General Managers around the WHL are breathing a sigh of relief right now, as one of the craziest trade deadline weeks in league history has come to a close.
The Prince George Cougars made three moves this week, the largest being a buzzer beater just before this afternoon’s 2:00 deadline.
GM Mark Lamb’s last phone call of deadline day was to My PG Now, where he broke down the deals his team made as well as the moves of some of their biggest rivals and competition.
The team acquired 19-year-old Zac Funk from the Calgary Hitmen this afternoon, a near point-per-game (13 goals, 19 assists, 32 points in 33 games) forward with a physical side to his play – 45 penalty minutes so far this season.
“He brings a lot of personality, he brings a lot of scoring, he is a point a game player, he is a 19-year-old who has a lot of experience, and he is a very physical player who is not afraid to get in there and get dirty,” Lamb said.
TRADE: The Cougars have acquired F Zac Funk (03) from the Calgary Hitmen in exchange for F Carter MacAdams, a 2023 2nd round pick, a 2024 2nd round pick, and a 2024 4th round pick.
📝https://t.co/7MM6xFCbnV#ForTheNorth • #WHL pic.twitter.com/fz0v9QgIOZ
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) January 10, 2023
Lamb also said Funk fits the demographic that he was looking for – a 19-year old who will stick with the team as an overeager.
“There was not a lot of them out there, but there was a few that we were interested in and we ended up getting him.”
The other notable trade the Cougars made during the deadline week was for Arjun Bawa, who came with a second and seventh round pick in the upcoming draft, in exchange for Ryker Singer.
Bawa, 17, is also a physical presence in the forward position, according to Lamb “he is a bigger guy that is probably weighted more to the physical side and a power forward [than Singer]. That is a deal we were also happy to make.”
The last three substantial trades Lamb has made this season, dating back to the acquisition of Jaxsen Wiebe from the Edmonton Oil Kings on November 28th, have all made his team more physical.
“It is a balance,” Lamb said, “we figured that physicality is a big part of hockey. We have a lot of young skill, we are still a young team that is still growing, that experience and that physical factor is something that I think every hockey team needs.”
One deal the Cougars did not make this year was moving one of their two NHL drafted goalies, Tyler Brennan and Ty Young, who have been splitting the time in the net nearly 50/50 through the first half of the season.
Brennan, the older (19) and more experienced goalie, was more likely to exchange hands this week in the eyes of fans.
“There was very little conversation,” Lamb said. “The prices weren’t there for the goaltenders because the conversations did not get to that part.”
Moving forward, Lamb expects the team to be led from the net, saying he believes the Cougars have the best tandem in the WHL.
Nearly without fail the two tenders have alternated games one-for-one.
Those days are likely over.
“The plan will be whoever is playing good will play. They are both going to play, but it is not going to be a game by game rotation. That will not be written in stone, that’s for sure.”
The Cougars least substantial move of the week was flipping prospect Nolan Chastko to Everett for a conditional 2025 6th round pick.
This season’s arms race at the top of the league was like nothing the WHL had ever seen.
Kamloops, the Memorial Cup host, Portland, Seattle, Winnipeg, and Saskatoon all bought big, exchanging multiple first round picks and prospects to load up heading into the playoffs, all expecting a deep run.
Read More in Article: https://t.co/weJj3StUxy pic.twitter.com/x6PmB6lndm
— Kamloops Blazers (@blazerhockey) January 9, 2023
TRADE:
Giants acquire 3 first round picks, 2 forwards, 2 prospects, and a fifth round pick for captain Zack Ostapchuk📸: @rjmedia_ca / Zach Peters
🔗: https://t.co/dLoiEXdrby— Vancouver Giants (@WHLGiants) January 9, 2023
“It is mind-boggling, the prices that are out there,” Lamb said. “That is the price of doing business right now, it is really hard to figure out how the prices really get to that spot. Everyone is going to say they are crazy, which they are. To get good players, you have to give up something to get something.”
Before tonight’s (Tuesday) road game against the Kelowna Rockets, the Cougars are in 7th place in the Western Conference with a 16-17-3-0 record.
They are three points out of fourth place, and two points out of fifth.
Finishing in either of those positions means they would not have to face off against Seattle (28-5-1-1), Portland (26-6-2-1), or Kamloops (22-8-4-2) in the first round of playoffs.
This record is quite a bit lower than Lamb and the Cougars would have hoped and expected to be at this point at the start of the year.
“We want to be playing the best hockey that we have all year. We have had some good spurts, and it was very unfortunate, what happened to us.”
He was alluding to the Cougars’ December road trip through the US Division where many members of the team came down with the flu, a large contributing factor to the team’s very cold 0-4-3 exit into the Christmas break.
“That is part of life, and that is adversity that this team has went through. I thought we handled it very well even though it was a negative road trip.”
Speaking of road trips, the team has just embarked on their longest of the season.
They play the Kelowna Rockets tonight, then take a 6 game swing through the Central division.
After the trip, the Cougars play 19 of their last 23 games against teams who have a losing record, 15 of 23 will be on home ice.
Looking at that schedule and into the playoffs, Lamb closed by saying “we want to be a team that is hard to play against and a team that is to be reckoned with for the rest of the year.”