Heading into the minor hockey season, there were a lot of unknowns for the Farr Fabricating Cougars. With only two returning players from the 2015-16 team, the bantam Tier 1 Cats were starting from scratch, so to speak.
Now, with the calendar almost ready to flip over to November, the Cougars have about 20 games in the books and are emerging as a club with serious potential.
"I looked at speed this year - I wanted to be a fast team up front," said head coach Mirsad Mujcin, now in his third year at the helm of the city's bantam Tier 1 rep program. "A lot of (the selection process) came down to coachability of the finer players and projecting what they would be like.
"I was trying to look forward to the end of the year with the players and I've seen significant improvements already just based on those decisions," Mujcin added. "That's the tough part of picking teams, but the big focus was speed. My (defence) corps was pretty solid."
The Farr Fabricating defence is anchored by those two returnees, Jacob Gendron and Sean Meehan. Both are 14-year-olds, and Gendron's play has already earned him a couple call-ups by the Major Midget League's Cariboo Cougars, whose age range goes from 15 to 17.
"They're both very good defencemen for me," said the 42-year-old Mujcin, who was born in Yellowknife and eventually found his way to the Western Hockey League with the Tri-City Americans and Regina Pats. "They carry a lot of load. What we expect as coaches, they filter out to the team - good leadership roles for the two."
Another blueliner for the Cats is Brophy Dunne, who recently moved from Fort St. John to Prince George.
"It's tough moving to a new place but he's really handled it well," said Mujcin, who credits assistant coach Mike Burgess with helping Dunne adjust to his new hockey surroundings.
In the forwards, some of the quick feet belong to newcomers Carter Yarish, Landon Ingham, Kellan Brienen and Fisher O'Brien, who is the younger brother of Prince George Cougars forward Brogan O'Brien. All four are first-year bantam Tier 1 players and bring well-rounded skills to the team.
"They are very exciting players," Mujcin said. "They took to the body contact, they're offensive, they're moving pucks - there's a lot to learn at this level and I think they came in with eyes wide open and ears open to listen. They're benefiting every game they get on the ice - more confidence and it's looking good for them."
Also up front, Jackson Hassman is fitting in well with the Farr Fab Cats. Hassman, a centreman, played bantam Tier 3 hockey in Vanderhoof last season.
"This is a big jump for him and he's really coming around and getting confidence, and that's what it takes for these players - just learning the pace of Tier 1 hockey," Mujcin said. "It is a high pace and they realize they have to perform in practice everyday to get used to it."
In the nets, the Cougars are backstopped by 14-year-olds Dawson Frankforth and Orry Currie. Both blocked pucks for Prince George's bantam Tier 2 team last season and have moved smoothly to the higher level thanks in part to assistance from Farr Fabricating goaltending coach Jared Rathjen, a local minor hockey product who played in the WHL for the Victoria Royals, Vancouver Giants and Prince George Cougars.
"They're showing so much promise and playing in big games and making big saves under the pressure," Mujcin said of Frankforth and Currie. "Having a WHL goalie coach there has been helping them."
The bantam Cats have already competed in three tournaments this season and have done well. To start, they posted a 2-1-2 record at a showcase event hosted by the Burnaby Winter Club. Next, they made the final of a Kelowna tournament but lost 1-0 to a Vancouver team. And, most recently, they laced up for a 20-team international gathering in Chilliwack and endured the pain of a last-minute, 3-2 loss to San Diego in the B-side final.
While in Chilliwack, the Cougars defeated the North Shore Winter Club, a team they will likely face during the provincial championship tournament in March.
"That was a pretty good stepping stone for our players," Mujcin said.
As the only bantam Tier 1 team in the region, the Cougars will get an automatic berth in provincials. The B.C. champion will move on to the Western Canadians, and that's the ultimate goal for the Cats.
The Cougars play their league games in the Okanagan Mainline Amateur Hockey Association and started their schedule this past weekend at home against a North Okanagan team based in Vernon. The Cats won Friday's opener 5-2 but then lost 5-3 on Saturday and 4-1 on Sunday. This weekend, they'll host Central Okanagan - a Kelowna and area squad - with games set for Saturday (7:15 p.m., Kin 1) and Sunday (10:15 a.m., Rolling Mix Concrete Arena).
"We'll focus on our preparation, get ready to play our game, and let the chips fall where they may," Mujcin said.
