The Prince George Cougars have come away from the 2011 WHL Bantam Draft with 10 new Cougars hopefuls. Saskatchewan led the way for Cougars pick-ups with three players coming from the Land of Living Skies. The Cougars added two players each from BC, Manitoba and Alberta and one more from Arizona as part of their 2011 Bantam Draft Class.

"We went in with a plan. We definitely had some needs in regards to our 50 man protected list," said Cougars Assistant General Manager and Director of Player Personnel Wade Klippenstein. "We wanted to match up the '96 group with the '95 group and I think we accomplished that."

In 2010, three of the first four bantam picks by the Cougars were forwards. In 2011, the Cougars took blue liners with three of their first four selections. With their first pick, the Cougars took defenceman Jordan Harris of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, 10th overall. The 6'1", 170 pounder helped lead the Prince Albert Pirates to a Provincial Championship by scoring 10 goals and 24 assists for 34 points in 23 games for the Pirates during the 2010-11 campaign. Harris gives the Cougars three defencemen selected in the first round in four years.

"We're really excited to get Jordan," added Klippenstein. "What makes Jordan strong is his combination of size and skill. He's a complete package and when you're looking for a guy at number 10 you need a guy who is a complete player and he's definitely that."

Harris is excited about becoming a member of the Cougars organization, especially with the amount of young talent for the Cougars coming out of North Central Saskatchewan.

"I think it's a good place for me because there's a lot of Saskatchewan kids there that I know and am pretty good friends with," said Harris. "I know Jordan Tkatch, Alex Forsberg and Jarrett Fontaine, so it'll be a good spot for me."

The Cougars didn't pick again until the third round when they selected high scoring forward Carson Bolduc of Salmon Arm, BC. While playing for the Kamloops Bantam Blazers this past season, the 5'10", 145 pound left winger collected 54 goals and added 44 assists for 98 points in 61 regular season games.

"Carson had a fantastic year on a very good team this season," said Klippenstein. "He was one of their better players and we think he can be a very good offensive player in the Western Hockey League some day."

"It is awesome, I was really surprised, but I felt great when I saw my name by the Cougars in the third round," said Bolduc, who also had 40 penalty minutes this season.

The Cougars went back to the blue line in the fourth round and picked up Sam Ruopp of Zehner, Saskatchewan 76th overall. This past season for the Balgonie Prairie Storm, Ruopp collected one goal and 17 assists for 18 points in 22 games and is very dependable in his own zone. Ruopp stands 5'10" and weighs 140 pounds.

"I think I'm a pretty good defenceman at both ends of the ice," said Ruopp, who's older brother Harrison plays defence for the Prince Albert Raiders. "I let Wade Klippenstein know I was really happy about being drafted by the Cougars when he called me today."

In the sixth round, the Cougars added more size on the back end with the pick of Edmonton born defenceman Ben Sowa. The 6'0", 186 pound defenceman helped the South Side Athletic Club to a provincial title in the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League and finished third at the Western Canadian Championship. Sowa had five goals and eight assists for 13 points in 31 games with SSAC and also racked up 32 penalty minutes.

The Cougars took a forward in the seventh round, getting Mitchell Lipon of Regina, Saskatchewan. Lipon, a 5'6", 125 pound centre, is the younger brother of Kamloops Blazers forward JC Lipon. The younger Lipon posted 25 goals and 16 assists for 41 points in 22 games for the Regina Hurricanes of the Southern Saskatchewan Hockey League, while also picking up 50 penalty minutes. Lipon was the 142nd overall pick.

The Cougars got a pair of forwards in the eighth round, opening the round by taking Lloydminster, Alberta product Tyler Busch. Busch was the Captain and leading scorer for the Lloydminster Heat of the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League, posting 15 goals and 35 assists for 50 points in 32 games and also had 70 penalty minutes. The 5'11", 130 pounder went 155th overall.

The Cougars then picked up Matt Jones of Peoria, Arizona with the 164th selection. Jones, a 5'10", 168 pound right winger, had 10 goals and 21 assists for 31 points in 33 games for the Team Arizona AAA U16 squad. Jones brings some punch up front for the Cougars down the road.

"I had a chance to watch him at Christmas and he's a high energy guy who plays a physical game," said Klippenstein of Jones. "Played midget hockey as a bantam this year when I saw him and was one of the most aggressive kids on the ice."

The Cougars added a goaltender to the list with the selection of Winnipeg, Manitoba product Ty Edmonds. The 5'10", 145 pound netminder went 8-and-3 for the Winnipeg Warriors of the Winnipeg Bantam Hockey League, posting two shut-outs in 838 minutes of play. Edmonds is a player the Cougars were surprised was available at 186th overall.

"That was very surprising," added Klippenstein. "We had him ranked very high. But as it goes, teams don't take goalies early on or wait a long time and we were fortunate to get him there."

The Cougars added more size on the blue line in the 10th round, taking 5'11", 165 pounder Sam Houston of Boissevan, Manitoba 208th overall. The Cougars ended the day by selecting Abbotsford, BC product Francis Bamford in the 11th round, 230th overall. Bamford, a forward, stands 5'6" and weighs 140 pounds.

Klippenstein added, "Overall, I thought we had great balance in this draft."

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