Ashe Brings Grit, Offence and Boatload of Experience to Prince George Cougars
WHL Prince George Cougars

Ashe Brings Grit, Offence and Boatload of Experience to Prince George Cougars

Published on September 12, 2025 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince George Cougars News Release


Before he gets immersed in US college hockey at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, Riley Ashe wants to test himself against the best of his age group peers.

He wants to find out what it's like to play with and against some of the future stars of the NHL and he'll get that opportunity this season as a right winger with the Prince George Cougars, the team that drafted him four years ago.

Ashe made the choice three years ago as a 16-year-old kid from Saskatchewan to follow a junior A route to the NCAA, back when any future game involvement with the Cougars would negate his college eligibility. Those rules abruptly changed last year when the NCAA chose to allow players with major junior experience to join college teams, starting this season.

But there's a lot more to the story of how Ashe ended up in Prince George and it has a lot to do with the Cougars' performance on the ice. They've been one of the top teams in the WHL the past three seasons, compiling a 127-60-11-6 record since 2022-23 and that reputation as contenders carried a lot of weight with Ashe.

The Cougars coveted Ashe's strong skating stride and grit on the ice that make him so difficult for opponents to deal with and Cougars general manager and head coach Mark Lamb and director of scouting Bob Simmonds made him an offer he could not refuse.

"After the conversations we had it was a no-brainer to come here," said Ashe, who had 13 goals and 14 assists last season in the BCHL with the Salmon Arm Silverbacks.

"I want to see where I stack up against top competition. I was super-excited to come up here and take that next step to go the next level and everything here has been amazing so far, with the players and the coaching staff and all the resources we have to use," he said.

"No one wants to play for a bad team and I knew with the players the Cougars have coming back and the coaching staff this would be a perfect place to come. Our forwards are ridiculously deep, this is a team that will be able to roll four lines and just bury teams when it comes playoff time. Not a lot of teams can do that and I think we will be able to. Expect a long season."

The Cougar coaching staff recognizes Ashe's leadership qualities and he sets the example with his intense work ethic. So what kind of player can Cougar fans expect when he jumps over the boards?

"I bring a two-way style," he said. "I'm a guy that can play anywhere and I can bring anything to the team. If you need me to be a goalscorer or if you want me to fight, I can do that, and I kind of carry that with pride, I like being a reliable person, that's the most important part to me, whether that's creating offence of shutting guys down, I'll do it all.

"In the room and during games I'm pretty vocal and loud and I like to hold guys accountable here and there. It's something that I enjoy doing. With my age, it's my fourth year playing junior and I feel I carry a lot of knowledge and experience and hopefully I'll implement that with his team and be one of the leaders."

Ashe offered a glimpse of his capabilities in a pair of preseason games against Edmonton Sept. 5 and 7 in Hinton, Alta., and contributed a goal and assist in the two games.

Picked by the Cougars in the third-round, 56th overall, of the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft, the native of Warman, Sask., a former Saskatoon Blazer, started his junior career in the SJHL in Melfort.

The Mustangs picked him 10th overall in the SJHL bantam draft, and he went on to become the league's top rookie after a 38-point rookie season in 2022-23. He visited the Omaha-Nebraska campus on a fly-in and at the time it was an easy decision for him to sign a college commitment.

"I wanted to continue developing and I thought the best choice for that was to go to junior (A) hockey and here I am now and I don't regret it," said Ashe.

"It was lots of fun in Melfort, I had a great year there. (Mustangs GM) Trevor Blevins was amazing to me, the whole Melfort organization treated me so well and it would be hard for me not to find success in that environment."

On Sept. 20, 2020, two years before Riley went to Melfort his 18-year-old brother Dylan - a Mustangs defenceman - was killed when his pickup truck rolled in a single-vehicle accident.

"He was such a free spirit," said Ashe. "It was a short life but he lived it to the fullest."

Dylan was 3 ½ years older and they spent hours playing together as kids on the backyard rink.

"He was a stay-at-home defenceman, super smart, great first pass, good skater, just a solid d-man," he said.

After his first junior season Ashe jumped at the chance to play in the BCHL for Salmon Arm and helped the Silverbacks get to the third round in the 2024 playoffs and he returned for a second season.

"I loved it there, it was an amazing two years, great people," he said.

Ashe has two years of junior eligibility left and could play be back with the Cougars as a 20-year-old if he decides to defer his college scholarship.

"It's the landscape we're in now, he was going the school route and now we can add a player like that and he's been a real good player for us," said Lamb.

"He's a real powerful skater, he's a 200-foot player and he's got excellent speed and physicality, and he can make play. He's a responsible guy but I think there's some more untapped offence in him also.

"He's a leader and the work he did over the summer is noticeable, he's in unreal shape. He's been taking a leadership role here and he's just like a veteran. He's been excellent on and off the ice since he's been here."

Ashe spent the first eight years of his life growing up on a cattle ranch near Warman, where his parents, Della and Mike, have downsized to an acreage. They plan to be in Prince George for the season-opener Sept. 19 against Portland and will get to see their boy play again in February when the Cougars tour Saskatchewan.

The Cougars wrap up their exhibition schedule against the Kamloops Blazers Friday (tonight) in Kamloops and Saturday in Quesnel.

Check out the Prince George Cougars Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from September 12, 2025


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