The Red Deer Rebels are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Red Deer, Alberta. The Rebels are members of the Western Hockey League and play home games at the Peavey Mart Centrium. The Rebels won the President's Cup and the Memorial Cup during the 2000–01 season.

Red Deer Rebels
CityRed Deer, Alberta
LeagueWestern Hockey League
ConferenceEastern
DivisionCentral
Founded1992
Home arenaPeavey Mart Centrium
ColoursBurgundy, black, white and silver
       
General managerBrent Sutter
Head coachDavid Struch
Websitechl.ca/whl-rebels
Championships
Regular season titles2 (2000–01, 2001–02)
Playoff championshipsConference Championships
3 (2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03)
Ed Chynoweth Cup
1 (2001)
Memorial Cup
1 (2001)
Current uniform

History

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In 1991, legendary coach Terry Simpson and his brother, Wayne, were granted an expansion franchise, and they wanted to locate it in Red Deer.[1] A "Name the Team" contest ran in Red Deer from October 7 to 17, 1991. The top three ideas from the over 1,000 entries were Rebels, Renegades, and Centurions—team management chose Rebels. On February 5, 1992, the Rebels selected Mike McBain as their first player in the Bantam Draft. The Rebels' first game was on September 25, 1992, in Red Deer against the Prince Albert Raiders; the Rebels won 6–3 in front of 5,240 fans. The Rebels had their first sell-out game at the Centrium on January 9, 1993, with 6,476 in attendance.[citation needed]

Goalie Jason Clague was credited with a goal on March 28, 1994, during a playoff game against the Lethbridge Hurricanes. David Hruska scored five goals in one game on October 20, 1995, in a game against the Medicine Hat Tigers. BJ Young set a team record for fastest goal at the start of a game at 0:06 of the first period on December 6, 1995, against the Medicine Hat Tigers.[citation needed]

In 1999, the Simpsons sold the team to Brent Sutter.[1] With Sutter as coach and manager, the Rebels were successful in the early 2000s, winning three consecutive division and conference titles between 2000–01 and 2002–03. The period began with President's Cup and Memorial Cup championships in 2001, with Jeff Smith scoring the overtime winner against the Val-d'Or Foreurs in the Memorial Cup final.[2] The Rebels were unable to duplicate these accomplishments, falling in the league championship series the next two seasons.[citation needed]

Brent Sutter stepped aside as coach in 2007 and his brother, Brian Sutter, took over the reins of the team for the 2007–08 season. Brian was with the team for just one season before former captain Jesse Wallin took over.[3] In 2012, Brent Sutter fired Wallin and took over as head coach for the first time since 2007.[4]

The Rebels hosted team of the 2016 Memorial Cup tournament, thus making their second appearance at the national championship. The Rebels advanced to the semi-final, where they were eliminated by the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.[5]

In 2022, the team set a WHL record for the longest winning streak at the beginning of their season, opening with 15 straight wins.[6]

Season-by-season record

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Legend: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties OTL = Overtime losses Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

