Continue reading »]]> The 2012 edition of the WHL Bantam Draft has come and gone. The Red Deer Rebels, with the 6th overall selection, snagged another member of the Burnaby Winter Club in choosing forward Adam Musil. Musil is the brother of Vancouver Giant and Edmonton Oilers prospect David Musil, son of longtime NHLer and Oilers’ scout Frank Musil, and nephew of former New Jersey Devil’s sniper Bobby Holik.

Musil was one of FIVE Burnaby Winter Club members selected in the first round of the Bantam Draft. FIVE!! Though, we shouldn’t be that surprised, as this AAA club has had a history of churning out some pretty decent hockey players. Most notably of late, some kid with two last names. Ryan Nugent-something-or-other.

The Rebels official write up on Musil says:

The Red Deer Rebels selected forward Adam Musil with the 6th overall selection of the 2012 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft.  Musil played with the Burnaby Winter Club in 2011-12 scoring 58 goals and 40 assists for 98 points in 60 games.

Want to more about the newest Rebel? Here’s what’s being written around the ‘net.

First, some video on the youngster.

Tyler Neisz, head scout for Western Elite Hockey Prospects Scouting Service says, “Adam Musil is a horse of a forward who perhaps is one of the toughest to play against in this year’s draft crop. He can really control the play down low.”

One scout talked all things draft with THE PIPELINE SHOW on Team 1260 in Edmonton and had this to say about Musil: “Frank’s kid is an exceptional skater for a big power forward. Not fun to play against… very tough”

You can find Adam on Twitter at @moosestar2

Read more on today’s draft here.

Continue reading »]]> Red Deer Rebels Make Ten Bantam Draft Selections

RED DEER, AB – Jesse Wallin, General Manager/Head Coach of the Red Deer Rebels Hockey Club, announced today the team has made 10 picks in today’s Western Hockey League Bantam Draft held in Calgary.  This year’s draft featured players born in 1997.  The 1997 born players will not be eligible to play full time in the WHL until the 2013-14 season.

Name                           Selection                                    Position          Hometown

Adam Musil                 1^st round, 6^th overall                Forward           Burnaby, BC

Taz Burman                 2^nd round, 30^th overall            Goaltender      Vancouver, BC

Austin Strand              3^rd round, 48^th overall              Defence           Calgary, AB

Mason McCarty           4^th round, 69^th overall              Forward           Blackie, AB

Grayson Pawlenchuk   4^th round, 74^th overall           Forward           Ardrossan, AB

Meyer Nell                   5^th round, 96^th overall              Forward           Boissevain, MB

Alexander Winters       6^th round, 118^th overall          Defence           Kamloops, BC

Bo Hanson                  7^th round, 140^th overall            Defence           Boise, ID

Brayden Burke             7^th round, 145^th overall           Forward           Edmonton, AB

Daniel Nault                8^th round, 162^nd overall            Forward           Penticton, BC

Continue reading »]]> So Brent Sutter is unemployed eh?

Well, not really. As long as you own a major junior hockey club, you’ll always have something to come back to, and since the owner of the Red Deer Rebels has now “mutually agreed to part ways” as Head Coach of the Calgary Flames, I guess that means that he’ll have more time to spend at the Enmax Centrium this fall.

I guess that all depends on whether or not another NHL club wants Brent Sutter behind their bench for the upcoming season.

The days of smilin' in Cowtown are OVER!

Let’s make no mistake about it. There was no ‘mutual’ agreement here. The Flames likely weren’t going to offer Brent a new contract, and to that end, I doubt Brent wanted one. Outside of staying in the NHL, I think Sutter’s patience had to be at its wits end, so coming back for another year (especially one of such unknown circumstances in regards to player personnel) probably wasn’t something Brent wanted to do.

Much like Elliotte Friedman did so elegantly well with his “Iginla Act” earlier this week, here’s how I see the conversation went between Sutter and Feaster:

Feaster: Alright Brent…here’s the deal…I really want to bring you back. I REALLY do…but the fans are calling for blood, and I think it’s evident we need to make a change. That said, I need you to tell me why I should bring you back.

Sutter: (leans in) Are you kidding me? How about the fact that I damn near got this team in the playoffs with a glorified AHL team, AND Corey Sarich.

Feaster: I understand that Brent, but…

Sutter: (interrupts) COREY SARICH!!!

Feaster: (sits quiet for a moment) Be that as it MAY…I know that you got as much out of this team as possible, but we’ve had pretty much the same team for the past three seasons, and we haven’t made the playoffs. And all three of those years were under your leadership and bench management. So…if I bring you back, I need to know what your plan is.

Sutter: Did you actually listen to yourself just now? Two years in a row we didn’t make the playoffs and you gave me the SAME team for the third year and was hoping I’d make chicken salad out of chicken shit! (thanks to @troy_gillard for that analogy) I did what I could with this group. Frankly Jay, I did as much as I could.

