The Red Deer Rebels rookie camp concluded Friday at the Centrium but GM/head coach Brent Sutter was more interested in taking about the veterans who participated in an afternoon scrimmage. "I'm happy with all of them. They all were true to what we asked of them this summer as far as the off-ice conditioning that was put in place for them," said Sutter.

"You really notice the difference this year as compared to last year. The kids are in shape. I was really happy with our first session, with the speed, how they moved the puck and the physical play.

"It was a well-played scrimmage for the first day."

The main camp resumed today at 8:30 a.m. and Sutter was anxiously awaiting more good things from the likes of power forward Kyle Wanvig. "Wanvig stood out today. He was a horse out there," said Sutter of the 220-pound centre/winger. "He's a power guy who really wants to play."

Sutter was also impressed with sophomore six-foot-five forward Jeff Smith and veteran defenceman Jim Vandermeer, who engaged in a  pair of lively scraps.

"All in all, I'm happy with what I saw of the veterans today. They did what was asked of them," said Sutter.

"They're all in shape and they're all big. The majority of them out there today are six-foot-two, 200-pound guys.

"We'll have a big team this year, but the thing I really like is they can all skate and move the puck. A lot of them had to improve on their skating during the off- season and they did that."

Czech imports Ladislav Kouba and Martin Vymazal, both forwards, also caught Sutter's eye.

"It's a big change from last year. We definitely have a couple of players here," Sutter smiled.

"That's exciting, but at the same time we're still working on Kouba's release. He won't be able to play any preseason games until we get it."

Of the 80 players who participated in the rookie camp, about 30 will move into the main camp today. The roster of 60 players will be pared to between 40 and 45 for Sunday's McDonald's Black and White intrasquad game.

Sutter felt 16-year-old forward Joel Rupprecht was the best player in rookie camp. He also gave high marks to defencemen Derek Meech, Cody Holzapfel and Kyle Tinordi and forwards Chris Neiszner and Jason Ertl.

"These guys are all trying to fit into our organization," said Sutter. "We'll see how it goes over the next year or two but I'm excited about our list of rookies."

The Rebels open their preseason schedule Sept. 1 in Rocky Mountain House, where they'll face the Calgary Hitmen.

Red Deer and Calgary will meet again five days later in Airdrie, and the Lethbridge Hurricanes will supply the opposition Sept. 8 in Stettler and Sept. 10 at Lethbridge.

The Rebels, Regina Pats, Saskatoon Blades and Prince George Cougars will compete in the WHL Classic Sept. 15-17 at the Red Deer Arena. Red Deer's regular-season opener is Sept. 22 at the Centrium against the Hitmen.