 
Original Rebels "Skate" logo, used c. 1992–97.
Season GP W L T OTL GF GA Points Standing Playoffs Head coach Assistant coach General manager
1992–93 72 31 39 2 - 284 329 64 6th East Lost in first round Peter Anholt Rick Pankiw, Mike Moller Wayne Simpson
1993–94 72 35 36 1 - 310 334 71 6th East Lost in first round Peter Anholt Mike Moller Wayne Simpson
1994–95 72 17 51 4 - 209 356 38 9th East Out of playoffs Peter Anholt Mike Moller Wayne Simpson
1995–96 72 28 39 5 - 263 300 61 4th Central Lost East Conference semi-final Rick Carriere Jim Hammett Wayne Simpson
1996–97 72 43 26 3 - 317 297 89 2nd Central Lost Eastern Conference final Rick Carriere Doug Hobson Wayne Simpson
1997–98 72 27 40 5 - 281 323 59 3rd Central Lost Eastern Conference quarter-final Rick Carriere, Doug Hobson Doug Hobson, Kurt Lackton Wayne Simpson
1998–99 72 34 33 5 - 274 250 73 2nd Central Lost Eastern Conference semi-final Terry Simpson Peter Anholt Wayne Simpson
1999–00 72 32 31 9 0 227 229 73 3rd Central Lost Eastern Conference quarter-final Brent Sutter Peter Anholt, Dallas Gaume Brent Sutter
2000–01 72 54 12 3 3 304 168 114 1st Central Won Championship & Memorial Cup Brent Sutter Dan McDonald, Dallas Gaume Brent Sutter
2001–02 72 46 18 7 1 264 184 100 1st Central Lost final Brent Sutter Dallas Gaume Brent Sutter
2002–03 72 50 17 3 2 271 160 105 1st Central Lost final Brent Sutter Dallas Gaume Brent Sutter
2003–04 72 35 22 10 5 167 169 85 2nd Central Lost Eastern Conference final Brent Sutter Dallas Gaume Brent Sutter
2004–05 72 36 26 6 4 206 200 82 4th Central Lost Eastern Conference quarter-final Brent Sutter Dallas Gaume Brent Sutter
2005–06 72 26 40 1 5 166 220 58 5th Central Out of playoffs Brent Sutter Jesse Wallin, Dallas Gaume Brent Sutter
2006–07 72 35 28 4 5 206 214 79 4th Central Lost Eastern Conference quarter-final Brent Sutter Jesse Wallin, Dallas Gaume Brent Sutter
2007–08 72 18 47 4 3 145 255 43 6th Central Out of playoffs Brian Sutter Jesse Wallin, Dallas Gaume Brent Sutter
2008–09 72 25 37 1 9 172 250 60 6th Central Out of playoffs Jesse Wallin Dallas Gaume, Bryce Thoma Brent Sutter
2009–10 72 39 28 0 5 202 222 83 4th Central Lost Eastern Conference quarter-final Jesse Wallin Dallas Gaume, Bryce Thoma Jesse Wallin (VP Hockey Ops)
2010–11 72 48 16 4 4 268 159 104 1st Central Lost Eastern Conference semi-final Jesse Wallin Chris Neiszner, Bruce Thoma Jesse Wallin (VP Hockey Ops)
2011–12 72 32 34 1 5 204 231 70 5th Central Out of playoffs Jesse Wallin Chris Neiszner, Bruce Thoma Jesse Wallin
2012–13 72 39 26 5 2 208 204 85 3rd Central Lost Eastern Conference semi-final Jesse Wallin, Brent Sutter Bryce Thoma, Jeff Truitt Brent Sutter
2013–14 72 35 32 1 4 214 224 75 5th Central Lost tiebreaker vs Prince Albert
Out of Playoffs
Brent Sutter Steve O'Rourke, Jeff Truitt Brent Sutter
2014–15 72 38 23 5 6 240 227 87 3rd Central Lost Eastern Conference quarter-final Brent Sutter Steve O'Rourke, Jeff Truitt Brent Sutter
2015–16 72 45 24 1 2 260 205 93 2nd Central Lost Eastern Conference final
Qualified for Memorial Cup as hosts
Lost semi-final
Brent Sutter Steve O'Rourke, Jeff Truitt Brent Sutter
2016–17 72 30 29 9 4 239 258 73 3rd Central Lost Eastern Conference quarter-final Brent Sutter Steve O'Rourke, Jeff Truitt, Pierre-Paul Lamoureux Brent Sutter
2017–18 72 27 32 10 3 209 250 67 3rd Central Lost Eastern Conference quarter-final Brent Sutter Steve O'Rourke, Jeff Truitt Brent Sutter
2018–19 68 33 29 4 2 223 225 72 5th Central Lost Eastern Conference quarter-final Brent Sutter Steve O'Rourke, Jeff Truitt Brent Sutter
2019–20 63 24 33 3 3 181 250 54 5th Central Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic Brent Sutter Ryan Colville, Brad Flynn Brent Sutter
2020–21 23 4 15 4 0 59 106 12 5th Central No playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic Brent Sutter Ryan Colville, Brad Flynn Brent Sutter
2021–22 68 45 19 2 2 264 188 94 2nd Central Lost Eastern Conference semi-final Steve Konowalchuk Ryan Colville, Mike Egener Brent Sutter
2022–23 68 43 19 3 3 248 189 92 1st Central Lost Eastern Conference semi-final Steve Konowalchuk Ryan Colville, Mike Egener Brent Sutter
2023–24 68 33 26 3 6 213 217 75 3rd Central Lost Eastern Conference semi-final Derrick Walser, David Struch Clayton Beddoes, Mike Egener, Brent Sutter

