Kody McDonald can never get enough home cooking.
That's not suggesting the 19-year-old Prince George Cougars right winger is any way lacking in the meals he gets handed to him every day at his billet home in Prince George.
But mothers know best what their sons like to eat and Mrs. McDonald had Thursday marked on her calendar long before the Cougars rolled into Lethbridge on the bus a few hours after they beat the Kootenay ICE 5-2 Wednesday night in Cranbrook.
Not only did she have plans to cook Kody his favourite meal Thursday but she handed each of the Cougars goody bags filled with her baked treats.
The first-overall Cougars (12-2-1-0) are in the Windy City to take on the Lethbridge Hurricanes (5-6-1-1) tonight (6 p.m. PT, 94.3 FM The Goat) and that meant a rare opportunity for McDonald, a Lethbridge native, to spend some quality time with his family and friends before the game.
The Cougars visit most Central Division teams just once during the regular season and for McDonald it's a chance to show his hometown fans how much he's developed his hockey skills since he left his midget triple-A team in Lethbridge to join the Cougars as a 16-year-old three seasons ago.
You won't find the hard-nosed winger leading the chase for the scoring title - McDonald had 15 goals and 14 assists for 29 points in 71 games in 2015-16 - but he's well on his way to his most productive WHL season, already with four goals, eight assists and 12 points in 15 games. He's a tireless worker who plays the game with an edge, never afraid to use his six-foot-one, 194-pound frame to put the squeeze on an opponent. He willingly takes the punishment standing in front of the crease to screen a goalie and he's quick to stick up for his teammates.
McDonald also has great speed and Cougars head coach Richard Matvichuk trusts him enough to send him onto the ice on the first unit for power plays and penalty-killing. He had McDonald playing Wednesday on a new line combination with Brogan O'Brien and Jesse Gabrielle.
"He does all the little things right as a forward, if it's getting pucks deep, knowing when to forecheck, when to sit back in our d-zone and knowing where to be in the right positions," said Matvichuk. "He takes pride after being in an NHL camp - he knows what has to be done."
McDonald made the NHL Central Scouting list all last season and was disappointed when he was bypassed in the draft in June. He got a look from the Montreal Canadiens in July, and the New York Islanders liked him enough to invite him to their rookie camp. He did well there and stuck around for their main camp in September.
"Speaking to the Islanders, he had a great camp there and the opportunity is going to come as long as he keeps playing the way he should," said Matvichuk. "I feel that Kody has it all and he's going to be a player who will eventually play pro somewhere. The way he's going right now I think it would be a pretty easy decision for any NHL team to take a real good look at him, knowing the way he's been playing."
The Hurricanes have been getting steady offence out of their top line with 20-year-old C Ryley Lindgren leading the way with seven goals, nine assists and 16 points. He plays on a line with LW Brayden Burke (3-13-16) and RW Jesse Zahirichuk (6-7-13). Burke led the team with 109 points last year. C Tyler Wong (6-3-9 in 10 games) had 43 goals and 89 points in 2015-16 and is due for a breakout game having been held to just one goal and one assist in his last six.
"They're a fast team that lives on transition and turnovers so we've got to be able to manage the puck properly and play a 60-minute hockey game," said Matvichuk.
Lethbridge goalie Stuart Skinner (4.09 goals-against average, .890 save percentage) doesn't have the numbers to back it this season but he's considered one of the top young stoppers in the WHL. Skinner became the seventh goalie in WHL history to score a goal when he found the empty net with his shot in a game last March in Victoria.
LOOSE PUCKS: Ty Edmonds will get the start tonight in net for the Cougars. Matvichuk says he intends to alternate his goalies each game as long as they keep performing up to their capabilities. Nick McBride certainly did his part in the win over the ICE, stopping 33 of 35 shots. That was his first game action since he allowed five goals on 13 shots in a 6-3 loss to Everett, Oct. 12... The Hurricanes will be without injured forwards Egor Babenko (upper-body, day-today), Brett Davis (lower body, day-to-day) and Ryan Vandervlis (upper body, week-to-week). The Cougars are healthy... Cougars F Jackson Leppard played for Canada White in a pre-tournament game Thursday in a 5-3 loss to Russia at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. Canada White plays its first tournament game Sunday against Canada Black. The Hurricanes have two players involved in the U-17 tournament - D Calen Addison (Canada Black) and F Josh Tarzwell (Canada Red)... The Cougars have moved up one spot in the CHL major junior rankings from fifth to fourth.
