Rebels owner Brent Sutter hopes for stronger second half

One of the team’s leaders, 20-year-old forward Jhett Larson, hasn’t played since the end of November with an upper-body injury.

They’ve also had injuries to other important players throughout the year who have since returned including Kalan Lind who’s only appeared in 13 games. Captain Ollie Josephson also missed some time.

These injuries have happened to key players who are expected to lead the team in multiple ways. Despite that, Sutter isn’t making excuses for his team.

“There’s guys who’ve played okay and some guys haven’t played as well as they need to play,” he said.

“The injuries certainly have something to do with that because guys were brought into situations where they’ve been overwhelmed… You’re also putting them in situations where you’re maybe setting them up to fail too and that’s because of the injury situation.”

Earlier in the season, the Rebels traded goaltender Rhett Stoesser and forwards Evan Smith and Jeramiah Roberts. This, along with injuries, has led the coaching staff to rely on younger players including three 16-year-olds and five 17-year-olds, many of which are still getting their first taste of the WHL.

“We just haven’t really found our identity yet and we’ve had a hard time translating our practice habits into games,” Sutter added.

“There’s a lot of differences why but all in all it’s been a tough year that way to really get a feel for what the team is like.”

Sutter said it’s highly unlikely fans will get to see Pikkarainen play this season. The Finnish forward suited up in one game in October and has yet to be back in a Rebels uniform ever since. The 18-year-old was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft and was expected to bring plenty of physical play and scoring to Red Deer.

Sutter said Pikkarainen is a player that is hard to replace with what he was expected to bring to the team.

The good news is Jhett Larson, who has 11 points in 24 games, is expected to return to the lineup in February.

The Rebels owner urges his team to be as good as they can be in the present and looks forward to the future as the kids continue to improve their game.

“With some guys as you get older there’s more accountability and you expect more from the group. You expect more from individual play and the players just haven’t lived up to those expectations,” he said.

“I have a right and the organization has a right to expect that. Right, wrong, or different that’s the way I feel. We need individuals to be better and to have a good second half that struggled in the first half.”

For the rest of the season, he hopes to see an improvement in their overall consistency in team play and in who they are as a group.

“We know we’ve had a tough time scoring goals but there’s a reason for that… We’re still positive in this group and believe we can get ourselves through but we’ve got to get healthy and we need more from individuals. If we do that, we’ll be fine,” Sutter said.

“We can’t wait for that to come, it’s got to happen now and start working towards where we get the max out of every player.”

With the trade deadline fast approaching on Thursday, Jan. 9, Sutter is keeping an open mind when it comes to trades.

“I’m not sitting here saying something’s going to happen or not happen,” he said.

“I want to see where our team’s at, I want to see us healthy, and performing at a level I know we can play at… I still believe in this group and still believe we can figure this out but we need to get working on it right now.”

by Ian Gustafson

Rebels owner Brent Sutter hopes for stronger second half

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