Medicine Hat Tigers prospect Dru Krebs (left) and older brother Dakota with the Calgary Hitmen (right)   (Photo courtesy of Scott Roblin)

By Scott Roblin

Brothers in Hockey

Krebs brothers reflect on sharing WHL ice for the first time

Sep 15, 2019 | 1:54 PM

TABER, AB – Over the past few years, the Krebs name has become synonymous with the Western Hockey League.

Brothers Dakota and Peyton have become mainstays on the Calgary Hitmen and Winnipeg ICE respectively, but this fall the youngest member of the family is making a push for his spot.

Medicine Hat Tigers defensive prospect Dru Krebs is one of nine blueliners left on the roster and on Saturday got the chance to do something he’s never done before.

Line up across the ice from his older brother Dakota.

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“It was really weird at first,” said Dru. “Of course, you’re going against your older brother that you’ve idolized your entire life. I’ve always watched him play, but I’ve never seen him like person on person and play on play.”

Saturday’s 2-1 Hitmen pre-season victory over the Tigers in Taber was the first time either had faced each other in a competitive hockey game, mainly due to their four-year age difference.

Seeing his youngest sibling wear opposing colours, the 20-year-old Dakota said it was tough not to think back to the battles the pair shared back home in Okotoks all those years ago.

“It’s pretty cool just growing up playing hockey and playing underneath each other down in the basement,” said Dakota. “Now seeing him and playing against him is pretty weird, he’s four years younger than me. So, it’s really cool for our family and I’m really excited to see him play in this league.”

While it was a historic day for the family, there wasn’t much interaction between Dakota and Dru once they skated onto the Taber Community Centre ice.

“I was trying to separate that before,” said Dru. “I made some little eye-contact and did a little smile back and forth. But, other than that I was just trying to focus on the game at hand.”

Though as Dakota joked, it wasn’t for a lack of trying.

“In warmups I was looking for him and then I forgot about him, I guess he was too focused,” said Dakota. “I texted him before the game saying, ‘good luck’ and we’ll probably chat after this.

It’s safe to say 2019 has been a big year for the Krebs family and 2020 could be just as eventful.

Dakota, a veteran of 244 WHL games between Calgary and Tri-City, is entering his overage season with the Hitmen.

Peyton is coming off a career-high 68 points season with the Kootenay ICE and a first round selection by the Vegas Golden Knights in June’s NHL Entry Draft.

The brothers’ older sister Maddison is a rising country music star in Nashville and is fresh off releasing her third, self-titled EP.

And for Dru, he’s looking to crack a Tigers lineup as a 16-year-old after putting up 19 points in 34 games with the Okotoks Midget AAA Oilers.

If Dru is able to play games for the Tigers in 2019-20, the Krebses will join the Reinharts and Quennevilles as recent families to send three brothers to the WHL level in the same season.

“Tryouts and everything are still going on,” said Dakota. “But, if it were to happen that way it would be pretty awesome for our family. I think we’re pretty grateful for the opportunity to be able to do that and it would be really fun to be able to do.”

Between Calgary, Winnipeg, Nashville and possibly Medicine Hat, the Krebs clan will once again be spread out over the winter months.

As usual, that means plenty of kilometres will be put on by parents Greg and Cindy, whom both Dakota and Dru credit for helping them get to the WHL level.

Dru added it’s an exciting time for the family with all four kids following their passions and pursuing their dreams.

Whether that being at the hockey rink or on a stage.

“It’ll be really busy for my parents, a lot of driving that’s for sure,” said Dru. “But, it’ll be insane for our family. We worked so hard to get here, so it just comes with really being there and putting all that work in.”

The Tigers will make their final cuts this week ahead of Friday’s regular season opener in Lethbridge, determining whether Dru will start the season in Medicine Hat or head back to Okotoks.

Whatever the case, Dru is still considered to be one of the Tigers’ most promising defensive prospects.

A fact that his older brother was glad to be able to find out for the first time.

“Well, he can skate pretty good,” said Dakota. “He’s a little more offensive than me. I just kind of taught him everything I knew.”

UPDATE: According to a Twitter post from Greg Krebs on Sunday afternoon, Dru has cracked the Tigers opening night roster and will be the third member of the family to dress for a WHL franchise.