Man, tough news for Rebels fans today. The Red Deer Rebels just shipped out defenceman Nate Yellowaga to the Victoria Royals in a trade for future assets. In return, Red Deer picked up a 4th-rounder in the 2027 WHL Prospects Draft, a 2nd-round pick in 2028 (coming via Saskatoon), and another 4th in 2030.
Yellowaga, the Calgary kid born March 9, 2008, had a solid year in Red Deer. He put up 7 goals and 20 assists for 27 points in 67 games during the 2025-26 season, plus 4 points in 5 playoff games. He was a late-round gem—selected 194th overall in the 9th round of the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft—but he really developed into one of their better blue-liners.
I’m pretty bummed to see him go. The guy had that smooth skating and offensive upside that made him fun to watch on the backend. It was a nice break that the NCAA rules shifted, otherwise Red Deer probably never gets him in the first place. He spent time with the Brooks Bandits in the BCHL (and AJHL before that), helped them win a championship, and even committed to the University of Maine Black Bears.
Sounds like Victoria is loading up on the back end after some other moves. Yellowaga’s got that two-way potential and should fit right in. Wish him the best, but damn, he was a bright spot in Red Deer. Hockey moves fast, I guess. Time to reload with those extra picks.
In other news-Marc Habscheid stepped down as head coach of the Red Deer Rebels after just one season. The team went 26-36-4-2 under him and made it back to the playoffs, with Habscheid hitting his 600th career WHL win during the year. He explained that after spending the year back in Canada, he realized his heart is in Europe, where he’d been living for the previous four years, so he’s heading back there. No new coaching gig has been announced yet—he just wants to return home. The Rebels are already kicking off the search for their next bench boss.
