Red Deer Rebels facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Red Deer Rebels
City	Red Deer, Alberta
League	Western Hockey League
Conference	Eastern
Division	Central
Founded	1992
Home arena	Peavey Mart Centrium
Colours	Burgundy, black, white and silver
General manager	Brent Sutter
Head coach	David Struch
Championships	Conference Championships 3 (2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03) Ed Chynoweth Cup 1 (2001) Memorial Cup 1 (2001)
Website chl.ca/whl-rebels

The Red Deer Rebels are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team. They are based in Red Deer, Alberta. The Rebels are part of the Western Hockey League (WHL). They play their home games at the Peavey Mart Centrium. The Rebels had a fantastic year in the 2000–01 season. They won both the President's Cup and the famous Memorial Cup.

History of the Red Deer Rebels

How the Team Started

In 1991, a well-known coach named Terry Simpson and his brother, Wayne, decided to start a new hockey team. They wanted the team to be in Red Deer. To choose a name, they held a contest from October 7 to 17, 1991. More than 1,000 ideas were sent in! The top three names were Rebels, Renegades, and Centurions. The team's leaders picked "Rebels."

On February 5, 1992, the Rebels chose their very first player, Mike McBain, in the Bantam Draft. The team's first game was on September 25, 1992, in Red Deer. They played against the Prince Albert Raiders and won 6–3! Over 5,200 fans came to watch. The Rebels had their first sold-out game at the Centrium on January 9, 1993. A huge crowd of 6,476 people filled the arena that night.

A New Owner and Big Wins

In 1999, the Simpson brothers sold the team to Brent Sutter. With Sutter as both coach and general manager, the Rebels became very successful in the early 2000s. They won their division and conference three years in a row, from 2000–01 to 2002–03.

The best part of this time was in 2001. The Rebels won the President's Cup and then the Memorial Cup championships! In the Memorial Cup final, Jeff Smith scored the winning goal in overtime against the Val-d'Or Foreurs. Even though they were amazing, the Rebels couldn't win the league championship in the next two seasons.

Coaching Changes and Hosting a Big Tournament

Brent Sutter stopped coaching in 2007. His brother, Brian Sutter, coached the team for the 2007–08 season. Brian was only with the team for one season. After him, former team captain Jesse Wallin took over as coach. In 2012, Brent Sutter decided to coach the team again, taking over from Wallin.

The Rebels were chosen to host the 2016 Memorial Cup tournament. This was their second time playing in the national championship. The Rebels made it to the semi-finals but were stopped by the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

In 2022, the team made a new WHL record! They won their first 15 games of the season in a row. This was the longest winning streak at the start of a season in WHL history.

Championship History

The Red Deer Rebels have won some major championships:

• Memorial Cups: 2001
• Ed Chynoweth Cups: 2001
• Scotty Munro Memorial Trophies: 2000–01, 2001–02
• Division titles won: 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2010–11, 2022–23

WHL Finals

• 2000–01: Won, 4–1 against Portland Winter Hawks
• 2001–02: Lost, 2–4 against Kootenay Ice
• 2002–03: Lost, 2–4 against Kelowna Rockets

Memorial Cup Finals

• 2001: Won, 6–5 in overtime against Val-d'Or Foreurs

Players

Team Captains

NHL Alumni

Many players from the Red Deer Rebels have gone on to play in the National Hockey League (NHL). Here are some of them:

Awards

The Red Deer Rebels and their players have won many awards over the years.

WHL Awards

CHL Awards

Images for kids

• 

  Original Rebels "Skate" logo, used from about 1992 to 1997.

See also

• List of ice hockey teams in Alberta