Braiden Epp has been snapped up by a traditional Western Hockey League powerhouse.
Epp, a 16-year-old forward for the Cariboo Cougars, was added to the protected list of the Vancouver Giants on Wednesday. Currently, he's the Cariboo club's second-leading point-producer, with 11 goals and 18 assists in 20 games. In the B.C. Hockey Major Midget League scoring race, he's in a three-way tie for sixth place.
The good news for Epp comes one week after linemate Liam Blackburn was listed by the Victoria Royals.
"He has the skill and he has the talent," Cariboo head coach Trevor Sprague said in reference to Epp. "But the one thing him and Blackburn have is the consistency of work ethic. They've got a lot of talent and when they combine the work ethic, they get noticed a lot more and they get a lot more icetime. They're guys that actually listen and buy into the program."
Epp, a five-foot-11, 170-pounder from Prince George, is also long on character, a trait WHL teams look for in their recruits.
"Epp never comes to me with an excuse," Sprague said. "He doesn't pout and he doesn't have expectations about what he should get each game [for playing time]. He just comes out and works hard and earns everything he gets. That's a Don Hay type of player."
Hay is the head coach of the Giants and led them to a Memorial Cup championship in 2007. The Giants are one of the marquee teams in the WHL, even though they are struggling through a rebuilding season. Prior to a Wednesday game in Victoria, they were in last place in the B.C. Division with a record of 7-20-0-0.
Epp is a first-year member of the Cariboo Cougars. Last season, he was part of a Coast Inn of the North Cougars squad that won the midget Tier 1 provincial championship. He attended Giants' training camp at the end of the summer.
