Prince George Cougars winger Troy Bourke has the right combination of shifty hands and acute hockey sense to make a goalie look sick.
He proved that 19 times last season as one of the top-scoring 16-year-old rookie forwards in the Western Hockey League.
But he has yet to find an answer for Drew Owsley, the 20-year-old veteran the Cougars acquired last month in a trade from the Tri-City Americans. The guy they call The Owl has Bourke believing he might just have eyes in the back of his head when he's covering his crease.
"He's only five-foot-eight but I've never seen a goalie that size who can move that fast," said Bourke. "One second you think you've got him beat, and he's over there the next second. He brings a lot of energy and a lot of depth to our lineup. He's very consistent. Even in practice, every day he's on his game."
The good news for Bourke's Cougars is they won't have to try to score on Owsley tonight. That's up to the Edmonton Oil Kings, who face the Cougars in an exhibition game at CN Centre (7 p.m. start).
Alex Forsberg is another Cat shooter impressed with Owsley. The first-overall pick in the 2009 WHL bantam draft is looking forward to his first full season in Prince George knowing Owsley will be there to bail him out.
"I'm one of those guys who can score in practice but when I come down on him it's pretty hard to score on him, " said Forsberg. "He's very good."
Forsberg dropped some weight over the summer and is back to full health after a separated shoulder and concussion forced him to miss nearly half the season playing for the triple-A midget Beardy's Blackhawks. He's expected to play tonight centring a line with Brock Hirsche and Spencer Asuchak, part of a veteran-stacked lineup the Cougars will toss at the Oil Kings.
Bourke took a shot on the ankle two weeks ago and won't play tonight.
"We had all the young kids in Edmonton and we want to have the veterans back in to get more of an idea about our team to start ramping things up to be ready for the 24th, when we're in Kamloops for our first game," said Cougars head coach Dean Clark.
"Owsley will play the first half of the game [tonight] and [Devon] Fordyce will play the second half. Drew is one of those guys who didn't play [last weekend] and I know he's excited to get going. It will be good for our fans for them to see our new goalie. He's been very good so far."
The Oil Kings will likely start 16-year-old centre Curtis Lazar of Vernon, picked second overall behind Forsberg in the 2009 draft, which could make for an interesting matchup with Forsberg.
"I've never played against him but I watched him play in Halifax (for Team B.C. at the Canada Winter Games), where he was very good, so it will be good to get a taste of what he's like," said Forsberg.
Another Oil King to watch for is six-foot-four, 202-pound defenceman Griffin Reinhart, who scored six goals and added 25 assists last season as a rookie.
n The Cougars and Oil Kings meet again Saturday night in Jasper. Clark plans to start Tyler Santos in net, with Owsley slated to play the second half of that game.
n Cougar forwards Brett Connolly (Tampa Bay Lightning) and Charles Inglis (San Jose Sharks) and defenceman Martin Marincin (Edmonton Oilers) are away at their NHL camps. Forward Caleb Belter was suspended for two games for a hit against the Calgary Hitmen Monday in St. Albert.
