Duell enjoying WHL opportunity with Hurricanes

By Lethbridge Herald on October 1, 2025.

Nathan Reiter

Lethbridge Herald

It was a childhood dream that came to reality for Kade Duell.

The 19-year-old Taber product scored his first WHL goal for the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the first period of a 5-3 loss to the Saskatoon Blades on Friday night at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena.

Duell, who grew up attending Hurricane games, says it was a special moment to happen on home ice and he’s enjoyed his time in a Lethbridge sweater so far. 

“It’s pretty cool. (It was my) first home game. I grew up watching the Hurricanes play here and to score a goal in front of all my friends and family was pretty sweet. I know that the culture is really good here, and they’re always a contender. To come in and come here and try and make the team is what I wanted to do. I think it’s been great how good the organization is here and how good everybody gets treated and how good the fans are every night so far that I’ve seen here.”

Duell attended training camp with the Hurricanes as an invite after spending parts of the last three seasons in the Junior A ranks with the Okotoks Oilers, split between the AJHL and BCHL. After impressing the Hurricane brass during camp and the preseason, Duell was signed to a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement on Sept. 11.

Hurricane assistant coach Ryan Aasman says Duell has fit in seamlessly off the ice with Lethbridge.

“We saw Kade a couple years ago at camp and ended up listing them and seeing a lot of the same things that we’re seeing right now. He’s got a really good IQ. He’s a really good kid and a really good teammate. He’s fit in really well, real team first guy. We’ve been doing Monday night mini golf and he ends up winning the whole thing and you can just tell (by) the way the guys responded to him. They were really excited for him to be the winner and I think that talks a lot about what type of kid that he is. I think he’s been great, he’s ultra competitive as well. I think he can continue to work on his strength in the gym like most guys can but I really like his IQ and how coachable he’s been and he’s been a great add to the dressing room.”

Duell is coming off his career year in the Junior A ranks last season with Okotoks. In 52 regular season games, Duell registered 21 goals and 19 assists helping the Oilers secure a spot in the BCHL playoffs.

“I think going there at 17, I kind of went in and matured as a person and a player.” Duell explained. “To come in here as a rookie, but at 19, it’s kind of a blessing because I already know what it’s going to kind of be like, and I’m going to try and help the younger guys.”

So far this season, Duell has appeared in three games for Lethbridge registering a goal, an assist and a minus-one rating. 

Duell says he has noticed a jump to the WHL level. 

“I think just the size and how hard people play here. Everybody here is trying to make it to the next level, and everybody’s just a little bit bigger and stronger, so just trying to keep up. It’s been a little bit different than years before. Coming in as an older guy, just trying to be a role model for the younger guys, even though it’s my first year too. I think being mature and just trying to help the younger guys and also hanging out with older guys to try and learn from them as well, so (I’m) just trying to do a little bit of both.”

Duell is one of three 19-year-old rookies the Hurricanes have on the roster that are making the jump from Junior A to the WHL ranks along with defencemen Nathan Maloney and Carson Olsen. 

Aasman says there’s been a learning curve for the players making the jump to the WHL level, but he expects them all to be contributors 

“I think you learn a lot of things about how the junior A world is compared to what we are here. I think it’s been a big eye opener for those guys. I think they maybe thought that it was going to come a little bit easier because they’re older junior guys, but this league is a different beast. The demands of it are harder. The coaching is harder. The system play is way more dialed in and the expectations with the travel, it’s just bigger. I think it’s been a feel out process for them. What I really like about all three are really good kids and they have talent to them. So far, even through their ebbs and flows, they’ve found ways to be coachable and learn from them. I think they are only going to get better and better.”

The Hurricanes return to action on Friday night when they welcome the Medicine Hat Tigers to the VisitLethbridge.com Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.