Prince George Cougars forward Brogan O'Brien is expected to be out of the lineup on a month-to-month basis, the result of knee-on-knee contact with Victoria Royals defenceman Kade Jensen in a Sunday afternoon Western Hockey League game at CN Centre.
The incident, 7:19 into the third period, earned Jensen a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for kneeing. On Tuesday, the league also handed the 20-year-old blueliner a three-game suspension.
"Losing Brogan is significant, as he's such a terrific leader on and off the ice, and he was really coming into his own," said Cougars general manager Todd Harkins. "You can't replace that type of character in your dressing room but we know we have a group that can rally around their injured teammate."
At the time of his injury, O'Brien – a hometown boy – was fourth in team scoring with 10 goals and 21 points in 29 games.
With the overage O'Brien on the shelf for an extended period of time, the Cougars have signed 20-year-old forward Nic Holowko, who was on waivers. Holowko started the season with the Kamloops Blazers but played only seven games before he was released. In those seven outings, he put up three goals and four points. The Cougars announced Holowko's signing on Tuesday afternoon.
"He's a veteran piece that we can insert into our lineup after losing O'Brien on the weekend," Harkins said. "Nic is a power-forward who fits in very well with our style of play and he'll add some grit to our forward group."
Holowko, from Burnaby, checks in at six-foot-one and 190 pounds. In four WHL seasons with Seattle, Prince Albert and Kamloops, he has 21 goals, 53 points and 100 penalty minutes in 208 career regular-season games. Most recently, he had been skating for the Coquitlam Express of the B.C. Hockey League.
In another move announced Tuesday, the Cougars have recalled 16-year-old defenceman Cole Beamin from the Saskatoon Contacts of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League. Beamin - a second-round pick of the Cougars in the 2016 bantam draft - will fill in for team captain Dennis Cholowski, who is trying out for Canada's world junior team in St. Catharines, Ont.
Both Holowko and Beamin could be in the lineup tonight (7 p.m., CN Centre) when the Cougars and Royals meet again.
