The coach may be new, but the Red Deer Rebels have opened the season with a veteran lineup. Brent Kisio takes over a Western Hockey League team that featured 17 fresh faces among the 42 players who suited up last season, including 11 who remained through the playoffs. Of the Rebels’ 24 players named last week to this year’s opening night roster, four are completely new to WHL action. Kisio spent eight seasons behind the bench with the Lethbridge Hurricanes from 2015 to 2023 before spending the past three years as an assistant coach with the American Hockey League’s Henderson Silver Knights, the Vegas Golden Knights’ affiliate. He replaces veteran WHL coach Marc Habscheid, who stepped down in June after one season in Red Deer. While the Rebels are still searching for their first win after two games in 2026-27, Kisio says he’s encouraged by what he’s seen. “We probably deserve better than getting one point, but that’s the way it works sometimes,” said Kisio, who joined the Rebels in July. “It’s not about the result. We’ve got to just keep working, and as long as we work hard and follow the process, things will work out.” That point came in Red Deer’s season opener, a 3-2 shootout loss to the Calgary Hitmen last Friday. The Rebels then dropped their home opener 3-1 to the Edmonton Oil Kings the following night. Red Deer has several days of practice before visiting Kisio’s former club in Lethbridge on Friday, and the 43-year-old Calgary native is confident his players will find their stride. “I think a lot of young men nowadays put pressure on themselves to score, especially early on, and get off to good starts,” he said. “It’s going to happen. They’ll get their confidence. They’ve just got to score a couple of goals, and once we get a couple, we’ll start going from there.” The Rebels are looking to climb the Eastern Conference standings after squeaking into the playoffs last season. Red Deer edged the Moose Jaw Warriors by one point for the conference’s final playoff spot before falling to the eventual conference champion Prince Albert Raiders in five games in the first round. The Rebels’ offence should get a boost once captain and leading scorer Beckett Hamilton returns from NHL camp. The 18-year-old forward, selected by the Colorado Avalanche in the third round of the NHL Draft in June, scored in his preseason debut Sunday as the Avalanche defeated the Utah Mammoth 4-1. “We’re cheering him on right now,” Kisio said. “The longer he stays with the NHL club, the better for us and him.” With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Brent Pushkarenko
