A Prince George Cougar is pulling on the Team Canada jersey.
On Tuesday night it was announced that highly touted rookie Jansen Harkins of North Vancouver won a spot on the national Under-18 team that will compete for Canada in the annual Ivan Hlinka Memorial Championship.
The tournament played in Slovakia and the Czech Republic is one of the premier showcases of up-and-coming international hockey talent.
Selected by the Cougars second overall in the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft, Harkins led all team rookies with 34 points in 67 games last season. In addition he captained Team Pacific to a silver medal at the 2014 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and was also named the Prince George Cougars Scholastic Player of the Year.
The Hlinka tournament runs Monday through Aug. 16. When the puck drops Harkins will become the first Cougar since Brett Connolly in 2009 to represent Canada at this prestigious event.
"We're extremely proud of Jansen, and we know that he will be a first-class representative for Canada and the Prince George Cougars," said Cougars head coach Mark Holick. "This type of 'best-on-best' tournament will be great for his development and we wish him all of the best."
His path to Europe was blazed on Calgary ice, where the national hockey program is headquartered. He was one of 44 Canadian teens (as was Cougars teammate Jared Bethune) invited to the audition camp that started Saturday and quickly identified the final roster players.
On Monday, Harkins and crew will be up first against Switzerland. You can follow Team Canada's progress here: www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/Team-Canada/Men/Under-18/2014-15.
All the Cougars prospects begin their preseason training camp on Aug. 22 (preseason games on home ice are Sept. 5, 6 and 12) and the first home games are Sept. 26 and 27 versus the Kelowna Rockets.
