The Prince George Cougars found a play-maker and some size in the Canadian Hockey League import draft on Wednesday.
The Cats used their first pick to select Swiss forward Liekit Reichle, who amassed 75 points (20g- 55a) in 43 games in the country's junior hockey league last season - enough to finished third in league scoring and first in assists.
“Reichle’s points speak for himself," Cougars general manager Mark Lamb said. "He’s an offensive player who put up big numbers in Switzerland and has a great track record over in Europe.”
The Cougars' second pick was Slovakian defenceman Jozef Viliam Kmec, who comes in at 6’3” and 198-pounds.
He registered four assists over 27 games in the Slovak third tier professional division this past season. The season before, he gathered 35 points (8g-27a) in 48 games playing in the country's U-18 league.
“He’s got great size and he’s a puck-mover. He’s a right-handed shot and that’s what we were looking for in this draft,” said Lamb. “We are really pleased to get him where we did with our second pick.”
Reichle was selected in the first round and was 23rd overall in the draft. Kmec was 104th overall. Both played for their respective U-18 national teams during the 2020-21 season.
Each team in the CHL is permitted to dress and play a maximum of two import players each season.
Last year, the Cougars took Finnish forward Jonni Kärkkäinen in the first round, 12th overall. Kärkkäinen will remain in Finland for the 2021-22 season.
