North Dakota-Bound Carels Could Return to Cougars
WHL Prince George Cougars

North Dakota-Bound Carels Could Return to Cougars

Published on June 2, 2026 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Prince George Cougars News Release


There are 317 kilometres of highway between Cypress River, Man., the hometown of Carson Carels, and Grand Forks, N.D., where he's signed to play hockey next season for the University of North Dakota.

That shaves about 20 hours of steady driving time to connect from his current home on the farm in southern Manitoba to Prince George, Carel's hockey home for the past two seasons with the Cougars.

If his new NCAA address comes into play next season that 2 1/2-hour trip will make it a lot easier for his parents, Ryan and Stacy, and the rest of the Carels clan to make the trip across the border to watch his games playing defence for the Fighting Hawks.

But there's still a remote chance Prince George fans could see Carels back for another season in the WHL. It all depends on which NHL team picks him in next month's draft and where that team decides would be best for his development.

Ranked as a top-six-overall pick on most draft lists, Carels is sure to be among the first handful of players chosen at the first-round draft proceedings Buffalo, N.Y. on June 26.

It was announced May 18 that Carels has committed to North Dakota for next season, coming off a spectacular 17-year-old season with the Cougars in which he scored 20 goals and had 73 points in just 58 games and maintained a point-per-game pace in the playoffs with a goals and nine assists.

It may seem inevitable that he'll be joining his Cougars teammate Bauer Dumanski on that North Dakota team this fall. But Carels says if he signs this year with the NHL team that drafts him that could still mean he will be wearing a Cougar jersey again in 2026-27.

"With the draft still so undetermined there a chance I could sign and be back there (in Prince George), so you never really know, it's just a waiting game honestly," said Carels.

A CHL-NHL agreement specifies that signed NHL players aged 18 or 19 who do not make the active roster and play fewer than 10 NHL games must be returned to their junior team. They aren't allowed to play on any other pro team.

"If I sign with them and have an NHL contract then I'll play the games they allow me or try to make the NHL and obviously if I don't work out in the NHL I'll be sent back to Prince George and play there and have another great season with the team and try to bring it back to PG and go for it," Carels said.

As a Cougars fan favourite, Carels led the team into the playoffs seeded third in the Western Conference. After dispatching the Spokane Chiefs in a seven-game opening round series the Cougars' season ended with a six-game series loss to the Penticton Vees.

If he doesn't return for a third season he says he'll miss the thrill of stepping out onto the ice at a sold-out CN Centre to feel the chills running down his spine. The Cougars ranked second in the WHL for attendance during their 13-game playoff run and the fans made the rink an exciting place to be.

"I think that's why Prince George is probably the best hockey town in the WHL," Carels said. "Just all the fans support us and know who we are and it's just a great fan base. It's a professional environment and it has that small-town vibe too.

"I don't know where it will take me to next year but I hope it's somewhere I'm appreciated as much as I was in Prince George," he said. "I'd be more than happy to go back and do it for those fans and those people again."

The Victoria Royals lost five players to the NCAA during the off-season in 2025, including forward Cole Reschny (picked by the Calgary Flames 18th overall in the 2025 NHL draft) and defenceman Keaton Verhoeff (projected as a top-three draft pick this year). Both bolted to North Dakota. The Royals also were powerless to stop defenceman Justin Kipkie (Arizona State) and forwards Teydon Trembecky (Michigan Tech) and Nate Misskey (UMass-Lowell) from signing with NCAA teams.

"That's the new life we're living, it really sucks," said Cougars head coach and general manager Mark Lamb. "I have no idea what's going to happen, nobody does. When you don't have anything in your control you just have to play it out and let things happen and hope for the best."

Players who sign an entry-level NHL contract are ineligible to play in the NCAA, and that's what the Cougars are hoping will happen with Carels. At least then they'll have a shot at getting him back.

"If he's going to school he can't attend an NHL camp," said Lamb. "What we need is a team that thinks he can play in the NHL right now and wants to see. Give him the nine games, that type of thing. Other than that, that's when the schools come in. They don't sign a contract, so they can't play pro."

Carels was picked 15th overall by the Cougars in the WHL Prospects Draft and fit in right away when he joined the Cougars full-time from Pilot Mound Academy in Manitoba just before the playoffs in 2024. He played regular shifts as the Cougars advanced to the Western Conference championship, which they lost in six games to Portland.

He thrived under coaching of Lamb and Jim Playfair who have been mouding him into a hard-hitting two-way defenceman.

"It was all the little habits (Playfair) wanted to focus on, it wasn't anything I was doing wrong or anything, it was just reminders and obviously he taught me the game and take care of my end zone and it helped be who I am as player today," said Carels.

"Mark, too, has helped me in so many ways. He has so much experience and I earned so much from him. You can't get any better than those guys."

Carels leaps off the charts for his ability to make quick decisions to find open ice and thread bullet passes to open forwards and he's known for closing ground quickly in the defensive zone to defuse scoring chances.

Carels, who turns 18 on June 23, finished high school a year early and is ready to step into the general studies program at North Dakota. With Dumanski, the former Cougar captain, also heading there, Carels won't have to go looking for a roommate.

"If I do end up going there I'll be with my best bud and my roomie and I can imagine we're going to room together again and keep growing that connection," he said. "It'll be real exciting and I'm really proud of him, to play hockey and get an education at such a good school."

Carels, his brother and three sisters live on a 2,000-acre farm near Cypress River with 500 head of cattle to look after and now is calving season so there no shortage of chores to do. Aside from the NHL draft he's also looking forward to attending Canada's world junior camp that starts July 28 in Windsor, Ont. As a 17-year-old playing in a 19-year-old tournament, Carels helped Canada win the bronze medal at this year's championship in Minnesota.

"I'll be with my age group this year so I'll obviously have a bigger role with the team and we'll try our best to bring home the gold and kind of start getting on that winning streak for Canada," he said.

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