Chase Witala was a Cougar last year and plans to remain one this season.
The unanswered question is: Will he be a Prince George Cougar in the Western Hockey League or be back as an incumbent with the Cariboo Cougars?
"My first goal this season is to play for the Prince George Cougars [who picked him in the fifth round of the 2010 bantam draft], but if I don't play for them I have a good team to come back to," said Witala. "I was lucky enough to get drafted by my hometown team, so it's nice to be able to stay in Prince George."
Witala and Cariboo Cougars forward Brett Harris of 100 Mile House found out Friday he's been short-listed for Team Pacific, among a group of 22 B.C. players who made the cut at the summer camp in July in Salmon Arm. That list will be reduced to 11 in late November, and the B.C. boys will join 11 Alberta players to form the Pacific team for the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Windsor. Ont., Dec. 29-Jan. 4.
"I'm really excited, it would be a great experience if I end up playing on the team," said Witala. "It would be my first chance playing against international teams and against the top kids in Canada too. I just have to have a strong first half of the season and see what happens from there. They watch you play with your club team and pick the team from there."
Assuming Witala comes back for another season of major midget, he likes the team that's shaping up around him, with as many as 12 returning players, including goalies Jared Rathjen and David Readman.
"We had a good first-year group and we should all be back this year," Witala said. "We lost in the final last year so we're going to be hungry this year."
Witala is blessed with a goalscorer's touch and proved himself as a gamebreaker in last year's BCMMHL playoffs.
"If I play for the Cariboo Cougars this year, my goal is to be one of the top scorers in the league," he said. "I have pretty skilled hands out there and it makes it a lot easier to move the puck and get around guys. It's always good to have a brother around your age. It's always fun trying to prove your better than him."
Having turned 16 in May, Witala is starting to fill out, and now stands five-foot-10 at 155 pounds, 10 pounds heavier than he was last season. Between himself and his 18-year-old brother Tyson, who will skate in the BCHL this season for the Westside Warriors, the grocery bills in their Prince George home are sky-high for parents, Darren and Tiffany.
Harris, 16, a fifth-round pick of the Regina Pats in 2010, is more of a two-way player -- good at winning draws, solid on the forecheck, and effective at penalty-killing.
"Harris is a bigger guy, he's strong and he plays a defensive role, and he has an opposite role compared to Witala," said Cariboo Cougars head coach Trevor Sprague.
"Witala needs to score goals and make things happen offensively. He knows he'll just have to be a bit stronger to be one of the top four forwards [on Team Pacific], he's got the talent to do it. It's an exciting time for both of them and we'll see what they do."
The Cariboo Cougars will reconvene for a second tryout camp Sept. 2-5. Prince George will host a BCMMHL preseason tournament, Sept. 9-11, which will involve the Cougars, Valley West Hawks and Thompson Blazers.
