In his brief tenure playing defence for the Prince George Cougars Majid Kaddoura has done everything the coaches have asked of him.
He he blocks shots, he's physical in front of his own net and along the boards, he knows where to put his stick to break up plays and makes wise decisions clearing the zone with his passes.
Heck, he even scored a goal.
That happened Jan. 14 in Winnipeg in his third game since joining the Cougars in a deadline deal from the Saskatoon Blades. It was his first shift of the game and as it turned out that was the only goal the Cougars scored in a 5-1 loss to the ICE.
"That was just icing on the cake," said Cougars head coach and general manager Mark Lamb. "He's more of a defensive defenceman but he's got some puck skills. But we want him to play defence first. You've always got to learn to play the position and accomplish that, but you've always got to be able to make a play and the puck stuff, I don't want to get ahead of myself but there could be a time later where he could probably do more. He's all in, he really likes it here and he's looking forward to getting better."
Kaddoura, who makes his off-season home in Chestemere, Alta., climbed the ranks of the Edge School hockey academy in Springbank, just west of Calgary and played two years of midget there before he made the jump to the WHL with the Blades. He broke in as a 17-year-old and played 41 games for the Blades last year and 36 this season before the trade was made. In 43 games this season with the Cougars/Blades he has three goals and eight assists and 32 penalty minutes.
"I've been having lots of fun and playing a lot, guys have been really welcoming and made it real easy for me and to contribute that (goal) early has been good," said Kaddoura, preparing for a weekend doubleheader Friday and Saturday at CN Centre against the Tri-City Americans.
"I think I'm a two-way guy. I think I was more offensive when I was younger but coming into the league you've got to be good in both ends of the ice. I value my d-zone really well and jump up into the play when I can.
"(Associate coach Jason Smith) has been teaching us how to stay in the lane to block shots on the PK and keeping our style simple. I'll do what it takes to win, I'll block shots, and obviously we're making a playoff push so you've to do whatever you can to win."
The Cougars sent 19-year-old defenceman Rhett Rhinehart and their third-round bantam pick in 2020 to the Blades for Kaddoura, 16-year-old midget triple-A forward Jayden Watson and Saskatooon's first-round pick in 2020. The Blades, who rank eighth overall in the Eastern Conference, think Rhinehart will help them lock up a playoff berth, while the Cougars think Kaddoura, who is a year younger than Rhinehart, will do the same for them drawing top-four duty on the blueline.
"I kind of thought it was coming," said Kaddoura. "I'm really happy here, I'm in the top-four and that's exactly what I wanted. I don't think I was getting the opportunity over there I probably deserved and here I'm getting it."
The six-foot-two, 177-pound Kaddoura said the brotherly scraps he had growing up with his older brother, Malik, now a 19-year-old forward for the Sicamous Eagles of the KIJHL, toughened him up for the WHL. The Kaddoura name comes from his dad Ze's Lebanese background. He his dad and mom Kori drove out to Prince George with his car last weekend to watch him play in the Kamloops series.
He's a left-handed shot but plays the right side with Ryan Schoettler.
The Cougars are coming of one of their biggest wins of the season, a 3-1 triumph Saturday at CN Centre over the B.C. Division-leading Blazers. Cats goalie Taylor Gauthier stole the show in that game, making 37 saves. He allowed just two goals in a 42-save performance Friday in what ended up a 3-0 loss to Kamloops. He was the WHL's choice for goalie of the week.
"To have a backbone like that back there is awesome for us, we know we've got support if something breaks down," said Kaddoura. "The saves he makes are crazy."
If Gauthier is in the running for the league's goalie-of-the-year award, and he should be, he's certainly got the Cougars' vote.
"He's getting better and when he gets better it makes our whole team better and we're in every game," said Lamb. "He's our best player and that's how we use him. He's the type of goalie who can win a game by himself and he's turning into that.
"We play a pretty good team game. We don't score (in abundance) and we're pretty conducive to helping out goalie out, that's how we've got to play. I think at the start of the year it wasn't like that, we were playing some pretty good hockey and not winning and now it's kind of changed. I think he's the main reason we're getting points, and when (Tyler) Brennan goes in he does the same thing. It's a pretty good pairing right now."
The Cats are 4-4-1-1 in their last 10 games and are 10 points behind Seattle for the second wild-card playoff spot. Prince George and Tri-City are tied in points, each with 33, but the Cougars have one fewer win than the Americans which drops them into 10th in the 10-team Western Conference. The Cougars and Americans each have 23 games left in the regular season. The Cougars wrap up their six-game homestand next Tuesday and Wednesday against the Seattle Thunderbirds.
The Americans were one of the busiest teams in the days leading up to the WHL trade deadline, unloading several veterans, including goalie Beck Warm (Edmonton), forwards Jadon Joseph (Kelowna Rockets), Nikita Krivokrasov (Cougars) and defenceman Samuel Stuart (Edmonton).
Krivokrasov had been looking forward to playing his American teammates this weekend but will be watching the games from the pressbox nursing a knee injury. He got hurt in Friday's game against Kamloops when teammate Jonny Hooker was checked to the ice and slid into him. The Cougars acquired the 19-year-old Krivokrasov Nov. 18, sending a conditional eighth-round pick in 2020 to Tri-City.
Injuries have decimated the Americans. D Luke Zazula who arrived in Nov. 28 trade from Kamloops, is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. The Ams are also missing D Tom Cadieux (upper body, week-to-week), LW Nick Bowman (upper body, day-to-day), C Connor Bouchard (upper body, to be determined), RW Paycen Bjorklund (upper body, week-to-week) and G Talyn Boyko (lower body, to be determined).
Game time Friday and Saturday is 7 p.m.
