A little disappointed to hear Phaneuf was outright released, I thought he looked pretty good in preseason and at camp. He isn't his brother but he was not brutal either.

From todays Prince George Citizen:

Marincin rejoins Cougars

He's big, he's fast, and after a month honing his hockey skills as a defenceman with the Edmonton Oilers, Martin Marincin has some new tricks up his sleeve.

Best of all, for fans of the Prince George Cougars, he's back in Prince George, just in time for Friday's home opener.

The six-foot-four, 187-pound Marincin, practiced with the Cougars on Tuesday and is expected to be in the lineup Friday when the Cats take on the Victoria Royals in the first of a two-game weekend set at CN Centre.

His return comes a huge relief to Cougars head coach Dean Clark, who faced the very real possibility the Oilers might not have sent him back to his junior team.

"Getting Marty back is huge," said Clark.

"He was the one wild card for us this year, because of the fact he was drafted out of Europe [second round, 46th overall in 2010], that he could stay and get sent down to Oklahoma City and play there. Just the fact they released him back to us, they're happy with the development he had here as a player."

A 19-year-old native of Kosice, Slovakia returns for another WHL season after an impressive debut in 2010-11, in which he scored 14 goals and added 42 assists for 56 points in 64 games. The Cougars picked him first overall in the 2010 CHL import draft.

"He's got some work to do to get stronger," added Clark. "But certainly his play-making ability and his ability to change the game is huge, and once we get Jesse [Forsberg] back from his surgery we've got a pretty formidable group of defencemen."

To make room for Marincin, the Cougars gave 16-year-old defenceman Dane Phaneuf his outright release.

The Cougars announced two other roster moves Wednesday, releasing 18-year-old forwards John Odgers and 19-year-old Taylor Makin. Odgers was sent to the Yorkton Terriers of the SJHL, while Makin has joined the Brooks Bandits of the AJHL.

Makin played two full seasons with the Cougars and Clark said his release is an indication of the depth the team has at the forward position.

"For the previous two years I've been here, we've been trying to plug those holes with older guys," said Clark. "Sometimes it's easy to keep a veteran just because he played here but we want to make sure we're keeping the best players and I think the young guys who have come in to challenge our guys have done that and they deserve to be here."

That leaves the Cougars with a roster of 25 players, including forwards Chase Witala and Wilson Dumais, who stand to benefit from the latest moves with a return to game action. Both were sidelined in the preseason with concussions and missed the Cats' first game last week, a 1-0 win in Kamloops.

The Cougars are still without 19-year-old forward Brett Connolly, who remains with the Tampa Bay Lightning. With NHL teams facing a roster deadline of 22 players by next Wednesday, there's a chance Connolly will rejoin the Cougars during their seven-game, two-week trip through the WHL East Division, which begins Sunday. Clark said it's also likely Forsberg will be ready to play sometime during the roadtrip.

n In recognition of the Canadian Breast Cancer Society/CIBC Run for the Cure this Sunday, the Cougars will use pink skate laces and pink sock and stick tape for Friday's game to help create breast cancer awareness.

To raise money for the cause, fans at Friday's game can purchase pink pucks to throw on the ice during the second intermission, with a chance to win a WestJet vacation. A tailgate party will precede the game from 5 to 7 p.m. in the CN Centre parking lot with live music and a barbecue among the attractions.