Feaster: That’s not very convincing Brent. We’re going to be taking a long hard intellectual look at things and…

Sutter: (interrupting, again) You know, I keep hearing you use that word ‘intellectual’…and yet, Anton Babchuk got a two-year extension….TWO! I don’t believe you even know what you’re doing.

Feaster: Listen Brent…I still think there’s enough talent in this organization that we’re only a tweak or two away from being a contender.

Sutter: Oh you DO, do you? (scowls) Are you actually hearing yourself right now?

Feaster: Ken [King] and Murray [Edwards] agree with me as well.

Sutter: I’m sure they do. Hard to figure out most days where you end, and they begin.

Feaster: I beg your pardon?

Sutter: You’re merely a puppet. King’s got his hand so far up your ass, I’m sure he could tickle your uvula with his pinky finger.

Feaster: (flustered) Do you want to come back or not?!

Sutter: Are you trading Jarome?

Feaster: Absolutely not.

Sutter: (throws his hands in the air) DONE!

*****

Okay, so, the conversation between the two may not have been exactly like that. But regardless, it doesn’t matter. The two sides didn’t agree on the future direction of the organization and because of that, Brent will be back on the farm sooner than later, unloading his belongings from his downtown Calgary apartment. (or wherever the hell he lived)

It’s probably best for Sutter anyhow. After three years, how much more can you take? Sometimes you have to know when to move on, and clearly, it wasn’t worth sticking around in Calgary. So the question is, ‘what’s next’?

There are those who immediately wonder if Brent will come back to Red Deer and hop back behind the bench for the Rebels. The answer is 100% ‘NO’. The Rebels are Jesse Wallin’s team, and will continue to be until the day that Jesse decides he no longer wants to do it or is lured away by an NHL coaching position. And make no mistake, that day is coming sooner than later.

Until then, Brent will continue to assist Jesse, as he always does, in preparing for the next Rebels season. Sutter will obviously have more time to lend to the cause, but that’s on the assumption that he won’t get a coaching gig prior to the start of the 2012-2013 season.

This fine broth of a lad isn't going anywhere.

Many have already asked whether or not Brent would take another coaching job in the NHL because he left New Jersey to come home and Calgary was a perfect fit. The answer to that question is, “Yes, if he wants to.” One of the biggest (if not THE biggest) reason Brent wanted to come home was because of personal, family reasons. It’s been widely speculated that Brent wanted to be closer to home while his youngest daughter completed her final year of high school. Whether you believe it or not, there wasn’t a pre-conceived plan to coach in Calgary, but the opportunity presented itself, and it allowed him to coach while being close to family at an important time.

Now that things have evolved on the home front, Brent is really in a position where he could coach wherever the hell he wanted. If the Boston Bruins decide after the playoffs that Claude Julien is no longer their guy, Brent may get a call. And while the East Coast may not be all that attractive being so far from his farm and junior club, the restrictions standing in his way are less and less. Connie could leave her position with the Rebels merchandising department in good hands and go with Brent this time around. With his kids doing their own thing (including Merrick helping to run the Rebs) Sutter has more freedom to sign on with whichever team he’d like.

Whether he does or not remains to be seen, however, I wonder if he’d have any qualms about moving into the 780?

It’s no secret the Edmonton Oilers are trying to decide what they’re going to do with their coaching staff moving forward to next season, with Tom Renney currently flapping in the wind and no idea as to whether he’s coming back. If the Oilers decide they need someone else to come in and take them to the next step, could Brent Sutter be that guy?

Look, I know it’s not exactly kosher to flip-flop allegiances in the Battle of Alberta, but if Steve Smith, Grant Fuhr, Steve Staios and other former Oilers can do it, why can’t a coach? Because of his past experience with the Rebels and Team Canada at the World Juniors, Brent is more than capable of working with younger players and the Oilers have youth by the boatload, with more on the way. Further to that, Brent can bring that element that Renney really doesn’t seem to have, and that’s the ability to really kick a team in the ass when they need it. To be fair, I think Renney does have the capability to be that way, but he really doesn’t showcase it publicly.

If Renney was part of ‘phase one’ for the Oilers rebuild and they’ve decided they want someone else to come in and get the group to the next step, Sutter is a logical choice. He could probably extract a little bit more out of the players on the roster and while he certainly wouldn’t be as popular as Renney, the results on the ice might be a little bit better. Factor in that for Sutter he’s in almost an identical situation as he was in Calgary, only with a team that has a clear direction, plan and most important of all, talent.

But hey, that’s just all speculation. Brent may just be content to spend next winter calving and doing whatever else it is farmer’s do on a cold day in the middle of December.

There’s options though. And one might be closer to home than we think.

Continue reading »]]> NHL Central Scouting released its final rankings this morning and a couple of notable Red Deer Rebels were mentioned, as they have been all season, but for one Rebels’ defenceman in particular, a bit of a drop amongst the scouting organization.

Matthew Dumba dropped from the 7th ranked skater and out of the top 10 to 11th. Should fans be surprised, or worried by this slide? Or is it just a slight from a group that doesn’t really hold a lot of weight outside of public perception? In other words, does the ranking really matter?

