Photo Credit: WHL

By Jaeden Demelo

Cougars

Cougars 20-year-olds make jump from WHL to professional hockey

Apr 16, 2025 | 4:26 PM

PRINCE GEORGE— Over a week after the Cougars season has concluded, a number of their top players have joined their NHL teams American Hockey League (AHL) affiliated clubs for the remainder of their 2024-25 season.

Earlier this week, Cougars Captain Riley Heidt joined the Iowa Wild, while last summers 17th overall pick in the NHL Draft, Terik Parascak, joined the Hershey Bears to go along with the Cats three 20-year-olds.

Borya Valis joined the team via a trade midway through last season, and made some incredible strides in his game leading to him signing an Entry Level Contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs and joining their AHL affiliates, the Marlies for the remainder of their season.

“Lots of credit to the coaching staff and to all the guys. I wouldn’t be in this position without my teammates and I just took everything that the coaching staff had to give me and I made it the best I could,” said Valis.

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Koehn Ziemmer, the Prince George Cougars all-time leading goalscorer also made the move to the AHL this week. He joined the Ontario Reign after suiting up for the Cats 280 times between the regular season and playoffs.

“I’ve been here since I was 15. Time flies for sure. The organization has been nothing but great, between the team, the city, the fans, my billets, everybody that’s been involved, all the trainers. It’s been a pleasure to play here,” said Ziemmer.

The third 20-year-old is Viliam Kmec, who grew into one of the best two way defenders in Cougars history during his time in PG. The Slovakian joined the Vegas Golden Knights affiliate in Henderson, Nevada after four seasons as a Cougar.

“It’s become like a second home to me. Four years, that’s a really big chunk of my life that I spent here. I love all the fans and all the people here are awesome. I’m really happy and proud that I was a part of the team,” said Kmec.

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Email: jaeden.demelo@pattisonmedia.com