Riley Heidt continues to cement his status as one of the all-time greatest Prince George Cougars.
The 18-year-old centre has been selected as the Western Hockey League’s player of the month for December. In 11 games, he scored seven goals and assisted on 17 others for a 22-point total.
"It's not just the points for me,” said Cougars head coach and general manager Mark Lamb. “He has brought so much leadership away from the puck. He's a leader on the penalty kill for us and in multiple situations.”
Heading into tonight’s game against the Wild in Wenatchee, Heidt is closing in on two career team records in his third season. He’s just five assists shy of Janen Harkins’s all-time mark of 167 and Heidt’s 231 career points rank him fifth all-time among Cougars. He needs just 11 more points to tie Harkins for the team-record of 242.
Averaging two points per game, Heidt leads the entire Canadian Hockey League with 68 points, scoring 20 goals and 48 assists through 34 games.
The WHL also announced Wednesday that Cougar winger Terik Parascak is the rookie of the month for December.
The 17-year-old from Lethbridge added 16 points in those 11 games last month, including four goals and 12 assists. He leads all rookies with 26 goals and 54 points in 36 games and ranks second in the WHL with a plus-31 rating.
Parascak also won the rookie award in September/October.
“He is such a unique player. His hockey IQ is off the charts,” said Lamb. “I think they might have to start naming that award after him; he's won it so many times.”
