What a weekend to be a Rebel. By the time Colorado Avalanche draft pick Beckett Hamilton called game in the final minute of overtime on Sunday, the Red Deer Rebels hadn’t just secured a thrilling 3-2 comeback victory over the rival Edmonton Oil Kings—they had completely reshuffled the deck. The hard-fought win extended Red Deer’s winning streak to three games and catapulted them directly into a tie for first place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Even better? The win finally snapped a brutal, three-year, 10-game curse at Rogers Place dating all the way back to October 2023. It was an afternoon fueled by milestone moments, none bigger than when Captain Hamilton blasted a third-period power-play one-timer past Ethan Simcoe. That heavy blast not only locked the game at twos, but it also marked Hamilton’s 50th career WHL regular-season goal.
Olli Wahlroos gets the Oil Kings on the board first at 8:17 of the first period. The assist on the goal went to KJ Sauer.–Edmonton opened the scoring midway through the first period when Finnish forward Olli Wahlroos blasted a one-timer directly off the draw past the Red Deer netminder.
Shots on goal in the first period were 8-7 for the Oil Kings.
Poul Andersen scored his 14th goal of the season at 3:20 of the second period. The helper on the goal went to fellow Minnesotan Paxson Madill.–Red Deer leveled the playing field early in the second frame when league scoring leader Poul Andersen cleanly one-timed home a perfect feed from rookie Paxson Madill.
Shots on goal in the second period were 16-8 for the Rebels
Philadelphia Flyers 2026 5th rounder KJ Sauer gave the Oil Kings the lead just 51 seconds into the third period. The assists on the goal went to former Brandon Wheat King Dylan Ronald and former Kelowna Rocket Kanjyu Gojsic.–Edmonton jumped back into the driver’s seat just 51 seconds into the final frame when Andover, Minnesota native KJ Sauer finished off a slick give-and-go with Dylan Ronald, hammering the puck home from the circle.
Beckett Hamilton tied the game back up for the Rebels at 5:26 of the third period while on the Power Play. The assists on the goal went to Poul Andersen and Matus Lisy.–The Rebels answered back on the man advantage just over five minutes into the third period when captain Beckett Hamilton blasted a blistering one-timer past the Edmonton netminder to lock the game at two apiece.
Shots on goal in the third period were 17-4 for the Rebels.
Beckett Hamilton scores the overtime winner at 4:05 with the assists going to Kalder Varga and Jiri Kamas.-Beckett Hamilton capped off his stellar afternoon just over four minutes into the extra frame, showcasing phenomenal patience as he protected the puck, outwaited the defense, and snapped a sharp-angle forehand shot past a sprawling Ethan Simcoe to secure the extra point for Red Deer.
Shots on goal in the overtime period were 3 each. The Rebels outshot the Oil Kings 43-23 in the game.
For the Rebels Nathan Salisbury stopped 21 of the 23 shots that he faced for the win. For the Oil Kings Ethan Simcoe got peppered with 43 shots he saved 40 of them.
Three Stars of the game were 1) Ethan Simcoe 2) Beckett Hamilton 3) KJ Sauer
Attednance in Edmonton was 5651
Rebels next game is Tuesday November 3rd against the Kamloops Blazers
Edmonton Oil Kings forward Kayden Stroeder remains a highly visible name for the 2027 NHL Draft, recently maintaining an ‘A’ rating on NHL Central Scouting’s preliminary watch list. Listed at 6’0″ and 165 pounds, the Lanigan, Saskatchewan native anchors the Oil Kings’ offense with a high-energy, two-way game heavily shaped by a gold-medal summer with Team Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Armed with quick feet, a heavy compete level, and a fast release, Stroeder impacts all three zones while contributing on both special teams. However, some scouts believe his draft stock has fallen a bit early in the scouting cycle, pointing out that spotty puck-handling decisions and a tendency to force plays can lead to unforced turnovers. Because he occasionally relies too much on raw speed over calculated outlet feeds, public draft boards like Elite Prospects have captured him sitting outside the top 32, leading some evaluators to project that he may even slip out of the first round and into the early stages of day two