Ethan O'Rourke has been cleared to play for the Prince George Cougars.
O'Rourke, a 16-year-old forward, was the Cougars third-round pick in the 2014 bantam draft. He played last season for the Okanagan Hockey Academy.
The Cougars acquired the right to draft O'Rourke on May 1, 2014, the day of the draft, along with forward Haydn Hopkins of Victoria in a trade with the Saskatoon Blades which sent forward Alex Forsberg to Saskatoon.
O'Rourke suffered an off-season foot injury and missed the Cougars' camp last weekend.
On Monday the Cats signed a pair of defencemen - Joel Lakusta and Peter Kope - to standard WHL player agreements.
Lakusta is a 17-year-old six-foot-two, 180-pound player from Sherwood Park, Alta. originally drafted by Saskatoon in the seventh round in 2013. The Blades traded his rights to the Cougars in the off-season. Last season with the Sherwood Park triple-A Midget Kings, Lakusta collected five goals, 12 assists and 67 penalty minutes.
"There is a tremendous amount of upside to his game," said Cougars general manager Todd Harkins. "He's a very strong and elusive skater, he moves the puck well and he does a great job of escaping the opposing team's forecheck."
Kope is listed at six-foot-one, 184 pounds and was selected by the Cougars in the fifth round in 2014. The Edmonton product spent last season with the CAC Minor Midget triple-A Canadians where he tallied seven goals, 23 assists and 86 penalty minutes in 29 games.
"He brings a little bit of everything to the table," said Harkins. "He makes a strong first pass, is a force in front of his own net and plays older than his age."
