The Prince George Cougars have filled their vacant overager spot.
On Wednesday morning, the local Western Hockey League team announced the acquisition of 20-year-old forward Luke Harrison. The Cougars got Harrison from the Brandon Wheat Kings in exchange for a ninth-round pick in the 2016 WHL bantam draft.
Harrison, from West Kelowna, stands six-foot-one and checks in at 204 pounds.
"We are very familiar with Luke and the style of game he plays and he's going to be a welcomed addition to our lineup and our dressing room," said Cougars general manager Todd Harkins. "He brings experience, leadership, size and speed to our forward corps and we're excited to get him to Prince George so that he can help contribute to our team's success."
Harrison has played 196 career regular-season games in the WHL. He has divided his time mostly between the Victoria Royals franchise (94 games) and the Kamloops Blazers (89 games).
Harrison started this season with the Spokane Chiefs (seven games) and then landed with the Wheat Kings. With the Wheaties, he appeared in six contests. In the 13 games he has played in 2015-16, he has scored four goals and has picked up four minutes in penalties.
For his career, Harrison has 21 goals, 13 assists and 125 penalty minutes.
Harrison was originally a third-round bantam draft pick of the Chilliwack Bruins in 2010. In 2011, he was part of a B.C. club that skated to gold at the Canada Winter Games in Halifax.
The other two overagers in the Prince George lineup are forward Chase Witala and defenceman Joseph Carvalho. A third spot opened up when the Cougars dealt goaltender Mack Shields to the Medicine Hat Tigers on Nov. 12.
After playing 10 of their past 13 games away from CN Centre, the Cougars will be back on home ice Friday and Saturday (7 p.m. start times) against the Blazers. The Cats (12-9-1-0) are on a two-game winning streak and have won five-straight at home. Their overall record has them in third place in the B.C. Division.
The Blazers, meanwhile, sit at 10-8-3-0 and are just two points behind the Cougars. The Blazers also have a game in hand.
In head-to-head play so far this season, the Blazers have dominated the Cougars. In three previous games - all in Kamloops - the Blazers won by scores of 6-1 (Oct. 28), 5-2 (Nov. 7) and 9-1 (Nov. 15). In total, the Cougars have been outscored 20-4 in those outings.
