Tired of getting pushed around by bigger teams the Prince George Cougars went out and found some size during Thursday's Western Hockey League bantam draft in Calgary.
The Cougars selected six-foot-one, 202 pound defender Josh Anderson third overall, before grabbing a pair of forwards, Kody McDonald, five-foot-11, 190 pounds, and Kolby Johnson, six-foot-one, 180 pounds, 24th and 52nd overall, respectively.
Cougars general manager Dallas Thompson said after picking up skilled forwards Jansen Harkins and Brad Morrison in the first round of the 2012 draft, his goal was to find a defenceman. Anderson fit the Cougars needs.
"He's big. He's tough and he plays very hard," said Thompson. "He's tough to play against and his compete level is real good. His size and the way he gets around the rink with that size was really appealing to us."
Anderson spent last season with the Cowichan Valley tier 1 Capitals of the Vancouver Island bantam AAA Hockey Association where he helped his team to the league championship before finishing third at the provincial tournament. In 52 games last season Anderson had 18 goals, 52 points and 80 penalty minutes.
Thompson said he liked the strong finish Anderson had at the end of his bantam season including a good showing at the B.C. under-16 Cup for Team Bruins.
"He kept improving as the year went along," said Thompson. "For me he's the complete package, he's big, he competes, he can skate well and he's got a really good shot."
Anderson spent the morning watching the draft online at his home in Duncan, a deal he negotiated with his parents ahead of time.
"I asked them last year if I could stay home and watch it because I knew a couple of my friends would be in it," said Anderson. "They said no, but [this] year I can."
It didn't take long for the 14-year-old to hear his name called. To know one's surprise the Vancouver Giants made Tyler Benson, the record-shattering winger from the SSAC Lions in Edmonton the top pick. Then the Regina Pats took Sam Steel of Sherwood Park, Alta. second overall. Then the Cats called out Anderson's name.
"It kind of felt like a little bit of a dream," said Anderson, adding he wasn't surprised. "My family advisor said I'd go top 10. He narrowed it down a couple days before saying I'd go between three and five."
Anderson also knows what attracted the Cougars to him - "I've got the size, speed and grittiness."
He plans to tryout for the BCMML South Island Royals next season before, hopefully, making the leap to the WHL for his 16-year-old season.
Thompson said the Cougars chose Anderson over Kale Clague a record-setting defenceman with Lloydminster in the Alberta bantam league because of his size. Clague is five-foot-11, 173 pounds.
McDonald, a right winger from Lethbridge, Alta., spent the last two seasons in Kelowna with the Pursuit of Excellence bantam 1 team. In 47 games last year he had 45 goals and 79 assists and was second in team scoring to Tyson Jost (77 goals, 79 assists), who was selected seventh overall by Everett.
Johnson, a left winger from Kerrobert, Sask., had 20 goals, 42 points for the West Central Wheat Kings (22-3-2) last season.
Thompson said McDonald and Johnson have the potential to develop into good power forwards.
"We found some toughness to play against big guys with our first three picks and then we picked a couple guys with late birthdays that we think have some potential down the road," said Thompson, referring to the fact players born after Sept. 15 are eligible for the NHL draft a year later, getting the extra developmental time. "Once you get into the later rounds you start looking for some positions to fill out your depth chart a little bit."
After sitting out the fourth round, the Cougars took centre Lane Zablocki, a five-foot-10, 150 pound, player from Wetaskiwan, Alta. In 33 games with the Leduc Oil Kings in the bantam league Zablocki had 24 goals and 45 points.
In the sixth round the Cougars took five-foot-nine, 165 pound Saskatoon defenceman Curran Reeve (117th overall) and six-foot, 161 pound Hermosa Beach, Calif., right winger Dylan Strahan (118th overall).
Prince George didn't have a selection in the seventh round. In the eighth round, Josh Curtis, a five-foot-11, 148 pound right winger from Winnipeg was taken 156th overall. In the ninth round, the Cougars picked up Regina goalie Kye Steinke, at six-foot-three, 178 pounds, in the 178th spot.
The Cougars final two picks were - Dennis Cholowski, a defenceman from Langley, taken in the 10th round (200th overall) and Cole Young, a centre from Saskatoon, picked up in the 11th round (222nd overall).
"I'm happy with with what our staff did here today," said Thompson. "It was a lot of work to get here as it always is. Everybody we picked today we'll see two years down the road."
Cats trade
The Cougars acquired 1996-born forward Tyler Mrkonjic from the Tri City Americans for a fourth-round pick in the 2015 WHL bantam draft. The Americans took the St. Albert, Alta., native in the fourth round (82nd overall) in the 2011 draft.
Mrkonjic, at six-foot-two, 170 pounds, had 10 goals and 18 points in 30 games with the midget AAA St. Alberta Raiders last season. He also played eight games for the Spruce Grove Saints in the AJHL, notching two goals and and assist.
Thompson also dropped goaltender Devon Fordyce from the Cougars 50-player protected list. Fordyce, who spent the season with the AJHL champion Brooks Bandits after parting ways with the Cougars, was scooped up in the 10th round (209th overall) by the Seattle Thunderbirds.
The Cougars GM said he also had "quite a few discussions" about disgruntled forward Alex Forsberg at the draft, but decided "it really wasn't the right day to make a deal.
"We've got a lot of time here yet," said Thompson.
