The Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League have re-assigned 17-year-old goaltender Rylan Toth to the Battlefords Midget AAA Stars.
The Saskatoon native played in four preseason games for the Rebels and posted one win and two losses with a 6.01 goals against average to go along with an .874 save percentage.
Toth will join fellow 17-year-old Ryan Rewerts to give the Stars the same goaltending tandem they had last season. Both goaltenders were instrumental in helping the club to their first playoff appearance in years as well as their first berth in the Macs Major Midget AAA hockey tournament in more than 10 seasons. The two combined for 19 wins, 18 losses, six ties and an overtime loss
Head Coach Martin Smith says everyone is excited to have Toth back with the club.
"Having both goaltenders back gives us experience in the net no matter whom is between the pipes, that's a nice situation to be in," he said.
For Toth, it was obviously a day of mixed emotions.
"Although I am disappointed about not making Red Deer, I am excited to come back to my friends to try and help win a championship. I will continue to work hard to get back to that level," he said.
Smith added that the Rebels were extremely happy with Toth's progress and expect him to push for a spot in their line-up next year.
The AAA Stars wrapped up the exhibition season Thursday at home to the Saskatoon Blazers. The regular season gets underway Sept. 28 when the Regina Pat Canadians are in town for a 2 p.m. start.
