A current Cariboo Cougar will soon make the jump to the Western Hockey League (WHL).
Nico Myatovic officially signed a standard player agreement with the Seattle Thunderbirds this morning (Feb. 4), who drafted the 15-year-old in the sixth round, 119th overall, in the WHL Bantam Draft last summer.
“I feel awesome,” said Myatovic in a team release.
“It’s a place I see myself playing in a couple of years. When my name came up on draft day, I was really excited. I thank my family and my coaching staff from the last two seasons on helping me get to this point.”
As the T-Birds are in B.C.’s northern capital this week for two tilts against the Cougars, Myatovic got the chance to practice in the team’s morning skate at the CN Centre.
“It was a good skate today with the team,” he added, becoming the fourth Seattle prospect from the 2019 draft to sign this season.
“I knew some of the guys from training camp and it was good to be around the team.”
Myatovic is also the second Cariboo Hockey player to commit to a WHL agreement this year after Aiden Reeves secured his name with the Prince George Cougars.
Reeves was called up to play for his hometown team and the defenceman has suited up in three games since.
Forward Myatovic has 12 points in 29 games in BC Major Midget League play thus far, including six goals and six assists; he also represented Team B.C. at the 2019 WHL Cup, nabbing two assists in five games.
“We were very happy with what we saw of Nico in recent viewings,” said Seattle General Manager Bil La Forge in the same statement.
“I like the way that his game has trended. I am excited to watch his game continue to develop and look forward to seeing him in a T-Birds jersey in the future.”
The Prince George Cougars face-off against the Seattle Thunderbirds in a pair of mid-week match-ups tonight and tomorrow, 7 p.m. from the CN Centre.
