As pumped as Alex Forsberg was to find out the Prince George Cougars selected him as the first-overall pick in Thursday's WHL bantam draft, his father Blaine seemed even more excited.
Now that he has two sons wearing Cougars colours, Blaine and his wife Joanna now have two good reasons to make the trip to Prince George during hockey season.
The Forsbergs learned of the Cougars' intentions on Sunday when general manager Dallas Thompson and assistant GM/director of player personnel Wade Klippenstein visited the family home in Waldheim, Sask. They announced their plan to unite Alex with his older brother Jesse, the Cougars' top pick in 2008, who played for the Cougars as a rookie defenceman this season.
"It's a really special thing to happen," said Alex.
"I'm just excited to come to Prince George, I've heard nothing but good things from my brother and I kind of want to experience it myself. He'll help me lot because he'll tell me what to expect. The Cougars are going to be very good in a couple of years. I'll try to do my best to help this team move in a different direction."
Alex, a five-foot-10, 170-pound centre, made a lasting impression as an underaged rookie for the Beardy's Blackhawks and finished tied for third in scoring in the Saskatchewan triple-A midget hockey league with 72 points. He also had seven goals and nine points in six playoff games.
"Even as a first-year bantam last year he played in the Western Canadians for Warman and was one of the better players there and it wasn't a fluke, he played in one of the best, if not the best midget triple-A leagues in the country and put up some great numbers," said Thompson.
Once it was confirmed in the draft lottery the last-overall Cougars owned the first-overall pick, it was pretty much a done deal.
"What he did this year in a midget triple-A setting is incredible," said Klippenstein, the Cougars head scout. "It's almost unprecedented for a second year bantam player to not only play midget triple-A, but to dominate. His maturity as a player, his intelligence and his ability to score really give him all the important characteristics of becoming a great hockey player."
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