Pedersen takes charge for SFMAAAHL leading Rebels

Late grandfather a big influence for standout defender

Sydney Pedersen weaves her way to a highlight goal for the Rebels.

    Sydney Pedersen always sees herself a “granddaddy’s girl.”
    The 16-year-old star defender for the powerhouse Regina Rebels of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League still thinks a tonne about one of her biggest supporters and influences in her late grandfather, Jim Pedersen.

    Jim had a lengthy career as a hockey scout, which included working for 26 years with the NHL’s Dallas Stars and being part of their Stanley Cup winning team in 1999. He was part of Prince Albert Raiders organization when they won the WHL title and Memorial Cup as CHL champions in 1985. He passed away in July of 2018 at age 81.

    Growing up in Milestone, Sask., Sydney felt destined to play the sport. Her father, Lee, played the sport as well as her uncles, Reid and Rod. Reid would work for a time in management with the WHL’s Regina Pats, while Rod worked as a play-by-play voice for about two decades in the WHL with the Raiders for two seasons and the Pats for a very lengthy stretch.

Sydney Pedersen, right, cuts past a Stars defender.

    When it comes to lacing up the skates herself, Sydney said the reasons she started out in hockey will lead back to her late grandfather in Jim.

    “It was kind of almost decided before I was even born that I would play hockey,” said Sydney, who is skating through her third full season with the Rebels. “I am the second oldest grandchild.

    “I am the only one that decided to play hockey, and that is kind of how my grandpa and I’s relationship built too.”

    Sydney likely would have gotten high grades from her late grandfather with her play on Saturday at Merlis Belsher Place. She has a huge outing collecting a goal and four assists as the Rebels blanked the host Saskatoon Stars 7-0 in a SFMAAAHL regular season clash.

Sydney Pedersen rushes the puck up ice with confidence.

    After 16-year-old defender Emma DeCorby scored to give the Rebels a 1-0 lead in the first period, Pedersen picked up assists on all four of the Rebels goals in the second frame as the visitors increased their edge to 5-0.

    She picked an assist on Neena Brick’s goal just 49 seconds into the second. Pedersen teamed up with Brick to set up Alexis Petford for a power-play on a backdoor setup.

    Following that tally, Pedersen combined with Tavia Terry to send Hanna Bailey into the Stars zone on a rush that resulted in Bailey netting a short-handed goal.

    Pedersen picked up her fourth assist feeding a point shot through a maze of players that was tipped home by Rebels sophomore 15-year-old forward Molly Flynn.

Sydney Pedersen, right, is having a career season with the Rebels.

    With 6:24 remaining in the third, Pedersen scored her goal by taking the puck in the centre ice zone, weaving through Stars defenders on an individual rush and smartly tucking the puck home from tight quarters in front of the Saskatoon net. That tally gave the Rebels a 6-0 lead.

    Petford rounded out the scoring with her second tally of the contest a short time after Pedersen’s goal.

    Besides the offensive fireworks, Pedersen turned some heads finishing one of her checks hard in the defensive zone in the third period.

    Jim was able to see Sydney play for the Rebels during her rookie season. She said it felt different when she hit the ice for her second season in Regina knowing Jim wouldn’t physically be in the crowd anymore.

Sydney Pedersen, left, is strong close out opposition player in the D-zone.

    “We were extremely tight,” said Sydney, who stands 5-foot-7. “When he passed on, it was really hard to get used to that with him not being there all the time.

    “He hardly ever missed a game, and he would be at the rink every practice and everything, when I played in Milestone in my younger years. I was the only grandchild to play, so that even made it more of a relationship kind of thing.”

    Before embarking on her third season, Sydney verbally committed to playing for the Robert Morris University Colonials women’s hockey team in the NCAA ranks for the start of the 2021-22 campaign.

Sydney Pedersen, left, celebrates a goal from Molly Flynn (#16).

    After making that commitment, she has followed with a stellar campaign netting career highs in goals (six), assists (12) and points (18) appearing 13 out of the Rebels 14 regular season games. Pedersen has helped Rebels rise to first in the SFMAAAHL with a 13-0-1 record.

    Pedersen was named one of the Rebels two main captains along with 17-year-old star forward Lauren Focht. During road games, Pedersen serves as the club’s captain, and Focht takes up those duties during home games.

    Rebels head coach Mike Merk said Pedersen was named one of the club’s captains due to her character and the fact she leads by example.

    “She shows up every game,” said Merk. “I think that was one thing for me.

    “I like to look at players that are going to kind of take my lead and reiterate the messages going in. Early in the season when we made the decision, she was one that kind of stood out. She does a really good job with that leadership role.”

Sydney Pedersen is an anchor on the back end for the Rebels.

    Merk said Pedersen is a pretty consistent performer on the ice too and is pretty fun to watch. She came through on both those fronts in Saturday’s win.

    “She (Pedersen) had a really good game,” said Merk. “Sydney is strong defensively, but she also had a lot of offensive punch to her game as well.

    “She is really an anchor on the back end. I’ve got a good defensive corps right now that we can either play a run and gun style or we can actually sit back and shut down. It is nice having girls like her back there.

    “Her confidence right now with the puck and ability to rush the puck I think is where I am seeing her growth happen.”

    Pedersen said she had to come out with a little more jump on Saturday. She didn’t think she was at her best, when the Rebels rallied from a 3-1 third period deficit to down the Stars 4-3 on Friday at Merlis Belsher Place.

Hanna Bailey had a short-handed goal for the Rebels.

    “I didn’t have a great game yesterday, so I knew that I have to come out and play better today,” said Pedersen. “I think as a whole we played better today, and it is way easier to get going, when you have good forwards and good D-partners beside you.”

    Arden Kliewer turned away 32-of-37 shots starting in goal for the Stars (5-11-2). Kaitlyn Cadrain played the third period in relief turning away 14-of-16 shots sent her way.

    Chantel Weller turned away all 11 shots she faced to pick up the win in goal for the Rebels and earn her fourth shutout of the season.

    The Stars now head off on their Christmas break, and they will return to regular season action on Jan. 11 in the new year, when they host the Weyburn Richardson Pioneer Gold Wings at 1:45 p.m. at Merlis Belsher Place.

    The Rebels travel to Prince Albert on Sunday to take on the Northern Bears at 1 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre. After that contest, both of those squads will head out on their respective Christmas breaks.

Alexis Petford watches her power-play goal find its way home.

    Last season, the Rebels finished second overall in the SFMAAAHL regular season standings with a 17-7-4 mark. They advanced to the best-of-five SFMAAAHL championship series and were swept 3-0 by Stars squad that had a lot of veteran star players.

    Pedersen believes her team learned a lot from that experience.

    “Last year we were actually really young, so I think coming into playing the Stars in the final we were quite immature towards that,” said Pedersen. “I think that just gave us that much more experience for this coming up year in playoffs.

    “Our younger players now know what it is like. Playoff hockey is completely different from league, so they have a little taste of what it is.”

    This season, Pedersen is trying to enjoy each moment as much as possible. She felt privileged the coaches named her the captain for road games, and she believes she is surrounded by a special bunch of teammates out on the ice.

The Rebels celebrate their win on Saturday.

    “There is a super great group of girls in there,” said Pedersen. “We’re all tight-knit and were all equal, so it is awesome to be part of that.”

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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