Cougars to bring future of the franchise to Kamloops

The Prince George Cougars drafted Riley Heidt in the first round, 2nd overall, in the 2020 WHL Draft.

Widely considered one of the top forwards in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft, Heidt played in 44 games for the Contacts and was fifth in team scoring with 37 points (17G-20A), impressive numbers considering he was playing against competition up to three years older than him. He was granted special status by the Saskatchewan Hockey Association to play at the midget level.

“There’s another rule that you can have a 16-year-old goaltender as your third goalie if their season is cancelled, too. So we’re going to have that,” said Lamb on the team opting to bring on Ty Young, a 16 year-old goalie they drafted in the eighth round, 158th overall, in the 2019 WHL Draft.

“So we’re going to have six 16-year-olds and one 15-year-old. It’s a little bit complicated but it’s very exciting. We get to bring in the future of our team.”

And with that, the team is also still celebrating a series of recent signings as well from previous draft years including Hudson Thornton, who passed up his scholarship to NCAA’s University of Minnesota Duluth in order to sign with the Cougars.

“I feel bad because we have more than what we’re bringing into the bubble. It’s just you have to make rules and guidelines on things. We have two other first-rounders that we’re unable to bring in along with Heidt. Those kids are AP’ed if we get into injury problems. There are a lot more exciting players that we could bring in but we just can’t at this point.”

March 6th, players, coaches, and all staff heading to Kamloops will enter their required self-quarantine before heading to Kamloops on March 13.

“We’re ready to go. We’ve had a year off. It’s going to be different. We’re just privileged to be able to get back playing so we’re willing to do anything. (Quarantine’s) a small price we’re willing to pay in order to play.”

With the shortened season, just 24 games this year for the Cougars, Lamb says he expects his squad to be competitive in the bubble, as this unique season brings in the next generation of Cougars Hockey for Prince George.

According to team personnel, the Cougars are likely to release their official team roster sometime early next week as they ready to head to Kamloops on March 13.

by Ethan Ready

Cougars to bring future of the franchise to Kamloops

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