PRINCE GEORGE, BC -The Prince George Cougars are proud to announce the team has a total of nine current players and prospects that will play at major upcoming international and national tournaments, which include the 2011 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship, the 2011 World Under 17 Challenge and the 2011 Canada Winter Games.

Cougars Captain and leading scorer Brett Connolly will suit up for Team Canada, one of nine WHL players to be named to Canada’s National Junior Team. Connolly, a Prince George product who was the sixth overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning, leads the Cougars with 22 goals and 36 points in 30 games this season for the Cougars. 

 

Defenceman Martin Marincin will represent Slovakia at the World Junior Championship for the second year in a row.  Marincin, an Edmonton Oilers second round draft pick in June who the Cougars selected first overall in the 2010 CHL Import Draft, currently leads all WHL defencemen in scoring with 10 goals and 15 assists for 35 points. The 2011 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship begins December 26 and runs until January 5, 2011 in Buffalo, New York.

Cougars forward Troy Bourke and defenceman Josh Smith are headed for Winnipeg and Portage La Prairie, Manitoba for the World Under 17 Challenge. 

 

 Cougars goaltending prospect Devon Fordyce, who is currently playing with the UFA Bisons of the Alberta Major Midget Hockey League, will join Bourke and Smith on Team Pacific.  Bourke, from Onoway, Alberta, is currently ninth in WHL rookie scoring and second among all 16 year olds in the WHL with nine goals and 19 points in 32 games.  Bourke was picked by the Cougars in the second round, 26th overall in the 2009 WHL Bantam Draft.

 

  Smith, the Cougars first pick in the 2009 Bantam Draft from Lacombe, Alberta, has two assists in 21 games this season, while adding 68 penalty minutes. Fordyce was selected by the Cougars in the sixth round, 114th overall, in the 2009 WHL Bantam Draft.  The 2011 World Under 17 Challenge begins December 29 and ends January 4, 2011.

The Cougars top four draft picks from the 2010 WHL Bantam Draft are all headed to the 2011 Canada Winter Games in Halifax, Nova Scotia in February. First overall pick Alex Forsberg, second round selection Jordan Tkatch and third round choice Jarrett Fontaine, will all represent Saskatchewan at the Canada Winter Games. 

 

Forsberg, from Waldheim, SK, has eight goals and 14 points in 11 games for the Beardy’s Blackhawks of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League. Tkatch, from Prud’homme, SK, was taken 31st overall by the Cougars in the 2010 Bantam Draft.  Tkatch has seven goals and 13 points for the Prince Albert Mintos of the SMAAAHL in 21 games this season. 

 

 Fontaine, a first cousin of Tkatch, was selected 52nd overall by the Cougars.  Fontaine, from Humboldt, SK, has eight goals and nine assists for 17 points in 20 games for the Tisdale Trojans of the SMAAAHL.  Zarowny, who the Cougars picked in the third round, 45th overall in the 2010 WHL Bantam Draft, is playing this season for the Knights of Columbus Pats of the Alberta Major Midget Hockey League.  Zarowny, who hails from Edmonton, Alberta, is one of two goalies named to Team Alberta for the 2011 Canada Winter Games, which open February 11, 2011 and ends February 27.

Cougars Assistant General Manager and Director of Player Personnel Wade Klippenstein will also participate at the 2011 Canada Winter Games, as he will participate with the staff for Team Yukon.  Cougars scout Troy Leslie is head coach for Team Manitoba and Cougars Assistant Coach Brent Arsenault is an Assistant Coach for Team BC.  Cougars Scout Terry White will also be present at the Canada Winter Games.

“It’s fantastic to see so many current and future Cougars taking part in all the major tournaments that lie ahead for each of them,” said Cougars General Manager Dallas Thompson. “The Cougars wish all the players, along with Wade,Terry, Troy and Brent, all the best and hope they enjoy the experience.”