Yes, and no. But that perception isn’t great, regardless.

The fact that Dumba dropped four spots in the rankings does say something though. What is it that scouts didn’t like in his game that made him drop? Or, is it more about the other players on the list that surpassed him? Was it everyone outside of Dumba that just made them standout and look better?

Either way, it doesn’t bode well for Dumba, even though being considered a first round pick is never a bad thing.

While the Calgary kid’s drop in the rankings probably has as much to do with the other players on the list as it does with his own play, perhaps scouts are now looking at Dumba in a different light. What I mean by that is that maybe, JUST MAYBE, Dumba’s offensive rushes and mindset are now starting to hurt his value.

Yes, crazy to think that an offensive defenceman trying to score goals and join the rush are hurting his draft rankings. But these scouts are looking at the big picture. As much as NHL clubs want that offensive spark from the back end, they also need a d-man who is just as strong in their own zone. Take Carolina’s Ryan Murphy. He was drafted in the first round last year and is just as offensive a blueline prospect as you’ll find in the NHL. Offensively, he had the chops to play in the show this season, but the Hurricanes were concerned about his defensive play, and thus returned him to junior.

I’m not suggesting that 18-year-olds need to make the jump straight to the pro game after being drafted in the first round, and most defenceman are held back for a number of different reasons, one of which is to work on that d-zone coverage. In Dumba’s case, the extraordinary circumstance that fell upon the Rebels may have just hurt his cause, ever so slightly.

With all of the injuries surrounding the Red Deer Rebels this season, especially on the back end, Matt Dumba (along with Alex Petrovic) was called upon to play more minutes than he probably should’ve. Because of that, I think Dumba’s play took a bit of a hit. Now, credit to the kid and everyone else who shouldered that load down the stretch, but you wonder at what point it hurt the play of the players on the ice.

What I’m trying to say, and doing a poor job of communicating, is that I think that maybe Matty-D was trying to do too much and over compensating for a loss of able bodies. Especially given the situation the Rebels were in, trying to secure a playoff spot. Maybe the kid was trying to single-handedly get the team into the post-season and it affected his overall play?

Or maybe that’s just an excuse.

Is this the player that Matthew Dumba just simply is? He’s an offensive kid who likes to score goals and set up plays in the offensive zone, rather than playing a tighter system in his own zone? Conventional wisdom says Dumba’s still young and still requires learning and maturity and nothing more. The kid has some exceptional, raw talent, of which cannot be denied. However, any thought of him jumping from junior to the NHL level before he’s graduated from the WHL is probably not realistic.

As much as Dumba could potentially be a second-coming of Dion Phaneuf (they certainly play similar styles) I can’t see him graduating early from junior hockey. Yes he can make the devastating open ice hit, and yes he’s great at joining the rush, and is a pretty good option on the powerplay. But the biggest difference is his defensive zone play and right now, he isn’t even a top ‘defensive’ zone player in the WHL, much less the NHL.

While no fan is privy to any conversation that took place behind closed doors at the end of the season, I’m sure part of the year-end meeting Dumba had with head coach Jesse Wallin had to do with a focus on becoming a better defensive player. And Wallin is the perfect guy for Dumba to listen to. Wallin has been to the mountain top and knows what it takes to make it to the dance. He has the ring to prove it. And while listening to his coach is one way to improve his chances of someday playing pro hockey, Dumba need only look as far as the guy he was skating with all season long: Alex Petrovic.

Petrovic is ready for professional hockey. After receiving rave reviews in Florida Panthers’ training camp last fall, ‘Petro’ came back to Red Deer on a mission. Sure, he didn’t accomplish his goal of making the World Junior squad, but he proved to be a rock on the Rebels blue line and was rewarded with being named the organization’s most valuable player, and rightfully so. You can only hope that Dumba paid attention to how Petrovic played the game, and that he incorporates some of that into his own game next season.

Granted, the two are two different players with different styles. But let’s face it. Matthew Dumba will not become an NHL regular playing the type of game he’s currently playing right now. He must adapt to ensure that he eventually earns that second contract, which usually confirms that you’re a bonafide NHLer and ready to take on the rigors as a ‘go-to’ guy. Lots of junior players get that first entry level contract, but it takes the exceptional player to carve some ink on a second deal.

I’m not saying that Matthew Dumba is a bust or that he’s not a good player. If he wasn’t, he surely wouldn’t be considered a first round pick in the top 12 of this summer’s draft. I’m suggesting, however, that the kid should put a small amount of stock into the recent shift in his ranking. It’s great motivation for a player to raise his level of play the following season and prove to others that you’re worthy of higher position.

But at the same time…it’s one ranking, on one list, by one group. And at the end of the day, it’s all about the 30 teams that have watched you all season and what they think of you. The kid’s alright, and he’ll be fine. But regardless of where he goes and who takes him, in order to ensure his longevity in pro hockey, he’ll need to make some changes.