by Andy Neal

For the third time in Prince George Cougars history, the club held the first overall pick going into Thursday’s 21st annual WHL Bantam draft in Edmonton. The Cougars began the day by selecting forward Alex Forsberg with the top choice, followed by 11 more picks to make up the Cougars bantam draft class of 2010.

Alex Forsberg joins his brother Jesse with the Cougars, who the Cats took in the first round, 11th overall in the 2008 WHL Bantam Draft. Alex and Jesse, from Waldheim, Saskatchewan, are the first brothers to both be selected by the same team in the first round of the WHL Bantam Draft. The younger Forsberg was an easy choice for the Cougars, after finishing tied for third in Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League scoring with 26 goals and 46 assists for 72 points in 44 games, tops among all rookies in the SMAAAHL.

“We are proud to select a quality young man with exceptional hockey ability first overall in the draft,” said Cougars General Manager Dallas Thompson. “Alex possesses the skills necessary to become a top quality hockey player for the Prince George Cougars.”

“What he did this year in a Midget AAA setting is incredible,” said Wade Klippenstein, Cougars Assistant General Manager and Director of Player Personnel. “It’s almost unprecedented for a second year bantam player to not only play Midget AAA, but to dominate. His maturity as a player, his intelligence and his ability to score really give him all the important characteristics of becoming a great hockey player.”

“It’s really exciting to be picked first by the Cougars,” said Forsberg. “It’s great to be joining my brother in Prince George. Being the first pick happens to only one player every year and to be one of those players is really special.”

After swapping the 23rd overall pick in the second round for the 31st overall selection with the Kelowna Rockets, while getting two fifth round picks in the process, the Cougars stayed up front in the second round, picking up Jordan Tkatch from Prud’Homme, Saskatchewan. The 5’10”, 170 pound Tkatch, the sixth consecutive forward to be selected by the Cougars in the second round of the WHL Bantam Draft, produced 57 goals and added 43 assists for 100 points in only 24 games for the Humboldt Bantam Broncos.

“Jordan was one of the more dynamic scorers in all of bantam hockey this year,” said Klippenstein. “He’s a natural goal scorer and was a great player for the Humboldt Bantam Broncos.”

In the third round, the Cougars chose Brett Zarowny, a 6’0”, 160 pound goaltender, 45th overall, the highest spot the Prince George Cougars have ever selected a goaltender. Zarowny went 10-7-0 in 22 games for the Knights of Columbus Bantam Squires in Edmonton, Alberta, posting a 3.33 goals against average and a 90.9 save percentage.

“Brett is one of the top goalies in the draft,” said Klippenstein. “He’s a guy that had pretty good numbers on a weaker team. He could be a great goalie in the future and we liked many things about him.”

With their second pick in the third round, the Cougars took another member of the Humboldt Bantam Broncos, taking forward Jarrett Fontaine 52nd overall. The Humboldt, Saskatchewan product is 5’5” and 140 pounds, but he had big statistics in 2009-10, collecting 61 goals and adding 41 assists for 102 points in the 2009-10 season.

“He’s the best small player in the draft,” said Klippenstein. “He is very highly skilled and we’re very excited to add Jarrett. He’s a very dynamic player and the way the game is being played in the Western Hockey League these days will make him a very good WHL player.”

The Cougars picked up their first defenceman, and first BC boy in the draft with their fourth round, 73rd overall selection. 5’10”, 152 pounder Joseph Carvalho became a Cougars prospect, after playing the 2009-10 season for his hometown Burnaby Winter Club.

The Cougars had three, fifth round picks and used two of them to grab local players. With the 89th overall selection, the Cougars took 5’9”, 135 pound forward Chase Witala, who played this past season for the Prince George Farr Fabricating Bantam Cougars. Witala’s teammate, defenceman Raymond Grewal, also became a Cougars draft pick, when he was chosen 107th overall. Grewal stands 6’1” and weighs 170 pounds. Sandwiched between those choices was another defenceman, Delta, BC’s Shane Kumar. The 5’11”, 180 pound Kumar, who played for the North Delta Bantams, was the 97th overall pick in the draft.

After no picks in rounds 6, 7 and 8, the Cougars turned to another Northern BC’er for their ninth pick, choosing forward Jade McMullen of Fort St. John, BC. McMullen played the 2009-10 season in Edmonton for the Knights of Columbus Squires, the same club as the Cougars third round pick, goalie Brett Zarowny. McMullen had 22 goals and 32 assists for 54 points during the regular season.

The Cougars picked up a pair of big defencemen in the 10th and 11th rounds. The first of those picks was Medicine Hat, Alberta’s Marc McNulty, who went 215th overall. In 21 games for his hometown Hockey Hounds, McNulty had three goals and 10 points during the 2009-10 season. Even though McNulty is 6’3” and 155 pounds, he is still smaller than the Cougars next choice in the 11th round. Regina, Saskatchewan’s Shayne Teed was the 221st overall selection and stands 6’5” and weighs 200 pounds. Teed played for the Bantam AA Regina Hurricanes, earning seven assists and 59 penalty minutes in 25 games.

The Cougars last selection of the day was Quesnel, BC’s Eli Jarvis, a forward who was taken in the 12th round, 243rd overall. Jarvis played for the Quesnel Bantam Tier 2 team in 2009-10.

In total, the Cougars made 12 picks, with six of those coming from BC, including a pair from Prince George in Witala and Grewal in the fifth round, respectively. Four of the newest Cougars come from Saskatchewan, including three of the first four picks of the day, and after taking eight players from Alberta in 2009, the Cougars only chose 2 in 2010.

http://www.pgcougars.com/articles/te...s+On+Draft+Day