Prince George Cougars forward prospect Hunter Laing is still a few weeks away from his 16th birthday but it’s not hard for him to blend in with an older crowd.
Standing six-foot-six, the 190-pound Prince George Cougar forward looks older than he really is and was asked many times during the pandemic to show his vaccine passport, which was never required for anyone under the age of 19.
The native of Virginia Beach, Va., was an early bloomer as far as his hockey development went and that put him ahead of most of his age peers while he was playing minor hockey. The Cougars obviously liked what they saw and selected Laing in the second round, 33rd overall in the 20221 WHL prospects draft.
Laing spent the first four years of his life in the United States. At the time he was born, his father Quintin had just finished his sixth season as a left winger in the American Hockey League with the Norfolk Admirals and was about to join the Hershey Bears, on the verge of getting back into the NHL with the Washington Capitals.
Quintin Laing is now the Kelowna Rockets’ assistant coach. The 42-year-old left winger, a native of Rosetown, Sask., played 260 games for the Rockets from 1996-00 and was drafted in the fourth round by the Detroit Red Wings. He went on to play 79 NHL games over four seasons for the Chicago Blackhawks and Washington Capitals and the bulk of his 14-year pro career was spent in the AHL with the Admirals, Hershey Bears and Abbotsford Heat. His last pro stop was in Norway, playing for the Sparta Sarpsborg in 2013-14. After retirement, Quintin got into coaching his son’s teams in the Kelowna Minor Hockey Association and he still maintains his ties to the minor system, where his 13-year-old son still plays.
“He’s taught me a lot, and just being around the locker rooms and stuff was great,” said Hunter.
The family’s hockey bloodlines run deep. His grandfather Bill Laing, Quintin’s dad, played two seasons at centre for the Edmonton Oilers when they were in the World Hockey Association, after playing junior hockey for the Saskatoon Blades.
Aside from his high hockey IQ, Hunter also has genetics on his side, which gave him his height. His dad is six-foot-two and his mom’s brother is six-foot-seven.
“It’s an advantage in hockey, with my stick being long,” said Hunter.
Hunter has lived in Norfolk, Hershey, Langley, Saskatoon, Norway and Kelowna, and he’s hoping Prince George will be his permanent address next hockey season.
Laing has been with the Cougars for the past month, since his Rink Academy Kelowna U-16 prep team lost in the Canada Sports School Hockey League semifinal playoffs to the Northern Alberta Xtreme, the eventual champions.
Laing, a right winger most of his life, made the switch to centre this season and played 30 games for Rink Academy in Kelowna for the U-16 team, collecting 20 goals and 21 assists for 41 points, then had two goals and seven assists in four playoff games. He also played four games for the U-18 squad and picked up a goal and an assist.
Laing made his WHL debut Jan. 22 in Kamloops and ended up with two shots on goal. He also won three of his seven faceoffs. The Cougars picked him up for their roadtrip in early February to the U.S. Division and he got into four more WHL games.
“I went to the States with them and that was fun, a lot of packing and stuff too, which I’m not used to,” said Laing. “My dad went to the game in Kamloops but he couldn’t make it to the States. But my mom has been to every game and she’s loving it.
“After the five games I know what I have to do and what I need to work on in the summer. I’m a smart player and I can play a 200-foot game and I can put the puck in the net too. I have to work on my skating, but it’s coming along.”
The Cougars’ brass has had a chance to see Laing in action playing against older players in the league and so they’ve been impressed with how he’s handled himself in game situations.
“He’s coming from a hockey family so he knows the game really well and his strength is his hockey sense,” said head coach and general manager Mark Lamb. “His size is going to be his strength too because he’s probably not done growing even though he doesn’t need to grow anymore. Young guys have to work on their skating and their strength and that’s what he will do.”
Laing and a handful of other Cougar prospects – goalie Madd Mulawka, defencemen Tyson Buczkowski and Ephram McNutt and forwards Gavin Schmidt and Zackary Shantz - are on the playoff roster and are getting a taste of life in the WHL. They traveled to Portland and are practicing with the team. McNutt played in Game 2 of the series, with Viliam Kmec not available on the blueline for Saturday’s game.
The series resumes this week at CN Centre, where the Cougars host the Winterhawks in Games 3 and 4 Tuesday and Wednesday.
“It’s fun to watch and the guys are great, just helping me in the room and teaching me stuff at practice and it’s just another level of hockey with them,” said Laing. Hopefully I’ll make the team (next fall) and go from there.”
