A look at what life will be like for Red Deer Rebels players during their upcoming season (Photo: Red Deer Rebels)

By Troy Gillard

a suite lifestyle

Sutter says Rebels ready for life at the rink, literally, this season

Feb 12, 2021 | 9:27 AM

Yes, the Red Deer Rebels really are taking “life at the rink” to a whole new level.

Pictures showing makeshift digs at the Westerner Park Centrium where players will be living during the upcoming abbreviated WHL season have gone viral over the past 24 hours.

Instead of staying with billets, players will indeed be living right at the Centrium for the duration of the season in suites converted into living quarters.

“It’s been a lot of work by a lot of different people to get it to this point,” said Brent Sutter, Rebels owner/president/general manager and head coach. “It’s been a long process, but it’s about health and safety. The situation we’re in now is as safe as any situation can be and it’s gone over very well.”

The fact that no fans will be in attendance at games this season meant the Rebels could go ahead with creating a “bubble” environment at the Centrium.

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“We’re doing everything we’ve been told we need to do by the health ministry and our government. They’ve actually been awesome to work with during this whole process. I can’t thank everybody enough, to be honest,” Sutter said, noting it was Westerner Park staff that came up with the idea of having players live at the rink, with the team agreeing that it would be the best scenario.

“The kids are in a closed environment and we have beautiful suites in our rink. With our concourse being so big we can set up a lot of stuff like games and can move our weight room upstairs. We have lots of dressing rooms downstairs so we can space everyone out, even for the visiting teams. They’ll have their own portion of the rink to themselves.”

Sutter says it wouldn’t be possible to pull off without the hard work and support of Westerner Park, the City of Red Deer, suite holders, local businesses, parents, billets, and – most importantly – the players.

“Ultimately, at the end of the day it’s all about the players. We had good talks with them about what they wanted to do whether it was a hotel environment, billets or this. They by far wanted this because they can hang out and be with one another while they follow social distancing and wear masks. They’re constantly being (COVID) tested. They thought it was best for them mentally.

“In 20 years they can sit back and say this is what they had to do to get back to playing hockey after COVID. It’s a once in a lifetime thing they’re doing.”

(Photo: Red Deer Rebels)

As they prepare to open play for their shortened season on Feb. 26, players began self-quarantining Jan. 30 at home and arrived in Red Deer last weekend. Players continued quarantining at a local hotel before starting their move into the Centrium.

Sutter says they hope to get the results from their latest round of COVID-19 testing on Friday so the team can begin off-ice workouts that day and hit the ice on Saturday.

There are 25 players on the team’s roster, including 19 returnees from the 2019-20 season.

The Rebels begin play on February 26 and will take on the other Alberta-based WHL teams this season (Calgary, Edmonton, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge). Details regarding their first few games will be released on Friday.

“At the end of the day this is all about the players,” Sutter explained.

“As the owner I had the responsibility to work with the right people that we needed to, whether it’s the government and health officials, the league, and do everything we can to get back to playing. It’s been almost a year to this point, so it’s exciting.”

(Photo: Red Deer Rebels)