This Wednesday night at CN Centre, for the first time in a long time, fans of the Prince George Cougars will get to see an East Division opponent.
The last time the Brandon Wheat Kings rolled into town was four years ago on Oct. 30, 2018.
In junior hockey career terms, that’s a completely different era, and none of the current crop of Wheat Kings/Cougars were with their teams back then.
“It’s good for fans, it’s good for players, and when we get these teams (from the East) it’s really an unknown, we haven’t seen the progression from any of these teams, it’s like they were in a different league,” said Cougars head coach and general manager Mark Lamb.
In a typical WHL season, out-of-conference teams visit on alternating years. The Wheat Kings would have come to Prince George in 2020-21 if not for the pandemic, which ruled out interconference play for two years.
“It’s exciting to play against different teams,” said Lamb. “Just playing in your division, man that was getting tired.”
The Cougars are coming off a 6-4 loss Saturday in Everett. The Cats fell behind 3-0 early in the second period and managed to tie it with power play goals a minute apart from Chase Wheatcroft and Koehn Ziemmer and a shorthanded goal from Caden Brown. But the Silvertips scored two more goals late in the period for a 5-3 lead and added an empty-netter late to finish it off.
Everett outshot the Cougars 55-34. Ty Young took the loss in net.
Ziemmer had a goal and two assists in that game and now ranks second in WHL scoring with 12 points (five goals, seven assists in six games), second only to Regina superstar Connor Bedard (7-8-15). The 18-year-old Ziemmer, picked fourth overall in the 2019 WHL draft, is well on track to improve on his 30-goal and 57-point totals in 68 games last season.
“Everyone looks at Koehn for his scoring and he’s second in the league now, but he brings the physicality, he’s a unique player,” said Lamb. “This guy is really skilled and he’s our leading scorer but he also leads in the physicality department.”
Ziemmer has been playing the right side on a line with centre Riley Heidt and 20-year-old newcomer Wheatcroft and that line has been clicking, especially on the power play. At least one of them has been in on all eight power-play goals the Cougars have scored this season. Lamb would like to see more secondary scoring from his team and more even-strength goals but he certainly can’t complain about his top line.
“They’ve been unbelievable and the amount they’ve created that nobody sees is off the charts,” said Lamb. “The biggest thing with that line is they have to stay together and play away from the puck too. When they have it, they know what to do with it. I think they pass too much, instead of being direct, and that happens all the time with three really skilled guys on a line.”
The Cougars now have both their goalies back from NHL camps. Tyler Brennan came back last week from the New Jersey Devils and in his first WHL start Friday in Langley he made 24 saves to back the Cougars’ to a 4-3 shootout win over the Vancouver Giants.
“He was good,” said Lamb. “It’s always an adjustment coming back and there was some things he had t be a little more patient with because it wasn’t coming fast enough. It’s totally normal when you’re coming from pro to junior, and it doesn’t matter if you’re a goalie or a forward, it’s just a totally different level. He adjusted really well and played well.”
Defenceman Ethan Samson, who was returned to the Cougars two weeks ago from the Philadelphia Flyers, was sick and did not play Friday, but rejoined his teammates in Everett to face the Silvertips. The Cougars captain is producing plenty of offence with a goal and three assists in just three games.
The Cats are also getting offensive production from pointman Hudson Thornton (2-5-7), who ranks third in team scoring behind Ziemmer and Heidt (4-4-8). Wheatcroft, who scored a spectacular goal against the Giants, has also been a key addition since coming over in an offseason trade from Winnipeg and he’s on a point-per-game pace with three goals and three assists.
The Cougars (3-3-0-0) rank fifth in the Western Conference, tied in points with the fourth-place Kamloops Blazers, who have played two fewer games. All their losses have happened on the second game of the weekend and despite that disturbing pattern, Lamb says he’s liked what he’s seen from his team so far.
“I think our team game - our defensive play - is getting better, so that’s really important for us,” said Lamb. ”Even in Everett, the shots were a little skewed but we didn’t feel like that in the game. In both those games we were down and came back, so that positive for us that we can do that, but it’s certainly not a recipe to win.
“We’ve really concentrated on our d-zone and our d-play, which is improving all the time.”
Heading into the week, the Cougars are healthy, with no injured players.
Brandon (2-2-1-0), 10th in Eastern Conference) began an eight-game roadtrip with a 3-2 win Monday in Calgary.
Edmonton Oilers pick Jake Chaisson (fourth round, 116th overall) leads the Wheat Kings in scoring with four goals and three assists in five games and 20-year-old centre Nolan Ritchie also has seven points to start the season. Another Wheatie to watch is 18-year-oold centre Nate Danielson (selected fifth overall in the 2019 WHL draft, right after Ziemmer). Coming off a 23-goal, 57-point season, Danielson is still looking for his first goal in 2022-23.
The Cougars host the Winnipeg ICE on Saturday (6 p.m., CN Centre).Winnipeg is off to a 5-1 start and leads the Eastern Conference.
