If you happen to go to the Prince George Cougars-Kamloops Blazers game Saturday on fan appreciation night at CN Centre and find yourself wondering who the new guy is wearing No. 27 for the Cats, that'll be Tanner Wishnowski.
The Cougars have been waiting patiently for the 19-year-old left winger to recover from a concussion ever since they made the deadline deal Jan. 10 to acquire him from the Spokane Chiefs for an eighth-round bantam pick in 2018.
Nearly four months after his injury, Nov. 19, Wishnowski made his Cougars debut last Wednesday in Portland. The Winterhawks held him pointless in what turned out a 5-4 Prince George loss but he produced his first point for the Cats two nights later in Kennewick, Wash., setting up Sam Ruopp's goal in the third period of a 6-1 win over the Tri-City Americans.
In the Cougars' most recent game, Saturday in Spokane, Wishnowski fed a pass to linemate Josh Curtis to open the scoring in what turned out a 4-3 victory over the Chiefs.
"We limited his ice to about 10 minutes in Portland and we increased it in Tri-Cities and increased it even more in Spokane and I thought he's been fine," said Cougars head coach Richard Matvichuk. "He's a hard worker, an energy guy who finishes all his checks and it's nice to have those guys in the lineup. Eventually, that line of him, (Aaron) Boyd and Curtis is going to be a line to be reckoned with, no doubt."
The six-foot, 180-pound Wishnowski has a reputation as a banger and a crasher with above-average speed, similar in playing style to Cougars winger Colby McAuley. Wishnowski started the season with the Kelowna Rockets and was traded to Spokane, 10 games into the schedule.
"It was tough not playing and it's good to be back, for sure," said Wishnowski. "We've got a great group of guys here and everyone's been welcoming to me and everyone clicks very well and that's what you need in a winning team going into playoffs. I think it's really important that everyone's so close and I'm just looking forward to a lot of future success with the boys."
Wishnowski had two goals and six assists in 13 games this season with the Chiefs. He played 54 games last season for the Rockets and finished with six goals and seven assists and brings a wealth of WHL post-season experience as well. The native of Oakbank, Man., picked up three assists in 18 playoff games last year for the Rockets, who made it to the third round and got swept by Seattle.
"Everyone needs to know their own role and buy into the system and I think we have that here," said Wishnowski, sporting a three-week head start to his playoff beard. "We're coming together stronger than ever just before playoffs and I've had the chance to play with them so it's a whole different story now. It's been a lot of fun."
The only injured Cougar now is right winger Brad Morrison, who resumed skating this week after missing three weeks with a sprained ankle. Ranked sixth in team scoring with 21 goals and 52 points in 61 games, Morrison suffered his injury Feb. 24 in a game against Edmonton at CN Centre when he fell at the end of his fight with Oil Kings winger Davis Murray. The 19-year-old Prince George native, a fourth-round pick of the New York Rangers in 2016, won't play in either game of the home-and-home Kamloops series this weekend.
