When the Prince George Cougars drop the puck in Saskatoon Saturday (Jan. 11), they’ll see a two-day-old familiar face on the other side of the rink.
Rhett Rhinehart will wear a Blades uniform for the remainder of the 2019-20 season after he and Reid Perepeluk were traded away last night (Jan. 9) to Saskatoon and the Brandon Wheat Kings respectively.
General Manager Mark Lamb explains it was a tough decision to deal the R’s away, but believes this is the right move for the Prince George organization.
“The moves today fits into our plan for not only our future but for right now as well,” he said in a team release Thursday evening.
“Getting another first-round selection in what is a very talented 2005-born draft class is what we were striving for.”
Rhinehart was ranked a ‘C’ grade on @NHLCentralScout’s Players to Watch list at the beginning of the 2019-20 season 📝 In 3 years with the Cats, the 18-year-old suited up in 133 games & tallied 33 points (11G, 22A) | #CityOfPG pic.twitter.com/TmbSAhIhg7
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) January 10, 2020
The 19-year-old had his fair share of run-ins with WHL’s Discipline Committee as he’s been suspended for a combined 5 games this year, 3 in his first sentence, 2 in the other | #CityOfPG
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) January 10, 2020
As Lamb eluded to, the Cougars, in return from both clubs are getting three new players, including one that’s currently unsigned, and a first-round Western Hockey League (WHL) Bantam Draft pick this coming summer.
From Saskatoon, the Cats are welcoming Majid Kaddoura to the line-up, who is in his WHL sophomore season and has 77 career games under his belt with three goals and 12 points in that span.
The 18-year-old defenceman will add stature to the blue-line, standing at six-foot-two.
Prince George’s latest 2020 draft pick from the Blades means they will have three first-round selections this year, while also landing the rights to 16-year-old Jayden Watson for future development.
Jonny Hooker comes over from the Wheat Kings with 27 points to his name, 14 goals and 13 assists in 134 regular-season games.
He was an eighth-round selection in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft by Brandon.
The Cougars face-off in Prince Albert tonight (Jan. 10) and Saskatoon tomorrow, before venturing to Manitoba next week for games in Winnipeg (Jan. 14) and Brandon (Jan. 15).
