The Prince George Cougars are a prime contender for the Memorial Cup as the top team in the CHL.
Memorial Cup Contender Series
This week, our series shifts out west and reviews the current top team in the Canadian Hockey League who should not only be considered a Memorial Cup contender, but an early favorite to win it all. From the Western Conference of the Western Hockey League (WHL), the Prince George Cougars.
Just a reminder that the Memorial Cup begins on Friday May 24th. In the lead up to the tournament, we have been previewing potential contenders from the OHL, WHL and QMJHL.
You can find links below for any previews that you have missed in the series.
Prince George Cougars (47-15-1-3): 1st in Western Conference / 1st in B.C. Division
Since their inaugural season in 1994-1995, the Prince George Cougars do not have much playoff success to look back on. They enjoyed a Cinderella run in 2006-2007 by a team one game over .500, led by former eighth overall NHL Draft selection Devin Setoguchi, that saw the Cougars make it all the way to the third round of the WHL Playoffs. Since then, the BC based franchise suffered a 15-year run of either being out of the playoff picture or losing in the first round.
All of that depressing history is slowly being erased by former NHL player Mark Lamb, who is a veteran who played 403 games for six NHL franchises over a 15-year professional playing career. The Ponteix, Saskatchewan native took over the general manager and head coaching duties for the middling franchise in 2019-2020. After two COVID-riddled years where no playoff hockey took place in the WHL, Prince George was ready to start building towards this current season. They made the playoffs for the first time in five years in 2021-2022, and immediately built on that first round exit by making it to the second round last season.
The 2023-2024 squad features an impressive 18 players drafted and developed in-house. This includes every goaltender and defender on the roster besides overage shutdown pivot Chase Pauls, who was acquired in a trade from the Lethbridge Hurricanes on December 27, 2023.
The Cougars have various franchise records so far this season with 47 wins to date. The club is currently riding a 17-game undefeated streak (15-0-1-1) and looks to start the playoffs as the hottest team in the WHL. In a top-heavy western conference that also features powerhouse Portland and Everton squads, a streak could go a long way to establishing a strong start to what dedicated spectators at the CN Centre expect to be a historic run the franchise has yet to see in its 29-year history.
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Strengths
The roster composition has to be praised here. Based on how the club is constructed, this season looks to be the first of a wide-open competitive window. While having two of the top three point getters league wide, the club has also managed to play seven rookies throughout the year. The experience they gain will be crucial as the club transitions away from a crop of overagers that should be in consideration for best in the CHL at seasons end.
Leading the pack for not only the Cougars and the WHL, but also the entire CHL, overage right-winger Zac Funk has collected 120 points in 66 games played. Highlighted by an over a goal a game (67 goals) pace, the Coldstream, British Columbia native has also doubled his previous career best season point total (58 points in 2022-2023). An incredible feat for an undrafted (NHL) player that came into the season knowing he had to battle for his next opportunity once he aged out of junior hockey at the end of the 2023-2024 season.
That next opportunity has already knocked on the door for the left-shooting sniper when the Washington Capitals signed him to an entry level contract on March 1st, 2024.
Centering Funk`s nation leading skills is the Minnesota Wild`s second round selection (64th overall) in the 2023 NHL Draft, Riley Heidt. The highly touted Saskatoon, Saskatchewan native was chosen second overall by Prince George in the 2022 WHL Bantam Draft. That trailed only current Chicago Blackhawks super rookie and former Regina Pats superstar Connor Bedard, who went first overall in that same draft.
Heidt has put together a very impressive career to date, improving on his point totals year over year. The shifty center was achieving close to point per game results in his sophomore year and blew those statistics away in his third season with 97 points (25 goals and 72 assists).
The uber talented playmaker then took another step this season and has eclipsed new career bests in goals (34), assists (80) and points (114). He also currently leads the WHL in power play assists with 34.
The high-flying and high-scoring duo of Funk-Heidt has contributed to the Cougars second ranked power play (30.3%), as well as the second highest scoring offence in the WHL. Trailing only the Portland Winterhawks by 14 goals on the season.
Besides elite level goal scoring talent, the Cougars also feature one of the best goaltending duos in the WHL. A near even split of games so far this season by veteran Ty Young, a 2022 Vancouver Canucks 5th Round (144th overall) NHL draft pick, and rookie Joshua Ravensbergen, who is not NHL draft eligible until 2025, has achieved a second ranked team goals against average league wide.
Young, a native of Coaldale, Alberta, had the starters crease early on this season and has posted commendable results to date, ranking in the WHL Top 10 in goals-against-average (GAA) with 2.81, a career best. He also ranks WHL Top 15 in save percentage (SV%) with another career best of .901.
Unfortunately for him, North Vancouver native Ravensbergen has posted better results all around and has taken over the starters crease of late. The highly touted left-catching goalie currently sits 4th league wide with a 2.48 GAA and 9th with a .907 save percentage, only .001 off being tied for sixth best. One stat that Ravy is running away with league wide is shootouts with six on the season, besting his peer Young by five.
That strong goaltending has led to a second best total goals against of 183 and contributed to a second best penalty killing unit that operates at an 84 percent clip.
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Weaknesses
When analyzing a team that has weapons up and down its lineup and either leads or is in the top three of the majority of offensive and defensive categories league wide it is difficult to pinpoint a weakness.
One that does jump off the page, however, is the penalty minutes committed so far in 2023-2024. Currently sitting at 835 penalties in minutes (PIM) taken, the Prince George Cougars are taking the ninth most penalties league wide. A top two penalty killing unit, paired with other top teams like Portland and Swift Current in similar high team PIM situations should ease some of those concerns.
The next potential weakness of this club was actually perceived as an overall franchise strength earlier but could come back as a negative in a deep playoff run. Utilizing seven rookies up and down the lineup, night after night, is phenomenal for development but that lack of high-pressure experience, especially deep in the playoffs, could be a potential concern versus more veteran clubs.
Outlook
The strengths clearly heavily outweigh the weaknesses of a well-balanced, high-scoring, and well-structured Prince George club. A very weak BC Division has led to an early division crown for the Cougars and a likely Western Conference top seed as well. While the other three top four conference seeded clubs have battled it out in the US Division all season, PG has rather comfortably led their division all year.
A conference championship will all but likely assure the Cougars will not be facing another true contender until the third round of the playoffs. At which point, we will see if the historic offence and strong goaltending from the regular season can outweigh the potential inexperience and lack of discipline the club has shown at times.
No matter the result, the city of Prince George has been treated to the most skilled and exciting club they have seen in their 29-year history and that alone is worth celebrating. An Ed Chynoweth Cup (WHL playoff champion) and Memorial Cup berth could be in the cards as well!
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Additional Content from the Contender Series
