Josh Connolly has decided to forego his final year of junior hockey eligibility and won't be returning to the Prince George Cougars to start the season.
The 20-year-old defenceman has enrolled at UBC in Vancouver and has told the Cougars he won't be back for his fourth season in the Western Hockey League.
Connolly, a Prince George native, played two-and-a-half seasons with the Kamloops Blazers before the Cougars acquired him in January at the trade deadline in a one-for-one exchange that sent Marc McNulty to the Blazers.
In 24 games with the Cougars, Connolly totalled eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points, after compiling 34 points in 39 games for Kamloops. With his strong skating skills and exceptional puckhandling ability, Connolly quarterbacked the Cougars' power-play and he was instrumental in the Cougars' late-season push which got them into the playoffs for the first time in four seasons.
Connolly could not be reached for comment but it's believed he will play for the UBC Thunderbirds this season.
Cougars general manager Todd Harkins said he has stayed in close contact with Connolly throughout the summer and has made it clear to him the Cougars will welcome him back if he changes his mind and decides to put off his post-secondary studies.
"The door does not close on us until Jan. 10 (the day of the WHL roster deadline)," said Harkins. "Josh has decided to try the school road and we have to support him throughout that whole process. These kids have to follow their visions of what they want to do after hockey and we'll support whatever he decides to do. They get a great scholarship package from the Western Hockey League and it's a good opportunity for him to continue to play hockey and get his schooling."
Connolly is the younger brother of former Cougars captain Brett, now a forward with the Boston Bruins.
Harkins admits the younger Connolly's contributions to the team will be missed, but his departure does make it easier for the Cougars to sort out their overage player situation with three 20-year-olds remaining - Chase Witala, Aaron Macklin and Joseph Carvalho.
"It is a hard position to fill but we haven't looked any further because we have three great 20-year-olds who have decided to come back," said Harkins. "Joe Carvalho had a great season last year and a great playoffs and Aaron, being a big 20-year-old, is able to play some big minutes and play the boards really strong, and Chase with his goal production, they are three pretty good 20s.
"As an organization, we want our 20-year-olds to be self-produced, we don't want to be trading for 20-year-olds. We want kids who have come through the system and know the routine. They know the city and know the fans and they know the young guys and they're there as leaders so we've stuck to our guns on keeping those three 20-year-olds who are homegrown."
The Cougars' training camp starts Aug. 29.
