Prince George Cougars forwards Zac Funk and Riley Heidt and defenceman Hudson Thornton, as well as McBride native Tanner Molendyk of the Saskatoon Blades, are Western Hockey League first-team all-stars.
Funk broke the Cougars’ 30-year-old records for points (123) and goals (67). The 20-year-old from Coldstream finished second in the WHL scoring race and was the league leading goalscorer. He put up 227 points in 228 games dating back to his time with the Calgary Hitmen. His plus-56 rating is an all-time high in the franchise's Prince George history.
Heidt, an 18-year-old from Saskatoon, collected 37 goals and a team-record 80 assists for 117 points to finish third in WHL scoring. Since joining the Cougars after being selected second overall in the 2020 WHL draft, Heidt has 280 points in 221 games as Prince George's all-time leader..
Thornton, 20, collected 18 goals and 56 assists was fourth among WHL defenceman with 74 points. This season he set Cougar career records for goals (56), assists (140) and points (196) over a span of 207 games.
The three Cougars join forward Tij Iginla (Kelowna Rockets), defenceman Justin Kirpe of the Victoria Royals and Vancouver Giants goalie Brett Mirwald on the B.C. Division first team.
Molendyk, a 19-year-old picked in the first round by the Nashville Predators in the 2023 draft, scored 17 goals and 75 points in just 52 games on defence for the Blades, helping Saskatoon win the Scotty Munro Trophy as regular season champions. He broke the Blades career mark for points by a defenceman with 214 points in 203 games.
Three Cougars were nmaed Tuesday as BC Division Second-Team All-Stars, including rookies Joshua Ravensbergen and Terik Parascak, and second-year Slovakian defenceman Viliam Kmec.
Ravensbergen, a 17-year-old goalie from North Vancouver, joined the Cougars from the Vancouver Northwest Hawks U-18s and in his first WHL season he tied the league’s rookie record with six shutouts while posting a 26-4-1-1 record with a 2.46 goals-against average and .907 save percentage.
Parascak, 17, led all WHL rookies with 105 points, including 43 goals, to finish eighth in league scoring. The native of Lethbridge was ranked 14th by NHL Central Scouting among North American skaters eligible for the June draft.
The 20-year-old Kmec scored nine time and 25 assists for 34 points and finished with a plus-39 rating. He also played for Slovakia in the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship. In his two seasons since arriving in Canada the native of Kosice collected 80 points in 180 WHL games.
As Western Conference regular season champions the Cougars open the playoffs Friday at CN Centre in a best-of-seven series against the Spokane Chiefs.
WHL First Team All-Stars
B.C. Division
Goaltender – Brett Mirwald (Saskatoon, Sask.) – Vancouver Giants
Defence – Hudson Thornton (Winnipeg, Man.) – Prince George Cougars
Defence – Justin Kipkie (Calgary, Alta.) – Victoria Royals
Forward – Zac Funk (Coldstream) – Prince George Cougars
Forward – Riley Heidt (Saskatoon, Sask.) – Prince George Cougars
Forward – Tij Iginla (Lake Country) – Kelowna Rockets
U.S. Division
Goaltender – Jan Spunar (Olomouc, Czechia) – Portland Winterhawks
Defence – Graham Sward (Abbotsford) – Wenatchee Wild
Defence – Luca Cagnoni (Burnaby) – Portland Winterhawks
Forward – Berkly Catton (Saskatoon, Sask.) – Spokane Chiefs
Forward – Gabe Klassen (Prince Albert, Sask.) – Portland Winterhawks
Forward – Kenta Isogai (Nagano, Japan) – Wenatchee Wild
Central Division
Goaltender – Harrison Meneghin (South Surrey) – Lethbridge Hurricanes
Defence – Carter Yakemchuk (Calgary, Alta.) – Calgary Hitmen
Defence – Owen Pickering (St. Adolphe, Man.) – Swift Current Broncos
Forward – Conor Geekie (Strathclair, Man.) – Swift Current Broncos
Forward – Gavin McKenna (Whitehorse, Yukon) – Medicine Hat Tigers
Forward – Kai Uchacz (DeWinton, Alta.) – Red Deer Rebels
East Division
Goaltender – Jackson Unger (Calgary, Alta.) – Moose Jaw Warriors
Defence – Tanner Molendyk (McBride, B.C.) – Saskatoon Blades
Defence – Denton Mateychuk (Dominion City, Man.) – Moose Jaw Warriors
Forward – Trevor Wong (Vancouver, B.C.) – Saskatoon Blades
Forward – Jagger Firkus (Irma, Alta.) – Moose Jaw Warriors
Forward – Egor Sidorov (Vitebsk, Belarus) – Saskatoon Blades
WHL Second Team All-Stars
B.C. Division
Goaltender – Joshua Ravensbergen (North Vancouver) – Prince George Cougars
Defence – Caden Price (Saskatoon, Sask.) – Kelowna Rockets
Defence – Viliam Kmec (Kosice, Slovakia) – Prince George Cougars
Forward – Terik Parascak (Lethbridge, Alta.) – Prince George Cougars
Forward – Andrew Cristall (Burnaby) – Kelowna Rockets
Forward – Jaden Lipinski (Scottsdale, Ariz.) – Vancouver Giants
Central Division
Goaltender – Reid Dyck (Winkler, Man.) – Swift Current Broncos
Defence – Noah Chadwick (Sasktoon, Sask). – Lethbridge Hurricanes
Defence – Marc Lajoie (St. Albert, Alta.) – Edmonton Oil Kings
Forward – Oliver Tulk (Gibsons) – Calgary Hitmen
Forward – Oasiz Wiesblatt (Calgary, Alta.) – Medicine Hat Tigers
Forward – Andrew Basha (Calgary, Alta.) – Medicine Hat Tigers
East Division
Goaltender – Carson Bjarnason (Carberry, Man.) – Brandon Wheat Kings
Defence – Charlie Wright (Olds, Alta.) – Saskatoon Blades
Defence – Justice Christensen (Red Deer, Alta.) – Prince Albert Raiders
Forward – Atley Calvert (Moose Jaw, Sask.) – Moose Jaw Warriors
Forward – Sloan Stanick (Rapid City, Man.) – Prince Albert Raiders
Forward – Brayden Yager (Saskatoon, Sask.) – Moose Jaw Warriors
U.S. Division
Goaltender – Scott Ratzlaff (Irma, Alta.) – Seattle Thunderbirds
Defence – Jeremy Hanzel (Coquitlam) – Seattle Thunderbirds
Defence – Sawyer Mynio (Kamloops) – Seattle Thunderbirds
Forward – James Stefan (Laguna Beach, Calif.) – Portland Winterhawks
Forward – Ben Hemmerling (Sherwood Park, Alta.) – Everett Silvertips
Forward – Conner Roulette (Winnipeg, Man.) – Spokane Chiefs
