The Prince George Cougars will have a new face in the lineup when they return to the ice Saturday (6 p.m. start) at CN Centre to face the Kamloops Blazers.
The Cats have acquired 18-year-old forward Matteo Danis in a trade from the Calgary Hitmen for a fourth-round pick in the 2025 Western Hockey League Prospects Draft.
Danis collected 12 goals and 15 assists for 27 points in 65 games with 34 penalty minutes last season. Eight games into this season he had two goals.
The Cougars also play host this weekend to the Medicine Hat Tigers, which will give fans in Prince George their only regular season chance to see hockey prodigy Gavin McKenna in action.
McKenna, a product of Whitehorse, is a distant cousin to 2023 NHL top draft-pick Connor Bedard
McKenna, who turns 16 on Dec. 20, is only the third player to be granted exceptional player status by the WHL, allowing him to play in the regular season as a 15-year-old, after Bedard and Matthew Savoie.
McKenna had 18 points in 16 WHL regular season games last year with the Tigers and is widely considered as the likely top pick in the NHL entry draft in 2026.
Sunday's game, which starts at 5 p.m., is also the first Mega 50/50 jackpot game of the season for the Cougars, with a guaranteed minimum prize of $50,000. The other half of the fund will go towards mental health support for first responders.
- with files from the Victoria Times Colonist
