Prince George,  B.C. – The Prince George Cougars are pleased to announce that they have signed 2001-born forward Zach Bolton (North Vancouver, BC) to a Standard WHL Player Agreement.

Bolton (6’2”, 180 pounds) was originally selected by the Cougars in the seventh round (145^th overall) of the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft. So far this season he’s registered five goals and nine assists for 14 points in 22 games with the Vancouver Northwest Giants of the BC Major Midget League. During his final bantam season, Bolton scored 34 goals while adding 23 assists for 57 points and was a +23 in 46 games for the North Shore Winter Club Winterhawks. He added eight goals and seven assists for 15 points in 13 playoff games. He attended his first Training Camp with the Cougars in the fall of 2016 and participated in the Rob Charney Cup (The annual Black vs. White Game).

“I’ve known Zach and his family since he was four-years-old and I have watched him develop into both a great hockey player and a great person who’s worked very hard to get to this point of his hockey career,” said Cougars General Manager, Todd Harkins. “He plays a strong 200-foot game, and he thinks the game at a very high level. He’s going to be an excellent compliment to our young and up-and-coming core of players in the seasons to come.”

The addition of Bolton means that the Cougars have now inked six of their first seven draft picks from 2016: Three forwards (Keegan Craik, Edge Lambert, Zach Bolton), two defencemen (Cole Beamin, Jack Michell) and a goaltender (Taylor Gauthier). The B.C. Division leading Cougars return to action on Friday, January 27^th in Red Deer against the Rebels marking the third game of their current five game road trip.