The Prince George Cougars have added a Bison to their herd and he's a rare breed indeed.
With their first pick in Tuesday's CHL import draft, 20th overall, the Cougars selected six-foot-three, 187-pound Bartek Bison, a 1998-born forward from Amsterdam who played last season with Jungadler Mannheim of the German Development League.
Cougars general manager Todd Harkins picked the 17-year-old Bison based on the advice of his friend, Frankfort Lions GM Rich Chernomaz, a former teammate of Harkins when they were in the IHL with the Salt Lake City Flames.
"We had 15 guys on our list and we were looking at three older guys (in Germany) who I'd seen play in the world under-18s, but (Chernomaz) said Bartek is the guy to get," said Harkins.
"He's got good hands, he's strong along the boards, and his big body will be a presence around opposing team's nets. He has a knack to score when he plays with his own age group. He's a bit under the radar as a Dutch-born player but he left home (t age 15) to play in the Mannheim system and this is what he wants to do."
There is just one hockey arena in Amsterdam and The Netherlands is not known for producing hockey players. In fact, there's been only one Dutch-born NHL player -- defenceman Ed Kea, who played for the Atlanta Flames and St. Louis Blues from 1974-83. On Saturday, Daniel Sprong, a forward for Charlottetown of the QMJHL, became the first player born in Holland to be selected in the NHL draft when he went 46th overall to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Last season, as a 16-year-old with the Mannheim under-19 team, Bison collected four goals and four assists in 29 games and also had 30 penalty minutes. He also picked up one goal in four playoff games and played for The Netherlands in the Division 2A world junior tournament.
Bison was also chosen in the 2015 USHL draft, picked by Madison in the 21st round, 328th overall. He plans to finish his last year of high school in Prince George while he's playing for the Cougars.
The Cougars used the 80th overall pick to acquire 18-year-old defenceman Luka Zorko of Slovenia. The six-foot-five, 205-pound Zorko suited up last season in the Russian Junior League with Altanti Mytishchi where he totaled two goals four assists 26 penalty minutes and plus-2 rating in 33 games.
The Cougars were looking for youth to add to their depth on the blueline. Zorko joins fellow 18-year-olds Tate Olson and Shane Collins, 17-year-old Josh Anderson and 16-year-old Max Martin on the roster.
"He has good hands for a big guy and along stick and I knew I could get Luka later because nobody knew he was coming over (to North America)," said Harkins. "He's a steady, mobile defenceman who plays a hard game, defends well and moves the puck efficiently."
Zorko played for Slovenia in the world under-20 Division 1A tournament in Italy and world under-18 Division 1B tournament in Slovenia, helping his team win the silver medal.
Harkins figures it will take a couple months for Bison and Zorko to adjust to the style of play in the WHL and the smaller rinks while they also get used to a different lifestyle as Canadian residents. Both are fluent in English.
"We have to be patient with these kids -- it was hard for me when I was 28 years old moving to Germany with my family to play hockey and it's even harder for a 17- or 18-year-old kid coming over to play hockey," said Harkins.
"Talking to (Cougars head coach) Mark Holick, we want players who have English as part of their repertoire, it's difficult to teach systems to kids who don't speak English," said Harkins. "They both speak English so they will have an understanding right away."
Russian forward Vladimir Kuznetsov was the first overall pick of the Acadie-Bathust Titan in the Tuesday's draft. The Saskatoon Blades picked Czech defenceman Libor Hajek second overall.
The Cougars' four drafted players -- Jansen Harkins (Winnipeg Jets), Brad Morrison (New York Rangers), Sam Ruopp (Columbus Blue Jackets) and Tate Olson (Vancouver Canucks) are attending NHL prospect camps this week and a fifth, Jared Bethune, has been added to that list.
Bethune, a 17-year-old left winger who was not taken in the draft last weekend, is among 42 players invited to the Minnesota Wild development camp, July 9-14 in St. Paul, Minn.
