Rebels acquire van de Leest from Hitmen

Red Deer Rebels Owner/President/General Manager Brent Sutter announced today that the club has completed a trade with the Calgary Hitmen.
The Rebels have acquired 20-year-old defenceman Jackson van de Leest from the Hitmen in exchange for 20-year-old forward Blake Stevenson, 18-year-old defenceman Trey Patterson, and a conditional second-round selection at the 2022 Western Hockey League Prospects Draft (originally belonging to Winnipeg).
van de Leest, a native of Kelowna, BC, has 11 points and 39 penalty minutes in 26 games this season with the Hitmen. A former first-round selection, 16th overall at the 2016 WHL Prospects Draft, van de Leest attended camp this past fall with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers.
Jackson van de Leest
Position: Defence
Shoots: L
Height: 6’7
Weight: 238
Birthdate: 2001-06-15
Hometown: Kelowna, BC
Draft: WHL – CGY (2016) Round: 1 (#16)
GP G A PTS +/- PIM
26 1 10 11 7 39
Also today, the Rebels have returned the following affiliated players to their respective U18 AAA clubs:
G – Chase Wutzke (’06 – Saskatoon Contacts)
G – Justen Maric (’04 – Edmonton CAC Canadians)