The Prince George Cougars are now in their best-ever position to take a run at a Western Hockey League title and a Memorial Cup.
Cougars general manager Todd Harkins added what he hopes is the final ingredient of a championship mix on Tuesday, trade deadline day in the WHL. Harkins swung a deal with the Vancouver Giants, one that brought 19-year-old right-winger Radovan Bondra to Prince George. Bondra, a 2015 draft pick of the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks, steps onto a roster that also features new additions Nikita Popugaev - considered a hot commodity for the 2017 draft - and Brendan Guhle, a top prospect of the Buffalo Sabres who spent time in the NHL in early December. Popugaev, a six-foot-five, 202-pound left-winger, became part of the Cougars organization last Thursday and Guhle, a defenceman, joined the team on Nov. 19.
Together, the three new Cats bring a ton of offensive skill to a Prince George club that already had forwards Jansen Harkins (Winnipeg Jets draft pick), Brad Morrison (New York Rangers) and Jesse Gabrielle (Boston Bruins). Other drafted players on the team - which has been ranked as high as No. 1 in the Canadian Hockey League this season and currently sits at No. 7 - are defencemen Sam Ruopp (Columbus Blue Jackets), Tate Olson (Vancouver Canucks) and Josh Anderson (Colorado Avalanche).
Also Tuesday, the Cougars sent a conditional eighth-round pick in the 2018 WHL bantam draft to the Spokane Chiefs in exchange for 19-year-old depth forward Tanner Wishnowski.
"I think the biggest thing was that, for the last couple of years, we've been able to stockpile some picks and young talent that people coveted, and I think that was important to be able to be in this position now to add some pieces to an already very deep and talented team," said GM Harkins. "So I think by adding these couple pieces (Tuesday) we've just shored up our whole roster and I think the kids are excited that are here and are very glad that we've been able to grab some kids that are going to help with our depth and our overall talent pool.
"In the CHL, if you can acquire depth and talent like we've been able to do, it just gives you an opportunity to go out there shift after shift and create opportunities," Harkins added. "I think that's the main thing - as long as the kids work hard and compete and stay within the system, I think we should be able to have a pretty good run here."
Bondra, from Trebisov, Slovakia, is one of the most prized Europeans in the WHL. At six-foot-five and 221 pounds, he's tough to knock off the puck and goes hard to the net. In 32 games with the Giants this season, he had 19 goals and 31 points.
"He's another big-bodied player (like Popugaev) that can shoot the puck," Harkins said. "He has a nose for the net and likes to get to the dirty areas to find pucks to score. We've seen it first-hand against us, so it's better that he's on our side and in our dressing room until the end of the year. And he's a guy that will help the power play get some opportunities and some points and push that percentage (currently 18th in the league at 16.4 per cent) to a reasonable level."
Bondra is a fifth-round pick of the Blackhawks (151st overall). Internationally, he represented Slovakia in each of the past three world junior hockey championships. He also played for his home country at the under-18 world championships (twice) and at the under-17 worlds.
"He's a dominant winger in our league and brings a unique combination of size, skill and finish to our lineup," Harkins said. "(He has) a very impressive international resume and provides our team with another bonafide offensive weapon."
To get Bondra, chosen eighth overall by the Giants in the 2015 CHL import draft, the Cougars sent 18-year-old forward Bartek Bison to Vancouver and also gave up prospect Tyler Ho. Bison, a Netherlands product who was the 20th overall pick by the Cats in the 2015 import draft, was in his second season in Prince George and had 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists) in 78 games. Ho, a third-round selection by the Cougars in the 2015 bantam draft, spent last season with the Cariboo Cougars of the B.C. Hockey Major Midget League and is currently playing for the Valley West Hawks of the same league. He's a 16-year-old forward from Surrey.
In the Popugaev deal, the Cougars sent 18-year-old import forward Yan Khomenko and 17-year-old forward Justin Almeida - their first-round pick (fifth overall) in the 2014 bantam draft - to the Moose Jaw Warriors. Moose Jaw also received a fifth-round bantam pick in 2017 and a second-round selection in 2018.
To land Guhle, the Cats surrendered 17-year-old defenceman Max Martin, 18-year-old forward Kolby Johnson and two draft picks - a first-rounder in 2018 and a third-rounder in 2019.
Bondra was expected to meet his new teammates Tuesday night in Red Deer, where they took on the Rebels in the first game of a four-game road trip and lost 4-1.
Wishnowski will join the Cougars when the team gets back home from the trip, which includes stops tonight in Medicine Hat, Friday in Lethbridge and Saturday in Calgary. He started the season with the Kelowna Rockets (10 games) and was then shipped to the Chiefs (13 games). In his 23 starts, he has three goals and seven assists.
Wishnowski, a six-foot, 186-pounder from Oakbank, Man., also dressed for 18 playoff games with the Rockets in the spring of 2016.
"That's a lot of experience that's coming into a room that already has a lot of experience," Harkins said. "The kids are going to welcome him to the family and I think (Bondra and Wishnowski) are excited to get here."
The next home game for the Cougars is Jan. 17 against the Portland Winterhawks.
The Cats were 28-11-2-0 entering Tuesday's game against the Rebels. In their 23-year Prince George history, they have never won a WHL banner of any kind and have never advanced past the Western Conference final in playoffs (lost three times, in 1997, 2000 and 2007).
This season marks the first time the P.G. Cougars (the team was based in Victoria from 1971-72 to 1993-94) have held the No. 1 ranking in the CHL.
