James Doyle

2019-2020 Prince George Cougars: Bright future

 

The Prince George Cougars were dealt some good news earlier this week. They won the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft Lottery which means they’ll now pick second, as opposed to the original fourth slot that they were in. The Regina Pats will select first overall and John Paddock has confirmed that they will take Connor Bedard who was granted exceptional status.

Having the second overall pick will allow Prince George to add the next best player that suits their needs to a team that already has a ton to look forward to with a young roster.

As everyone continues to come to terms that there will be no playoff hockey or a Memorial Cup this season, we’ll take a look at what Prince George was all about this season.

The fact is that they were in tough to make it to the playoffs after a 20-34-4-4 season. However, it’s not like the team was that far back. They won their last three games of the season to hit the 20 win mark and they were just seven points back of Seattle for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. They were not mathematically eliminated but needed to basically win out and get some help to make the playoffs.

Based on their last three games, the Cougars have plenty to look forward to in net. Taylor Gauthier started all three games, all of which came against tough teams. On night one, he made 37 saves in a 2-0 win against the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Gauthier would then turn away 78 shots as the Cougars nipped Vancouver on back-to-back nights.

The offence in that sweep against Vancouver was led by captain Josh Maser who is set to graduate. He scored four goals. Prince George also has Tyler Brennan who is expected to do big things moving forward into the future.

Rookie class:

Filip Koffer (photo-Brett Cullen)

Of rookies who ended the season on Prince George’s active roster, there were 273 games accumulated by a group of six. Filip Koffer led the way for the Cougars this year with his 24 points (9G). Craig Armstrong, Ethan Samson, Blake Eastman, Brennan, and Griffin Davin rounded out the rookies.

Brennan won four games in net for the Cougars. Offensively, the five skaters scored 13 times and added 30 assists. That means Prince George rookies accounted for just more than nine percent of the team’s goals this season as they scored 144 times, the second-fewest in the league.

Josh Maser departure:

Josh Maser (photo-Brett Cullen)

It’s a rather significant one for Prince George. The 1999 born left-winger led the Cougars with 48 points this season off of 29 goals. 14 of his goals came on the power play and he had 208 shots. Josh played 217 games with Prince George and he scored 90 times. He was well on his way to record a career-high this year when the season was cut short. His high was 30 goals last year and he still had six contests to go this season.

Maser isn’t the only departing player either for Prince George. Ryan Schoettler and Vladislav Mikhalchuk are also set to move on. Schoettler had 34 points (3G) this season while Mikhalchuk had 32 (12G).

Tough decisions:

Each team will be allowed three, 2000 born players next season. Based on this year, Prince George will begin the season with five. They include Cole Moberg who had 37 points, Jack Sander, Ilijah Colina, Nikita Krivokrasov, and Marco Creta. Statistically, it’ll be Moberg, Sander, and Colina sticking around, but let’s keep in mind, this doesn’t include any trades that Prince George may make in the off-season or next season either.

Wrap-up:

The last time Prince George qualified for the playoffs was in the 2016-2017 season when they won 45 games.

Next year’s team should include a solid group of returnees including Gauthier. If he can continue with the pace he finished this year and the offence can get things going, Prince George could be primed for a return to the WHL Playoffs.