The winds of change might be swirling around the Prince George Cougars, but that doesn’t mean Mark Lamb is changing course.
The longtime WHL executive remains bullish on his team making some noise in the playoffs next spring as training camp gets underway at CN Centre.
PG returns 14 players from last year’s roster that bowed out in six-games of its second-round playoff matchup against the Penticton Vees.
While fan favourites like Terik Parascak, Josh Ravensbergen and Carson Carels are no longer on the roster, Lamb is confident the organizational depth will unearth some diamonds in the rough and a few more victories in the win column.
“The new landscape changes a lot for everybody. That’s what happens, you are going to lose some players, but you add players and it’s no different than last year – I think you could have asked the same question last year and gotten the same thing.”
“When you lose those players, you got some different guys coming in. Last year, we got Souch (Brock) and we got Cahill (Phoenix) and Hajt – guys that we would not have and this year we’ve got a lot of different guys coming and can back fill, do the same thing we did last year.”
Souch is a shining example of the risk-free chance players have when heading to major junior with an NCAA scholarship already in hand.
Last season, Souch starred in virtually all situations in 2025-26 tallying 28 goals and 45 assists in 67 games after being acquired from the Regina Pats.
The 20-year-old is playing for St. Cloud State in Minnesota this season.
Hajt and Cahill, who are entering their second season with the Cougars, are seeking expanded roles as is gritty sophomore forward Jack Finnigan.
Other players looking to take the puck and skate with it is 2024 first rounder Dade Wotherspoon.
The 17-year-old from Martensville, Saskatchewan eyes a full-time role with the Cougars this season after posting 49 goals and 40 assists in the previous two seasons with the under-18 AAA Warman Wildcats.
Cohen Baker who was picked 17th overall by PG in 2025 is also eyeing a forward spot.
With the Thompson Blazers last season, the Kamloops product had 28 points in 29 outings and was a point-per-game performer in the postseason.
Also knocking on the door is Carson Janko of the Dallas Stars elite program. Janko signed with the Cougars in May after putting up a combined 42 points in 66 games.
Lamb stated for young players to make their mark, it’s all about ice time and opportunity.
“Dade could have made our team last year, and it was just one of those number situations. We are going to be in the same situation this year with our 16-year-olds Baker and Janko – I don’t want to name them all but it’s the same type of situation – they have to come in and get some ice and if they don’t get enough, they have to go back and improve.”
The veteran core up front for the Cougars consists of Jett Lajoie, Aiden Foster, Dmitry Yakutsenak, Lee Shurgot, Riley Ashe and second-year breakout candidates Townes Kozicky and Koy Funk.
On the back end, the Cougars will need to manage the loss of Carels rather quickly as the Calgary Flames first-rounder suits up for the University of North Dakota.
Ditto for former captain Bauer Dumanski who is also at North Dakota.
Prior to camp, the Cougars also dealt Tyrone Sobry back to the Saskatoon Blades to clear up any sort of logjam on the blueline and with the over agers.
That leaves Cahill, Dermot Johnston, Kaeson Fisher, Corbin Vaughn and Arsenii Anisimov as the returning defenders to start the year.
The biggest change for Lamb and company is between the pipes with second-year Ukrainian import Alex Levshyn taking the number one job from Ravensbergen.
Levshyn quickly became a fan favourite for his acrobatic style and personality.
Lamb has no doubts the 20-year-old will be able to carry the mail most nights.
“The experience he got last year backing up Ravensbergen – he is a totally different goalie as you can see but he brings some stuff Rave doesn’t bring. We are excited to have him and he is excited to be here. He plays the puck really well and brings a lot of juice.”
“He lived here in the summer working out with Dave (Adolph) and we are really looking forward to it.”
Levshyn went 11-9-2-0 with 2.92 goals against average and .902 save percentage.
The more intriguing question is who will be backing him up?
16-year-old Kole Anderosov is projected to have the inside track after being drafted by the Cougars in 2025.
Last season, the Campbell River product went 6-7-1 in 14 games with the Pacific Coast Academy U18 program tallying a 4.17 goals against average and .917 save percentage.
The only other drafted netminder in camp for the Cats is Blake Sutherlin.
He was drafted in the 7th round in the 2026 WHL Prospects Draft out of San Jose, California and is not eligible for a full-time role this season.
Standing 6’6, Sutherlin suited up in 37 games for the 14U AAA San Jose Sharks program tallying a 2.24 goals against average.
Zachary Houtkooper, Chase Miles, Kelsey Kehbilia, Nixon Mah and Patrick Curtis are the other five goaltenders who received an invite to camp.
Miles might be the most intriguing out of the remaining bunch as he went 22-1-0 with the Calgary-based Edge Academy U17 program posting a goals against average of 1.66 followed by a save percentage of .944.
The Cougars conclude training camp with the Rob Charney Intra-squad game at 6 p.m. on Sunday from CN Centre.
PG plays four pre-season games starting September 4th and 6th in Tumbler Ridge against the Edmonton Oil Kings.
The silly season wraps up with a home and home against the Kamloops Blazers September 12th from the West Fraser Centre in Quesnel before concluding with a Saturday evening tilt (13th) at Sandman Centre.
PG’s season opener will be at home Friday, September 18th against the Vees.
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