Chase Wutzke (left) and Ollie Josephson (right) with the Red Deer Rebels during the 2023-24 season. (Red Deer Rebels)

By Josh Hall | @Vancan19

a day they've long awaited

Rebels’ Josephson and Wutzke get names called at NHL Draft

Jun 29, 2024 | 4:52 PM

A pair of Red Deer Rebels were picked at the 2024 NHL Draft on Saturday.

Forward Ollie Josephson (4th round, #105) becomes part of the Seattle Kraken system, while goaltender Chase Wutzke (5th round, #142) joins the Minnesota Wild.

“The plan going forward is just to keep doing what I’m doing, [which is] working hard and taking every day as another day to get better,” Wutzke told the WHL from the Sphere in Las Vegas.

“I feel definitely [that] my speed was something that increased, and my confidence too — it shot up a lot when I was playing in Red Deer. Knowing I was our main guy in Red Deer helped my confidence going into the draft.”

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Wutzke, who is Métis, also spoke about inspiring Indigenous youth.

“It’s huge. You don’t see very many [Indigenous players] now [in the NHL],” he said. “When there are guys like myself who prove they can do it, it helps the culture and [helps] people drive to get higher in their athletics.”

In the 2023-24 season, the almost 18-year-old Wutzke posted a record of 19-10-2-2, including one shutout, in 36 games played. He had a GAA of 2.82 and a .904 SV%.

Josephson, who turns 18 in July, was second in Rebels scoring with 12 goals and 35 assists for 47 points in 68 games.

The Victoria, B.C. native also won gold in early May at the U18 World Championship in Finland.

Both Wutzke and Josephson are slated to be back with the Rebels come September.

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