Stoesser shares a laugh with head coach Derrick Martin

By Regan Bartel

Rockets goalie faces former team

Rhett Stoesser’s return to Red Deer

Mar 1, 2025 | 6:00 AM

Rhett Stoesser doesn’t need a guide when he steps into the Peavy Mart Centrium in Red Deer. 

For just over two seasons, it was his home after earning a spot with the Rebels straight out of training camp in the fall of 2022. 

Now, three years later, rather than suiting up for the Rebels, he’ll be in the visiting locker room tonight as the Kelowna Rockets make their way to town. 

“It’s a bit of a unique feeling,” Stoesser shared with RocketFAN about the experience of moving his gear from under the team bus and into the visitor’s room for the first time. “I’m excited to be back. This is where everything began for me.” 

Stoesser’s first WHL game was at the Centrium on September 24, 2022, when he made his debut with the Rebels in a 5-3 win over the Edmonton Oil Kings in their home opener. 

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“I was playing U18 in Airdrie when I got invited to camp in Red Deer,” he recalled. “Both goalies at camp already had team gear, so I wasn’t sure if I’d make it or not. But it all worked out, and it took off from there.” 

And take off, it did. During that fall’s Rebels training camp, Stoesser often slept in his car in the Centrium parking lot, waiting for the next ice session to prove himself. 

“I was just taking it one day at a time during training camp,” he said humbly. 

Impressing goaltending coach Ian Gordon, Stoesser let his performance do the talking, winning his first five starts before embarking on an impressive rookie run, going 13-2-0-0 as a walk-on. 

“My first-year goalie partner was Kyle Kelsey, who they traded for from Moose Jaw, and then the next year, it was Chase Wutzke,” Stoesser remembered. 

Kelsey was eventually traded to the Tri-City Americans, where he was later released and is now splitting time this season between the SJHL’s Estevan Bruins and BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies. 

Wutzke, meanwhile, is now the Rebels’ starting goalie and was selected by the Minnesota Wild in the 2024 NHL Draft. 

“One of my best games here [at the Centrium] was the [Connor] Bedard game,” Stoesser said when asked about a memorable moment from his time in Red Deer. “It wasn’t my best game, but it was probably the coolest game I’ve been a part of.” 

On January 31, 2023, Bedard and the Pats visited the Centrium, but despite his own performance not being perfect, Stoesser and the Rebels won 6-5 in overtime. 

“I was hoping he wouldn’t score, but he did on a breakaway. Then I robbed him backdoor, but they scored on the rebound,” he laughed. 

“And it was on my birthday too, so that made it a pretty cool game to be a part of.” 

With over 7,200 fans in the stands, the sellout atmosphere is something Stoesser will always remember. 

“The rink is amazing. The fans are fantastic. There are great people here in Red Deer.” 

It’s still uncertain whether Stoesser will start against his former team tonight when the Rockets begin a Central Division road trip (104-7 The Lizard has the pre-game show at 5:40 pm, with play-by-play at 6:05 pm). 

“I knew most of the guys at the start of the season, but a lot of them have been traded since, and there are a lot of new faces now,” Stoesser noted about his early-season time with the Rebels before being traded to Kelowna on November 21st. 

“I still know quite a few of the guys, but when I hit the ice, it’ll feel different in more ways than one.” 

While the Rebels are struggling in the basement of the division, Stoesser is warning his teammates to be ready.

“This game will give us a good taste of Alberta hockey,” he noted.

“The Eastern Conference hits a lot more, so this is a good team to play against to learn what this is going to be like for the next four games.”