Championship history

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WHL finals

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Memorial Cup finals

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Players

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Team captains

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NHL alumni

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Awards

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Award Topic Player Season
AirBC Trophy Playoff MVP award Shane Bendera 2001
WHL Plus-Minus Award Best +/- rating Jim Vandermeer 2000–01
St. Clair Group Trophy Marketing/public relations award Pat Garrity 1996–97
Greg McConkey 2001–02
Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy Humanitarian of the year award Jesse Wallin 1996–97
1997–98
Jim Vandermeer 2000–01
Colin Fraser 2004–05
Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy Executive of the year Brent Sutter 2000–01
Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy Coach of the year
Del Wilson Trophy Top goaltender Cam Ward 2001–02
2003–04
Darcy Kuemper 2010–11
Patrik Bartosak 2012–13
Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy Rookie of the year Matt Ellison 2002–03
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 2009–10
Mathew Dumba 2010–11
Bill Hunter Trophy Top defenceman Jeff Woywitka 2002–03
Dion Phaneuf 2003–04
2004–05
Alex Petrovic 2011–12
Brad Hornung Trophy Most sportsmanlike player Boyd Gordon 2002–03
Bob Clarke Trophy Top scorer Justin Mapletoft 2000–01
Arshdeep Bains 2021–22
Four Broncos Memorial Trophy Player of the year Justin Mapletoft 2000–01
Cam Ward 2003–04
Darcy Kuemper 2010–11
Award Player Season
CHL Humanitarian of the Year Jesse Wallin 1996–97
Jim Vandermeer 2000–01
Colin Fraser 2004–05
CHL Goaltender of the Year Cam Ward 2003–04
Darcy Kuemper 2010–11
Patrik Bartosak 2012–13
CHL Rookie of the Year Matt Ellison 2002–03
CHL Top Draft Prospect Award Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 2010–11
Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award Brent Sutter 2000–01
Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy Memorial Cup MVP Kyle Wanvig 2001

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Terry Simpson given big honour by WHL". PA Now. March 18, 2011. Archived from the original on May 11, 2024. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  2. ^ "Red Deer Rebels win Memorial Cup in OT". CBC Sports. May 27, 2001. Archived from the original on June 5, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  3. ^ "The evolution of Coach Wallin". Red Deer Advocate. March 18, 2011. Archived from the original on May 13, 2024. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  4. ^ "Brent Sutter fires Rebels coach, steps in". Sportsnet. The Canadian Press. November 14, 2012. Archived from the original on May 13, 2024. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  5. ^ Cicerella, Kyle (May 27, 2016). "Rouyn-Noranda Huskies to play for 1st Memorial Cup after defeating Red Deer Rebels". CBC Sports. The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on July 2, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
  6. ^ Gustafson, Ian (November 8, 2022). "Red Deer Rebels' historic win streak ends in Winnipeg". Red Deer Advocate. Archived from the original on May 13, 2024. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
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