Jonas Harkins was in the shower Thursday morning when he heard the yells coming from the living room.
His brothers, Nicklas and Jansen, and mother Kirsten were watching the draft proceedings from Calgary on the computer at their home in North Vancouver and they let Jonas know when Prince George Cougars scouting director Bob Simmonds announced the Cougars had picked him in the second round, 28th overall.
For Jonas, the chance to play for the Cougars is a dream come true. His father Todd is the Cats' general manager, Jansen is one of the team's top players, and oldest brother Nicklas is the assistant equipment manager.
"It's perfect for me, my dad's there, both my brothers are there, it's just a great opportunity for me," said Jonas, a six-foot-two, 190-pound stay-at-home defenceman who played last season for the North Shore Winter Club Winterhawks.
But with that familiarity comes the added pressure of having to live up to the hype that comes with being a second-round pick.
"When I found out it was P.G. I was so excited, but at the same time I'm a bit skeptical because I have to prove myself," Jonas said. "Everyone's thinking, 'He's the GM's son,' so I'm going to have to go up there and prove myself that I am a second-round defenceman who is supposed to be there.
"It does put more pressure on me but I talked to (Cougars majority owner) Greg Pocock and he told me, "Don't worry about it, just play your game and you'll be fine." That's what I'm going to do."
Harkins missed the first 30 games of last season with a broken wrist and had three goals and seven points and 22 penalty minutes in 50 games.
"I like to stay to the back end, take the body, and if they do get by me I've got to punish them," said Harkins, who is slated to play for the Cariboo Cougars next season.
"Jonas brings a physicality that is unrivaled in this draft," said Simmonds. "He competes hard, dominates the defensive zone and has one of the latest birthdays in the draft. Our fans are going to love his style of play, especially when he throws his first thundering body check."
Harkins, who turns 15 on Dec. 26, was an all-star on the blueline at the B.C. Cup tournament, which wrapped up last weekend in Salmon Arm. Because he's matured physically ahead of most of his peers he has more potential to be ready for the jump to junior at an early age. The Cougars, who swapped third-round picks with Brandon as part of an earlier trade, thought if they waited one more round Harkins be gone.
"We talked it over with the staff and we all agreed it was the right pick at the right time," said Todd Harkins. "We thought maybe we could wait (until the third round) but we had teams in our division that were picking behind us that planned on taking him and we just don't want to have to play against him. We picked late in the third round and we knew he wouldn't be there."
Jonas plans to be on the ice and in the gym for five days per week his summer working out with Jansen to get ready for the new season. Jansen is considered a solid bet to be a first-round pick in the NHL draft in June and Jonas says he can't wait for the chance to play on the same team with him. Because Jansen is three years older, they've never before had that chance.
"I always have looked up to him and want to follow in his footsteps but now that's I'm almost were he is right now I feel great, taking the right steps to where I want to be," said Jonas. "That would be a once-in-a-lifetime thing playing with him. I've caught up to him (physically). When he was bigger than me I didn't want to touch him but now I have a better chance of hitting him (in practice)."
