Prince George drafts two players in CHL Import Draft

Jun 30, 2021 | 11:58 AM

PRINCE GEORGE – The Prince George Cougars made two selections Wednesday morning in the 2021 Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Import Draft.

With their first selection, 23^rd overall, the Cougars drafted 2003-born forward Liekit Reichle. With their second pick, 104^th overall, Prince George selected 2004-born defenceman Jozef Viliam Kmec.

Reichle, 18, played the 2020-21 season for the GCK Lions in the Switzerland U-20 hockey league. The Zürich, Switzerland product led his junior team in scoring with 75 points (20g- 55a) in 43 games. Reichle led the Swiss junior league in assists (55) and was third in scoring. He also played five games for the GC Küsnacht Lions in the Swiss League, Switzerland’s second-tier professional division. Reichle played for Switzerland at the 2021 World Under-18 Hockey Championship in Texas and registered one goal in five games.

“Reichle’s points speak for himself. He’s an offensive player who put up big numbers in Switzerland and has a great track record over in Europe,” said Cougars’ General Manager & Head Coach Mark Lamb.

Kmec, 17, played for the Slovakian U-18 National Team during the 2020-21 season. The product of Kosice, Slovakia recorded four assists in 27 games. The Slovak U-18 National Team played in the Slovak third-tier professional division this past season. In the 2019-20 season, the 6’3”, 198-pound defenceman played for HC Kosice U-18 and amassed 35 points (8g-27a) in 48 games.

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“He’s got great size and he’s a puck-mover. He’s a right-handed shot and that’s what we were looking for in this draft,” said Lamb. “We are really pleased to get him where we did with our second pick.”

Each team in the CHL is permitted to dress and play a maximum of two import players each season who are selected annually through the CHL Import Draft process. Last year, the Cougars took Finnish forward Jonni Kärkkäinen in the first round, 12^th overall. Kärkkäinen will remain in Finland for the 2021-22 season.

by Ethan Ready

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Prince George drafts two players in CHL Import Draft

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