The Prince George Cougars decided to play fair at the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft, selecting Tyson Phare 18th overall on Thursday morning.
Cougars General Manager Todd Harkins says he fits the organizational blueprint.
“He’s a big-bodied forward that likes to control the play down low and likes get to the blue paint and score goals, he’s a prototypical Prince George Cougars player.”
With the 18th Overall selection in the 2017 #WHLBantamDraft, the @PGCougars select Tyson Phare (F) from the @YHA_Lions pic.twitter.com/vi36YIPux1
— WHL Prospects (@WHLProspects) May 4, 2017
Harkins had high praise for Phare, who comes from the Yale Hockey Academy in Abbotsford.
“He loves the game and just wants to be a pro hockey player. We’re going to do our best to make him an NHL hockey player and he’s going to love Prince George and I know the fans will love him.”
The Maple Ridge product had 40 points (18G, 22A) for the Lions this past season.
Congrats to our own @tysonphare on being selected 18th overall in the @TheWHL draft by the @PGCougars @CSSHL #BigBody
— YHA_Lions (@YHA_Lions) May 4, 2017
Harkins also has a personal connection to the new prospect.
“I coached Tyson when he was a real little boy still this is a good opportunity for him to come play for us and we’re happy to have him.”
13 of the 22 players selected in the first round played at hockey academies this season.
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The Cougars also made the following selections on Thursday.
In the third round, Prince George selected forward Stanley Cooley from the Notre Dame Hounds in Saskatchewan.
Congrats to @NotreDameHounds student athlete Stanley Cooley on being selected 62nd overall to the @PGCougars! #WHLBantamDraft pic.twitter.com/V13UpFhsfE
— CSSHL (@CSSHL) May 4, 2017
The Cougars kept filling their gaps up front during round four selecting Boston Maxwell and Zachary Michaelis from the Saskatoon Stallions and the Minnesota-based Elks River Elks.
Without a selection in round five, the Cougars selected defenceman Brady Gagno (Yale Hockey Academy) and Gabe Shipley (Delta Hockey Academy) in the sixth round.
Prince George’s run on defenseman continued in round seven with the pick of Scott Gilowski from Okanagan Hockey Academy (OHA).
We've selected three B.C. Born d-men in a row. Our latest pick is 7th rounder @ScottGilowski! Welcome to the PG Cougars Scott! pic.twitter.com/YLaqsptNhM
— PG Cougars (@PGCougars) May 4, 2017
In round eight, Michael Hoekstra heard his named called by the Cougars.
He played this past season with the Saanich Braves.
Local product Matthew Magrath was selected with the 194th selection in round nine by the Cougars.
Prince George dipped back into the talent pool in Minnesota during round 10 selecting forward Mitch Kohner.
With their last two selection in rounds 10 and 11, the Cougars selected netminders Logan Terness (Burnaby Bruins) and Kannon Flageolle (Colorado Rampage).
Hey someone's gotta stop the puck right?! Welcome to the Cougars @loganterness35! pic.twitter.com/6aVHp3gwnJ
— PG Cougars (@PGCougars) May 4, 2017
In total, the Cougars selected six forwards, four defencemen, and two goalies.
Seven of their picks are from BC, three from the United States, and two from Saskatchewan.
The Prince Albert Raiders, with the first overall pick, selected defenceman Kaiden Guhle of Edmonton, the younger brother of PG Cougars defenceman Brendan Guhle.
With the 1st Overall selection in the 2017 #WHLBantamDraft, the @PARaidersHockey select Kaiden Guhle (D) from @OHAEdmonton pic.twitter.com/JrppHdKeL5
— WHL Prospects (@WHLProspects) May 4, 2017
The 22 teams selected 230 players over 14 rounds, including 126 forwards, 83 defencemen, and 21 goaltenders.
Alberta led all provinces with 73 players selected, followed by BC with 62 players, Saskatchewan with 41 players, and Manitoba with 25 players.
Additionally, 29 American-born players were picked; for all the selections, click here.