The Prince George Cougars have a new director of U.S. scouting and he's the older brother of general manager Todd Harkins.
The Cougars announced the appointment of Don Harkins on Monday. The Cleveland, Ohio, native replaces Bill Horton, who is based in Saint Paul, Minn.
Most recently, in 2015-16, Don Harkins was head of U.S. scouting for the Flint Firebirds of the Ontario Hockey League. Prior to that - for six years - he was director of scouting for the OHL's Plymouth Whalers.
Some of his recruits who have been picked up by NHL teams are J.T. Miller (first round, New York Rangers, 2011), Ryan Hartman (first round, Chicago Blackhawks, 2013), Sonny Milano (first round, Columbus Blue Jackets, 2014) and Alex Nedeljkovic (second round, Carolina Hurricanes, 2014).
Don Harkins is 50 and Todd Harkins is 47.
The Cougars have also named two other new scouts - Rae Metz (U.S. west and southwest) and Dylan Franson (B.C. interior).
"We are thrilled to welcome Don, Rae and Dylan to the Prince George Cougars family," said Todd Harkins in a media release.
"All three have a deeply-rooted passion for the game and are all aware of the time and sacrifices required to bring the best talent possible to northern British Columbia. We're very excited to get all three to Prince George for training camp in the fall."
Metz is a former minor pro player who lives in Phoenix. Franson, a relative of Nashville Predators defenceman Cody Franson, has experience with ISS Hockey (International Scouting Services) and is from Sicamous.
