How many Cougars will be drafted?

Entering the draft, held in Montreal at the Bell Centre, the Cougars have five players ranked on NHL Central Scouting’s Final Rankings. The list was released back in March.

Arguably the biggest storyline for the Cougars is their starting goaltender, Tyler Brennan, being ranked as the No. 1 goalie prospect in the draft. Back in March, he was listed as the top netminder in North America but is also being recognized as the best goalie available in the entire draft (including European goalies).

Brennan, from Winnipeg, Man., played in 39 games this season, and posted an 11-25-1-1 record, with a 3.58 goals-against average (GAA) and .899 save percentage (SV%). He also had four shutouts. Brennan was excellent in the WHL Playoffs, as he posted a 1.86 GAA and .954 SV% in four games against the Portland Winterhawks.

To further add excitement for Cougars fans, the team’s other goalie is also ranked. Ty Young is ranked as the 9th best goalie available overall.

Young moved up from his midseason ranking of 21^st to sixth among North American Goalies. He appeared in 23 games this season and compiled a 6-9-3-0 record while sporting a 3.50 GAA and .899 SV%. He was at his best in the last month of the regular season. In six games in April, he posted a 2-2-2-0 record and an impressive 2.35 GAA and .931 SV%.

By the end of the draft, the CN Centre could have an NHL-drafted goalie between the pipes for the Cougars regardless of the night.

Three defencemen of the Cougars also could be hearing their names called over the next two days. Hudson Thornton, Keaton Dowhaniuk, and Viliam Kmec all landed on the Final Rankings issued by NHL Central Scouting.

Thornton had a breakout rookie campaign in the WHL. He was the Cougars’ top-scoring defenceman with 45 points (14G-31A) in 65 games. Thornton ranked third in Rookie scoring among defencemen in the WHL. His 14 goals were ranked sixth among WHL defencemen. Thornton shot up the rankings in the second half of the season, climbing all the way to 109^th from his midseason ranking of 211^th.

Dowhaniuk had 22 points (1G-21A) in 64 games this season and surpassed his career-high in points from last season. The 17-year-old rearguard had a strong finish to the regular season, as he posted 8 points (1G-7A) over his final 17 games and had the second-best plus/minus rating on the Cougars’ roster over that span. Dowhaniuk moved up 16 spots from his midseason ranking of 136^th.

Kmec, who hails from Slovakia, had 14 points (2G-12A) in 62 games this season. The blue-liner represented Slovakia at the 2022 World Junior Hockey Championship in Alberta in December. Kmec played in a pair of games before the tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns. Kmec was ranked 92^nd in NHL Central Scouting’s midterm rankings in January but slipped to 186th when the final rankings were released.

The most recent player from Prince George to be drafted was defenceman Ethan Samson, who was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the sixth round, 174^th overall, in the 2021 NHL Draft.

Round 1 of the NHL Draft gets underway Thursday, July 7 at 4:00 p.m. PT. Rounds 2 to 7 will be held on Friday, beginning at 8:00 a.m.

by Ethan Ready

How many Cougars will be drafted?

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