Stebner hoping to make good music with new team

By MARK HUNTER
Daily News Sports Reporter
Zak Stebner never could have imagined that one of his first duties with the
Kamloops Blazers would be to play bass guitar for Bryan Adams.
But that’s what Stebner, whom the Blazers acquired from the Prince Albert
Raiders on Wednesday, was faced with after his first practice with Kamloops
on Thursday.
“I met a few of the guys before practice, and I hear we’re having a little
(air) band concert,” said Stebner, an 18-year-old defenceman. “I’ll do my
best, I’m playing the bass in (Jake) Trask’s group, so it should be good. .
. . We’re playing Summer of ‘69.”
Stebner will play his first game with the Blazers today, 7 p.m., against the
Regina Pats at Interior Savings Centre.
The Blazers traded defenceman Jordan Rowley to Prince Albert in exchange for
Stebner, who had 10 points, three of them goals, in 31 games this season.
Stebner also had 46 penalty minutes, and is plus-5.
But, like the Raiders, who have lost six straight and are 13-18-0-0, Stebner
has struggled of late. In October, Stebner had two goals and six assists in
14 games. In November, he has one assist through 12 games.
Because of the recent struggles for him and the team, he wasn’t surprised to
learn of the move.
“We had a lot of 18-year-old defenceman, they were piling up,” said Stebner.
“The team was looking for a change, with a five-game slide. It’s a shock to
be traded, but something had to change.”
When Stebner found out, he went to his hometown, Saskatoon, and picked up
his dad. They drove to Hinton on Wednesday night, then made it to Kamloops
in time for yesterday’s practice.
Stebner, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 200 pounds, was chosen 32nd overall
in the 2005 bantam draft by the Red Deer Rebels. He played two games in Red
Deer as a 15-year-old and one as a 16-year-old.
After 24 games with the Rebels last season, Stebner was traded to Prince
Albert and ended the season with two goals and eight assists in 64 games.
He spent a lot of time working on the penalty kill with the Raiders this
season. That should help the Blazers, who are 20th in the league on the
penalty kill at 75.5 per cent.
“I was usually one of the first out there for the penalty kill, so I took
pride in that,” said Stebner, who knew Trask, Jimmy Bubnick and Justin
Leclerc from his Saskatoon days. “Here . . . they’re looking for me to be
gritty down low.”
Tonight will be Stebner’s first game — he’ll be wearing No. 25 — but it will
be against a familiar opponent.
“I’ve played Regina four or five times already,” he said. “I know what they
bring to the table and who to watch for.
“It helps out to know what kind of players they have, so it should make it a
little easier.”
———
The Blazers got some good news on the injury front as right-winger Kenton
Dulle has been cleared to play.
Dulle, a 20-year-old, has been out with an arm injury since Nov. 9, when
Kamloops lost 7-5 to the host Portland Winter Hawks. Dulle had two goals in
that game, and has scored 10 goals to go along with 12 assists.
Defenceman Kurt Torbohm is not yet skating as he tries to return from a
concussion that has had him on the shelf since Nov. 15.
———
JUST NOTES: Stebner is a second cousin to Layne Ulmer, who had 315 points,
161 of them goals, in 261 games with the Swift Current Broncos between
1997-2001. . . . The Blazers are 11-14-0-3 and sixth in the Western
Conference. . . . The Pats are 15-10-1-3 and fifth in the Eastern
Conference. . . . Regina C Jordan Eberle has 19 goals, the second-most in
the WHL, and seven game-winning goals, tops in the league. . . . Pats C
Jordan Weal has 34 points, which is most among rookies. . . . The Kelowna
Rockets have signed their first pick in May’s bantam draft, C Shane
McColgan, to a standard player contract. McColgan, a 15-year-old from
Manhattan Beach, Calif., is set to make his WHL debut on Dec. 16, when the
Rockets play the Rebels in Red Deer. . . . There’s always more WHL news at
gdrinnan.blogspot.com.
mhunter@kamloopsnews.ca