Prince George, B.C. – With the 28^th overall selection in the 2016 CHL Import Draft, the Prince George Cougars picked 1998-born forward Axel Jonsson-Fjällby (Stockholm, SWE).

The 18-year-old Swede checks in at 6’0” and 169 pounds and was drafted by the Washington Capitals in the fifth round (147^th overall) in last weekend’s NHL Draft in Buffalo. In 39 games played with Djurgårdens IF J20 in the SuperElit League, Jonsson-Fjällby scored 13 goals and added 16 assists and 8 penalty minutes and was a +11. He then struck for four goals and four assists in seven playoff games. Internationally he represented Sweden in the World Under-18 championship tournament and scored two goals and added two assists in seven games en route to a Silver Medal and was named a Top 3 Player on his team during the tournament.

“Axel Jonsson-Fjällby is a skilled forward that plays with a lot of energy and can absolutely fly. He will be very disruptive to other teams thanks to his intensity and his ability to get onto loose pucks,” said Cougars General Manager, Todd Harkins. “He’s an NHL drafted prospect who is excited to come to Canada to play and I feel that his type of skill-set will translate very well to the Western Hockey League. I am very excited to welcome Axel and his family to the Prince George Cougars organization.”

Each team in the CHL is allowed to have two Imports on their active roster and the Cougars two spots are now occupied by Axel Jonsson- Fjällbyand Bartek Bison (Amsterdam, NL).  In order to make room for Axel Jonsson-Fjällby, the Cougars have released 1997-born defenceman Luka Zorko (Novo Mesto, SI). The Cougars would like to thank Luka for his contributions to the team in 2015-16 and wish him the very best moving forward.