only have this year, with (Brett) Davis and (Jayden) Grubbe, two natural centre icemen that are capable of playing down the middle on a consistent basis at this level,” he noted.

“He’s (King) a big guy that can play centre ice, good skill set (and a) good skater. He’s like all young players in that he still has lots to learn, but there’s such a great upside, a potential to him.”

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King, a solid presence at 6’2″ and 190 pounds, is excited for the opportunity to live up to those expectations.

“I had a bit of an idea (but) I was kind of shocked that it was the Red Deer Rebels who got me,” the Vernon, BC native said of last Thursday’s trade. “But I’m super happy to be here and just thrilled to get things going.”

He added, “They just want me to be a good role player and a good centre for years to come. They’re just trying to make a group here for us to win in a couple years, and I think we’ve got that going, so it should be fun.”

“I think everyone knows what we’re trying to do with these young kids,” Sutter acknowledged. “We have a lot of them on our team, they’re playing in key situations, and they’re playing a lot and learning a lot. Hopefully, over time, through the process, they’ll be rewarded as far as the win-loss column.”

King, who was Swift Current’s leading scorer prior to being traded to Red Deer, is confident he can help with that.

“I think my vision and my playmaking on the ice, and my two-way play I try really hard to be good at both ends of the ice. You’ll see that out there from me,” he said. ““We’re really young, but we’ve got a tight group of guys and I think if we play our game and play hard we’ll win a lot of games and surprise teams.”

The Rebels gave up a sizeable haul (Carter Saleski, Jordan Borysiuk, prospect Parker Lalonde, 15, and a third round pick in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft) to acquire King, who takes that as a pretty big compliment.

“It’s pretty humbling, for sure. Clearly they see a lot in me, which is awesome.”

King is eligible for the 2020 NHL Draft and feels his move to Red Deer helps his stock in that regard.

“Being here will really help me with that and just developing as a player.”

King wore number 16 in his first two games with the Rebels but will be switching to his favoured number 14 starting this weekend when the Rebels host Medicine Hat on Friday and Brandon on Saturday at the Westerner Park Centrium (7 p.m. game times).