Jeff de Wit is into year two of his tour of duty with the Red Deer Rebels and he figures this is a year where he can focus on his goal of being a more complete player in any section of the rink.
“I think last year I was more worried about trying to fit in, being a 16 year old,” said the Red Deer product about where his head was at in his rookie year.
De Wit says becoming a part of the culture is out of the way after a year under his belt so now the on-ice concentration is front and centre.
“I felt like last year I was just very inconsistent with the 200 foot game. This year I have set a goal to become a more reliable player in the last ten minutes of a game so they’re not afraid to put me on the ice when we’re up a goal.”
He feels he can contribute more in the neutral and attacking zones by using his size ( 6’3” 185 pounds) and carrying the puck hard to the net.
He’s still in school of course but other classrooms last season were several hockey rinks throughout the Western Hockey League and he took away a lesson during those sessions.
“I think the main thing is coming in each game and being ready to battle, being engaged and being hard on the puck.”
Another bit of experience he picked up from last year was dealing with the speed of the game, something which can be a stumbling block for many young players.
“Last year I found myself behind the play a lot but I had a good summer of training and I feel a lot faster and powerful but I guess we’ll see when the season starts.”
Another player entering year two with the Rebels is goalie Rylan Toth. He started 56 games, posted a 28 wins, a GAA of 2.84 and a .904 save %. Solid numbers for a first year player.
He’s likely the number one guy going into this season and feels confident about the prospect.
“As far as being comfortable with the team, being use to everything. It’s nice to have done a year. The first year is always the hardest so getting through that is good.”
He’s not taking the starters job for granted though as he will compete with Trevor Martin who saw action in 20 games last year with the Rebels.
“He will be pushing to start every game and that’s good because he’ll be pushing me as well. Same as last year, Taz (Burman) and I pushed each other as well so I think it’s going to be a really good year.”
His off season preparation for this year was about the same as before but he went to a different gym in his hometown of Saskatoon. He also worked in some ice time with Minnesota Wild goalie Darcy Kuemper who posted a 45 win season in Red Deer in 2010/2011.
“That was nice. We got to talk about Red Deer a little bit and I learned a little bit from him too. Just some goalie stuff, movement and things like that,” said Toth.
He says he’s not one for setting too many personal goals so he keeps it simple, focusing on the basics. He’s excited about the help he’s going to have in putting together a good season with the team built in front of him.
“Starting with our defence, they’re rock solid. They’re going to be awesome. It’s going to make my job real easy. Forwards, we’re going to score a lot of goals, more than last year and that’s really exciting.”
The elephant in the room of course is the Memorial Cup but de Wit says the players are trying their best to not think that far ahead and instead putting their efforts into winning the WHL title and entering the national final as a league champ and not just the host.
“It’s something to be really excited about but we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”
Toth says the feeling in the room is one of optimism and making a determined effort at not looking too far ahead.
“It’s hard not to look forward to that. It’s obviously really exciting but we’re just trying to take it one day at a time. Get through the pre-season, focus on having a good start and then go from there. The end goal is the Memorial Cup but we want to get their on our own.”
Easier said than done however.
The Rebels road to the Memorial Cup begins for real on September 26th when they host the Edmonton Oil Kings.
