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Braid brings Cats plenty of bang for the buck

It's not even September and Chance Braid has already started his playoff beard. He has no plans to shave it off, not until next May at the earliest, after the Prince George Cougars have had a chance to hoist the Memorial Cup trophy.
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BRAID

It's not even September and Chance Braid has already started his playoff beard.

He has no plans to shave it off, not until next May at the earliest, after the Prince George Cougars have had a chance to hoist the Memorial Cup trophy.

Wishful thinking? You bet, but after this season there is no tomorrow in the junior hockey career of the 20-year-old Braid, so why not shoot for the stars?

Braid, a left winger, was an off-season acquisition for the Cougars, traded June 2 along with 18-year-old forward Lance Yaremchuk from the Prince Albert Raiders in return for 19-year-old forward Jordan Tkatch and a sixth-rounder in the 2016 draft.

"It's pretty exciting coming to this New Ice Age, I couldn't ask for anything better to come to Prince George - it's a good group of guys and a good coaching staff and I'm excited to get the season going," said Braid.

"This is my last year so I want to make a run for it and hopefully get to the next level in my hockey career."

The unshaven look is a fashion trend the Cougars hope will spread throughout the team come springtime. As for being the only bearded Cougar, Braid explained: "I look like a little kid without it so I just thought I'd keep it going over the summer."

The addition of the six-foot-one, 210-pound Braid gives the Cougars a power forward to dig in and wreak havoc in front of opposition goaltenders. A native of Chauvin, Alta., (south of Lloydminster), Braid has played 201 career regular-season WHL games for the Raiders, collecting 17 goals, 40 assists and 213 penalty minutes. He played all 72 games last season and picked up seven goals and 24 points to go with 93 minutes in penalties. He had one playoff goal in a first-round sweep at the hands of the Edmonton Oil Kings.

"I make the simple plays, get pucks in and go hard to the net and use my size and strength," said Braid. "I've been working over the summer on my scoring and my touch around the net. I haven't been getting the most goals over the last couple years and I hope to improve on that. I'm definitely not afraid to drop the gloves."

In fact, Braid had 11 fights last season (all of which are available on hockeyfights.com). Judging by the video evidence, he didn't lose one of those scraps, including a late-round decision over Cougars rookie defenceman Zach Gonek Jan. 27 in Prince Albert. The Cougars had the last laugh that night, however, winning that game 6-5 in a shootout, which set the tone for a perfect 4-0 tour of Saskatchewan.

Already well-versed in Braid's abilities as an intimidator, the Cougars are convinced his soft touch around the net will lead to a career year scoring-wise. He scored two nice goals for Team Black in a 10-3 win over Team White in Tuesday's intrasquad game.

"The biggest thing is Chance is a great kid, he's a leader who plays a very pro-style game and he has great hands and great ability to get to the net ," said Cougars general manager Todd Harkins. "We needed some leadership and he'll provide that with the other older guys here and he'll also provide space for our other guys on the ice. That's something we didn't have last year. I noticed in many games we were getting pushed around a bit."

Braid is one of four 20-year-olds with the team, along with goalie Adam Beukeboom, defenceman Wil Tomchuk and forward Jari Erricson. Forward Zach Pochiro could possibly return as a 20-year-old depending on how he performs in the St. Louis Blues pro camp. But it's highly unlikely the Cats will get forward Troy Bourke, 20, back from the Colorado Avalanche.

The Blades had three 20-year-old forwards -- Calder Brooks, Dakota Conroy and Jayden Hart, and an overage defenceman, Sawyer Lange -- and elected to make Braid available. Braid isn't the kind of guy with Todd Fiddler's 50-goal scoring touch but he will prove his value to the Cougars in other ways.

"He's 20, he's a leader, he's been around the league, he has a good skill-set and he has a strong stick around the net to tap one in," said Cougars head coach Mark Holick. "He's like a big brother type and he's been real good. He's a guy we'll be leaning on and I'll be bending his ear quite a bit. If Chance Braid gets 50 goals that's pretty good for us. He's a guy who's a complete player who will be good in our dressing room for our team."

Braid's 17-year-old brother Chasetan, also a left winger, is trying to earn a spot this season with the Saskatoon Blades.

The Cougars leave on the bus today for St. Albert, Alta., where they face the Red Deer Rebels Saturday and the Medicine Hat Tigers on Sunday to begin the exhibition season. The Cats host the defending Memorial Cup-champion Oil Kings next weekend at CN Centre.