Their names may rhyme, but that's not why the Prince George Cougars acquired a pair of forwards named Chance Braid and Lance Yaremchuk from the Prince Albert Raiders in a trade on Monday.
Rather it's what they'll bring to the ice at CN Centre.
In exchange for the pair, the Cats sent 19-year-old forward Jordan Tkatch and a 2016 sixth-round pick in the Western Hockey League bantam draft to Prince Albert.
Braid, a 20-year-old six-foot-one 206-pound forward from Chauvin, Alta., has played in 201 career regular season WHL games (all with the Raiders), tallying 17 goals, 40 assists and 213 penalty minutes.
Yaremchuk, an 18-year-old five-foot-eight 155-pound forward from Prince Albert, dressed in 15 games with the Raiders last season and tallied a goal and two assists. In 20 games with the triple-A midget Prince Albert Mintos, he netted 15 goals and 31 points. He also chipped in six goals and nine points en route to a 2014 Telus Cup (national midget championship) victory.
"We saw we were missing a little bit of presence on the ice and Chance has character, he plays a hard game as a power forward," said Todd Harkins, Cougars' head scout and director of player personnel. "He's played in the league for a long time and he's a pretty skilled player. He cares about the league and he has the ability to get it done."
While Yaremchuk is a couple years younger, Harkins likes what he sees in him as well.
"Lance is a point-per-game guy, he works extremely hard and his compete level is high," said Harkins. "He's one of those guys who wants to win and with the Mintos he played a huge part in their Telus Cup win."
Harkins added the deal was necessary to fill the void left by 20-year-old Cougar forward Troy Bourke, who signed a three-year, entry-level deal with the NHL's Colorado Avalanche last week. Cougars forward Zach Pochiro signed a pro contract with the St. Louis Blues in March. Both are eligible to return to the Cats' lineup this fall but that's no guarantee they'll be here.
"With the uncertainty with Zach and Troy, that puts us in this situation where we've got to have a plan in place," said Harkins. "This is just another piece of the puzzle and Mark [Holick, Cougars head coach] knows the players as well and we made sure they would fit into our room."
Tkatch was selected by the Cougars in the second round of the 2010 WHL bantam draft. He dressed in 196 career games with the Cats and totaled 33 goals, 82 points and 89 penalty minutes.
"It also gives Jordan a chance to go back to his home province," said Harkins. "We would like to thank him for his contributions to our organization and we wish him great success moving forward with the Raiders."
