Reid Perepeluk is the Prince George Cougars' energizer.
Hockey played at the major junior level is a fast and physical game and Perepeluk is blessed with the speed and courage that makes him an effective intimidator.
How good is he in that department? Just ask his opponents. They know it's in their own best interests to keep looking over the shoulders to avoid getting crunched into the boards by the six-foot-three, 215-pound right winger.
Since joining the Cougars last season after two years of major midget hockey with the Cariboo Cougars, Perepeluk has had to learn how to channel his aggression to keep him out of the penalty box. He knows he carries a reputation for being overly aggressive, which makes him a marked man in the eyes of the officials. But he also knows if he can keep progressing as a fearsome forward there might be a job in pro hockey waiting for him when he graduates the junior ranks.
"He's that typical north-south, high-energy player that you want to use for momentum changers," said Cougars head coach Richard Matvichuk. "He's a guy who gives 110 per cent every shift and those are great guys to have. He's well-liked in the dressing room and as you see when he's on the ice, everybody notices him.
"He's still young so he's still growing into the system play, the stops and starts, and once we get everything dialed in he's going to be a very effective player for us."
Perepeluk patterns himself after Washington Capitals winger Tom Wilson. He likes how Wilson plays the game, notwithstanding his 20-game suspension earlier this season for his illegal head shot hit on St. Louis Blues centre Oskar Sundqvist.
Perepeluk was forced to serve a one-game suspension last month for an exuberant charge when he hit Vancouver Giants defenceman Ty Ettinger into the end boards just as Ettinger was falling to the ice.
"Skating is hard to teach and Reid has the ability to absolutely fly," said Matvichuk. "When he uses his legs to finish checks it's almost, at times, like he's getting penalties for hitting guys too hard. His job is to be physical and Number 1 on the forecheck and you have to find a way to play within the rules.
"But when he's on his game he's a real effective player. He's young and he hasn't played a bunch of games at this level but once he gets more comfortable, the better he's going to get."
After four games in two months for the Cougars last year Perepeluk was moved across town to the BCHL Spruce Kings and soon after was sent to the Kamloops Storm of the Kootenay International Junior (B) Hockey League, where he thrived as one of the team's top players. In 24 games he put up eight goals and 26 points and in March he returned to the Cougars for the last month of the season. He drew an assist in his first game back, scored his first WHL goal in the second game and ended the season with another goal.
"I played a little bit of junior B last year with older guys and it obviously helped - when there's guys in junior B flying around with their heads cut off and they don't know how to think the game, it helps," said Perepeluk. "The game speed is not much different but just thinking and processing the game there's a big difference between junior B and the Western League. But when you have a defenceman pinching on you on the wall, it's the same thing in junior B and it helped me develop my game a lot more. It was a confidence-booster."
In training camp, Perepeluk picked up where he left off and won a permanent spot on the team. This season in limited duty on the fourth line, including a three-game stint at centre, he's been held to one assist in 13 games with 22 penalty minutes and respectable minus-2 rating. Perepeluk will be back to his usual position on right wing tonight at CN Centre (7 p.m.) when the Cougars host the Seattle Thunderbirds to start a two-game set.
"Personally, it was a really good start the first 10 games but the last three or four there are some things I can improve on, like being a bit more physical," Perepeluk said. "I'm trying to pick my choices better and eliminate penalties.
"My role in the team is to make room for other players but I can't be running in there and not having a third guy high because they'll come back on a 3-on-2 and score. I have to be smart and pick my choices when I'm going to hit and when not to, so I don't take penalties. I know I'm a target in the Western Hockey League."
Perepeluk was born in Burnaby, where he spent the first five years of his life. He started out playing hockey with Calgary Hitmen forward James Malm, then moved with his family to Yorkton, Sask. He blossomed as a defenceman in minor hockey in Yorkton and the Cougars drafted him in the sixth round of the 2015 bantam draft. His mother moved to Prince George that year so he could play for the Telus Cup hosts and spent two seasons with Cariboo Cougars, helping them win the B.C. Hockey Major Midget League title in 2017.
Tonight the Cougars will be trying to end a four-game winless streak against the Thunderbirds. In their most recent game Tuesday against Brandon they blew a 3-1 lead in the second period and lost 5-4.
"It's about energy, because we are young, we have to play the full 60 minutes," said Perepeluk. "We can't be dogging it between the first and second (periods) like we did last game."
