In the 20-year history of the Prince George Cougars, three players have been picked in the first round of the NHL draft.
The first two -- Eric Brewer (fifth overall in 1997, New York Islanders) and Dan Hamhuis (12th overall in 2001, Nashville Predators) -- are now seasoned NHL veterans who this year became part-owners of the Cougar franchise.
The third -- Brett Connolly (sixth overall, 2010, Tampa Bay Lightning) -- is stating his case for a regular duty in the Lightning lineup after spending the past two seasons in the AHL.
The guy most likely to join that exclusive club at the draft June 26, 2015 in Sunrise, Fla., is 17-year-old centre Jansen Harkins. His potential as a first-rounder was confirmed Wednesday when NHL Central Scouting released its list of players to watch for the 2015 draft . Harkins is one of five WHL players given an "A" rating.
"I try not to worry about it too much, it's a long season and I won't really know until that day comes at the end of the year," said Harkins. "I don't really take those things too seriously at this point, it's all kind of speculation and there's going to be lots the whole year. So far I've done well and had lots of success and hopefully I keep it going."
The other WHL players given "A" ratings were defenceman Brandon Carlo of Tri-City, centre Mathew Barzal of Seattle, centre Nick Merkley of Kelowna and left winger Paul Bittner of Portland.
Prince George Spruce Kings centre Brogan O'Brien, a six-foot-one, 191-pound Prince George minor hockey product, also made the preliminary list. The 17-year-old Prince George native is rated as a "C" prospect projected as a fourth-, fifth- or sixth-round candidate.
Harkins proved he belongs to be ranked among the best in his class when he took a regular shift for Canada's gold-medal winning team at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial international tournament in August in the Czech Republic. He arrived for the Cougars' training camp in great shape and started the season a goal and two assists in Friday's 6-3 win over the Portland Winterhawks in Portland. Harkins, who totaled 10 goals and 34 points last season as a rookie, centres a line with wingers Chance Braid and Chase Witala and is one of the go-to forwards on the Cougars' penalty kill.
"Going away to any Team Canada event, last year with the U-17 [Hockey Challenge] and Ivan Hlinka this past summer brings you lots of confidence knowing you can play with the best players of your age and succeed," said the six-foot, 170-pound Harkins, a native of North Vancouver. "It gives you lots of confidence to come back to this league and do well and I've just been trying to get better every day."
Harkins is the middle son of Todd Harkins, the Cougars general manager, a former NHL centre drafted 42nd overall in the 1988 draft by the Calgary Flames. Jansen's uncle Brett, Todd's younger brother, was also drafted, picked by the Islanders in the seventh round in 1989.
"My whole life we've been around hockey in a hockey family so it's nothing new to have [his dad] around to share his experiences with me," said Jansen. "It's obviously a great honour to be drafted in the NHL and hopefully I'll get my chance at the end of the year. Hopefully we'll get some wins and team success will bring me individual success."
Todd Harkins was drafted out of the NCAA college ranks at Miami of Ohio at a time when NHL Central Scouting lists had much less public prominence.
"The rankings are based on what they've done in the past and that's how you get ranked but it means nothing for all these kids until the draft in June for all these kids," he said. "It's good to be noticed but we have lots of players here who could potentially be drafted and that's good for the scouts coming to Prince George.
"I was a college hockey player and I didn't know about the rankings and lists until the draft happened. It's high-profile now because of the internet and TV and guys predicting, but it's what you do on the ice that gets you drafted."
Coming off a demoralizing 7-0 wipeout at the hands of the Tri-City Americans Sunday night in Kennewick, Wash., Cougars host the Kelowna Rockets in the home opener at CN Centre Friday night, the first of a two-game weekend set against the Rockets. The hoopla that comes with the dawn of the New Ice Age and the new ownership group's attempts to revitalize the franchise will not make the Cougars lose sight of the fact the Rockets are one of the top teams in the WHL.
"The Tri-City game is more like a motivator," said Jansen Harkins. " We know we didn't play our best. We can play way better than that, like we showed in Portland and throughout preseason.
"Ever since the last game last season there's been lots of hype and lots of expectation for this season and lots of energy and anticipation through the community for this game this weekend. As a player it's exciting but we just have to take it as a regular game, like we did in Portland."
