Scott Cousins went undrafted.
This week, most Western Hockey League (WHL) teams are likely kicking themselves for passing on the Prince George product after he recorded a breakout season in 2019-20.
His efforts have now been rewarded with the 17-year-old signing with the Kelowna Rockets this week, in what is likely a standard player agreement for the 2021-22 campaign.
“There’s nothing I don’t love about hockey, the competitiveness, the teamwork, that adrenaline rush you get after a big play or a big goal. It’s the whole experience,” Cousins told BC Hockey after he was named the 2020 Under-16 AAA player of the year in April 2020.
I am extremely excited to announce my signing with the @Kelowna_Rockets. I would like to thank everyone in the @cariboocougars organization for pushing me and helping me reach my goals on and off the ice everyday. Cant wait to get things started🚀.
— Scott-Cousins91 (@cousins91) February 10, 2021
While with the Cariboo Cougars a season ago, he put on scoring clinic with 57 points in 28 games, including 28 goals and 29 assists.
His numbers placed him third in the league standings, four behind Max Graham of the Okanagan Rockets, but Cousins’ total was also 14 more points than his next teammate on the stats sheet.
The Cougars Captain had the second-best points-per-game average at 2.04 en route to the team’s first regular-season title.
“I had so much help from my coaches and teammates, I‘m really proud of this,” he said.
“We have a great program up north with the four teams that focuses on developing everyone. [...] We bonded really well together and I think that led to success on the ice.”
Cousins was also named to the BC Hockey Under-16 AAA All-Star Team.
He also suited up in two games with the Cariboo Under-18 AAA Cougars as an affiliate, registering an assist in the short stint.
The Kelowna Rockets finished fourth in the 2019-20 B.C. Division with a record of 29-28-3-3 before the season was cut short by COVID-19.
