Cougars Battle Blazers in Final Weekend of Pre-Season
WHL Prince George Cougars

Cougars Battle Blazers in Final Weekend of Pre-Season

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


KAMLOOPS, BC - The Prince George Cougars begin the final weekend of their pre-season schedule tonight as they visit the Kamloops Blazers at 7:00 pm at the Sandman Centre. Tonight's game will be aired live on 94.3 The Goat. You can listen HERE. Following tonight's game, the Cougars conclude the pre-season against the Blazers once again in Quesnel, BC. Tickets can be purchased at the Cougars office or at Barkerville Brewing in Quesnel.

Prince George opened the pre-season last weekend against the Edmonton Oil Kings and dropped a pair of contests, 5-2 and 4-1. Edmonton dressed a relatively veteran lineup in both games, while the Cougars dressed a younger lineup. GM and Head Coach Mark Lamb was encouraged from what he saw last weekend, "Everyone played very well," said Lamb. "There was a lot of good evaluation, a lot of good hockey, and some players really made a difference."

The Cougars still sit with 30 players on their roster, and Lamb says decisions will be made. "We got a lot of players here. We have ten defencemen, I believe 30 players, so the evaluation is going to be huge."

2024-2025 REGULAR SEASON LEADERS (Returning Players):

Goals (28) - Terik Parascak

Assists (54) - Terik Parascak

Points (82) - Terik Parascak

Penalty Minutes (136) - Aiden Foster

Plus/Minus (+22) - Carson Carels

Wins (33) - Joshua Ravensbergen

Goals Against Average (3.00) - Joshua Ravensbergen

Save Percentage (.901) - Joshua Ravensbergen

Shutouts (0) - N/A

CAMPING TRIP: Four PG Cougars are currently with their respective NHL teams at Rookie Camps. Terik Parascak (Washington Capitals), Josh Ravensbergen (San Jose Sharks), Aiden Foster (Tampa Bay Lightning), and Corbin Vaughan (New York Rangers) are the ones at camps to try and earn a spot at main camp. Parascak, Ravensbergen, and Foster are all NHL draft picks, while Vaughan was an invite to the Rangers camp.

2024-25 SEASON RECAP: The Prince George Cougars wrapped up the 2024-25 campaign with a 41-21-4-2 record (88 points), securing second place in the BC Division and fourth overall in the Western Conference. On home ice, the Cougars were a force, posting the best record in the BC Division and tying for the top mark in the Western Conference with a dominant 24-5-3-2 (53 points), matching the Everett Silvertips. In the 2025 WHL Playoffs, Prince George battled the Portland Winterhawks in a thrilling seven-game opening-round series. Washington Capitals prospect Terik Parascak led all returning Cougars in scoring with 28 goals and 54 assists in 59 games. Meanwhile, San Jose Sharks first-round pick Josh Ravensbergen delivered an outstanding season in goal, recording 33 wins - the second-most in the WHL.

DRAFTED: Two Cougars were selected at the 2025 NHL Draft in Los Angeles, CA. Josh Ravensbergen was chosen in the first round, 30th overall, by the San Jose Sharks. With the pick, he became both the highest-drafted goaltender in Cougars history and the highest-drafted goalie in Sharks history. Aiden Foster was then taken by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the fifth round, 127th overall. Foster is the first Cougar selected by Tampa Bay since Brett Connolly in 2010.

KOOPER CLAIMED: During the off-season, the Cougars were able to acquire 20-year-old forward Kooper Gizowski off of 20-year-old WHL Waivers. Gizowski, a veteran of nearly 250 games, joins the Cougars after spending his first four seasons in the league with both the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Spokane Chiefs. Gizowski scored 17 times last year for the Hurricanes, helping them to a berth in the Eastern Conference Championship series.

O CANADA: Both Joshua Ravensbergen and Terik Parascak attended Team Canada's National Junior Summer Showcase this summer which took place in Minneapolis, MN. The camp serves as an evaluation for Hockey Canada to select its roster to compete in the 2026 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship in December. Ravensbergen and Parascak were two of 40 players invited to this summers camp.

CARSON CANADA: Carson Carels was selected to represent Team Canada the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup this past August in Trencin, SVK and Brno, CZE. Carson and the Canadians earned a bronze medal, defeating Finland in their final game by a 3-0 score. This marks the third time Carels had earned the opportunity to represent the maple leaf. The 17-year-old draft eligible blue-liner owned a nice rookie season for the Cats, contributing, 38 points, and impressive +22 plus/minus which ranked in the Top WHL rookie skaters. Carels was originally selected 16th overall by Prince George in the 2023 WHL Prospects Draft.

HOCKEY OPERATIONS UPDATES: Earlier this summer, the Prince George Cougars announced that General Manager and Head Coach Mark Lamb, Associate Coach Jim Playfair, and Assistant Coach Carter Rigby all signed multi-year extensions with the club. For Lamb, he ranks as the second highest winningest coach in team history and was also the recipient of the 2023-2024 WHL Coach and Executive of the Year The team also announced that Leland Mack has been named the clubs new Director of Scouting. Mack succeeds Bob Simmonds who is now transitioned to the teams Director of Player Personnel.

Check out the Prince George Cougars Statistics

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Western Hockey League Stories from September 12, 2025


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