NHL camp spots reserved for a dozen Prince George Cougars from last year’s team

Prince George Cougars centre Riley Heidt pushes his way around Kelowna Rockets forward Gabriel Szturc during second-

period action in Game 1 of their second round series at CN Centre, April 12, 2024. Heidt and the Cougars are in Edson this weekend to start the WHL preseason. Citizen photo by Chuck Nisbett
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Success in junior hockey is not just wins and championships but can be measured in the number of players who go on to play in the professional ranks.

Coming off their most successful regular-season finish and one of their all-time best playoffs runs, the Prince George Cougars know they must be doing things right when they see a dozen players from last year will be heading soon to NHL camps.

Only two of that group, scoring sensation Zac Funk and defenceman Hudson Thornton – both with the Washington Capitals – have aged out of junior hockey.

The Cougars boarded the bus Friday afternoon to head for Edson, Alta., where they’ll start the preseason today (1 p.m. PT) and Sunday (11 a.m. PT) against the Edmonton Oil Kings.

Two of the three players picked in this year’s draft – forward Terik Parascak (first round, 17th overall, Washington) and forward Hunter Laing (sixth round, 170th, Calgary Flames) are still camping with the Cougars but will soon be with their respective NHL teams.

The third, winger Ondrej Becher, picked the third round, 80th overall by the Detroit Red Wings, is focused on pro camp and might not be back in Prince George for his final year of junior eligibility. The same can be said for goalie Ty Young (Vancouver Canucks) and winger Koehn Ziemmer (Los Angeles Kings) who have been told by their respective teams to skip the Cougars’ camp.

Undrafted defenceman Viliam Kmec, who did not come back to Prince George from Slovakia, will report to the Las Vegas Golden Knights’ camp.