The auditions for 15-year-old hockey players hoping to make a case for inclusion on the Cariboo Cougars major midget team roster continued over the long weekend at CN Centre.
Former NHL winger and Prince George minor hockey alumni Turner Stevenson brought the Everett Silvertips under-18 and under-15 teams for their second annual exhibition series against the Cougars major midget and minor midget teams and each of the four teams played four games.
Cariboo major beat the Everett U-18s in all four (3-2, 8-2, 9-2, 2-1) and Cariboo minor swept the U-15s in their four games (8-5, 4-3, 5-3, 4-2) but the outcomes didn't matter. It was all about making positive impressions on the coaches and getting ready for the season.
Cariboo minor, under head coach Brian Toll, is competing as a new team in a new provincial league and will be exclusive to 2003-born players. But some of them could be playing with the older group this season. Cariboo major head coach Tyler Brough included several 2003-born players in his team's weekend lineups and at least three of them will get serious consideration for permanent roster spots on the major midget team.
"We were mixing and matching with the rosters this weekend and it was good to see some of the younger guys step up, I was really happy with the '03s we dressed this weekend, they're making decisions tough for us," said Brough.
Fischer O'Brien, the younger brother of Brogan, a former Prince George Cougar and major midget alumni, was the only Prince George player taken in the 2018 WHL bantam draft, chosen in the fifth round, 98th overall by the Lethbridge Hurricanes. He came back from his first WHL camp last week is looking ready to make the jump to major midget.
"For me, he fits in, he belongs at this level and we're going to let it play out a bit, but this weekend he looked comfortable," said Brough. "He's a lot similar to Brogan, they have the same style of play. I just liked the poise in him. He''s not out of position and he's playing centre, which is a big responsibility for a young guy and he's doing his job on both sides of the puck."
Forward Kellan Brienen of Prince George, who went through the Cougars' WHL training camp, and defenceman Brody Johnston, a product of Fort Fraser, both excelled on the ice over the weekend, according to Brough and are heating up the competition for jobs on the major team.
Brough welcomed the chance to play the Silvertips again. Both teams gave the Cariboo squads a chance to raise the intensity level on the ice with the start of the season fast approaching at the end of the month.
"We love having Turner's team up, he's a big name around these parts and his family still lives here," said Brough. "They're a good team that's trying to get into our league so anything we can do to help and get some good games in Prince George, is a benefit for us."
Four potential players for the Cariboo major team were still in junior camps on the weekend. Homegrown defenceman Jacob Gendron, 16, whose father Shawn played for the WHL Cougars in the '90s, is still with the Vancouver Giants. The Giants drafted him in the sixth round in 2017.
Defenceman Carson Golder of Terrace, 16, is still with the Victoria Royals (WHL); goalie Devin Chapman of Williams Lake, 17, is trying out in the BCHL for the Salmon Arm Silverbacks; and forward Booker Daniels of Vanderhoof is with the Tri-City Americans (WHL). Daniels, 17, has been sidelined with a broken foot and won't be back for a couple weeks at the earliest.
The Silvertips were shortstaffed and nearly half their players did not make the trip. Both Everett teams play a 50-game schedule in the North American Prospects Hockey League.
"Last year when we came up here we basically brought our (whole) team but school started early so between the two teams we're missing 17 guys," said Stevenson. "It's good for the other guys to see B.C. hockey for the first time, physical hockey, so it's been a good experience. For the guys coming up from bantam, now playing (15-and-under) for the first time it's a lot different - a little more intense. The compete level is raised for a lot of the guys and it's fun."
Cariboo major will be in Kamloops for a preseason game Thursday night against Thompson and they'll have four more games over the weekend in Kelowna, as will Cariboo minor. Everett will also be part of the exhibition series in Kelowna.
