Josh Anderson didn't get to play Tuesday night in Kelowna, where his Prince George Cougars lost 7-4 to the Kelowna Rockets.
Still in pain from an upper-body injury he suffered in Saturday's game against the Giants in Vancouver, Anderson did receive some good news when he saw his name listed on NHL Central Scouting's midseason draft rankings list.
The 17-year-old defenceman is one of four Cougars who made the list. The six-foot-three, 210-pound Duncan minor hockey product is ranked 62nd on the list of North American-born skaters available for the 2016 NHL draft in June.
Anderson has been rock-steady in his second full WHL season. He has one goal, five assists and 86 penalty minutes and is gaining a reputation as one of the league's most physical defencemen.
The extent of Anderson's injury has yet to be determined and he's not likely to play this weekend when the Cougars host the Kamloops Blazers in a two-game series at CN Centre Friday and Saturday.
Also on the midseason list as the 94th-ranked North American skater is homegrown Cougars centre Brogan O'Brien. The 18-year-old Prince George minor hockey graduate moved up to the WHL this season after a year with the junior A Prince George Spruce Kings and has fit in well with the Cats, drawing top-line duty centring a line with Chase Witala and Jesse Gabrielle. O'Brien ranks 10th overall in the WHL in rookie scoring with 32 points, 11 of which are goals. Through 45 games he ranks as a plus-1.
Both Cougars goalies are on the NHL radar. Ty Edmonds is listed 20th among North American goalies available in the draft, while Nick McBrde is the 29th-ranked North American goalie.
Edmonds, a 19-year-old Winnipeg native, sports the fourth-best goals-against average in the WHL, averaging 2.56 goals allowed per game, and his .917 save percentage is also fourth in the league. He has a 15-10-1-0 record with three shutouts in his third season with the Cougars.
McBride, 18, joined the Cougars in early December in a trade from the Prince Albert Raiders. He's compiled a 9-4-1-0 record, a 3.07 goals-against average and .903 save percentage since joining the Cougars.
The 2016 NHL draft will be held June 24-25 in Buffalo, N.Y.
Five Cougars on this year's roster were taken in the draft last year: F Jansen Harkins (Winnipeg, second round); F Jesse Gabrielle (Boston, fourth round); F Brad Morrison (New York Rangers, fourth round); D Sam Ruopp (Columbus, fifth round) and D Tate Olson (Vancouver, seventh round).
