After making the most of Showcase Weekend on home ice, the Greater Vancouver Canadians face their first big test of the B.C. Major Hockey League season this weekend in Prince George.
The Canadians will take on the Cariboo Cougars in a pair of games, starting Saturday.
The Cougars (3-0-1) are one of just two remaining unbeaten teams in the 11-team circuit after sweeping the Vancouver Northeast Chiefs last weekend at the Richmond Olympic Oval.
Greater Vancouver also took care of business with 3-0 and 5-2 victories over the Kootenay Ice.
Vancouver Giants prospect Tyler Shugrue earned the shutout in the opener as Kyle Uy broke a scoreless tie in the late stages of the second period. He added an insurance maker in the third and Samuel Atkins rounded out the scoring.
The series finale on Sunday morning saw the hosts jump out to a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes and never look back.
Matheson Kroeker, Ante Mustapic, EJ Shaw, Sami Pharaon and Ryan Wilkinson scored for the Canadians. Local products Owen Seidel, Jordan Sandhu and Gary Dhaliwal chipped in with two assists each. Matteo Paler-Chow got the win in net.
Icing…
Canadians and Seafair Minor Hockey grad Glenn Gawdin has been recognized by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau’s Players to Watch list for the 2015 NHL Draft.
Gawdin is one of 13 Western Hockey League players given a “B” rating. The 17-year-old forward is currently in his second season with the Swift Current Broncos and has four points in five games after producing 22 points over 66 games in his rookie campaign. He was the Broncos top pick in the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft.
NHL Central Scouting identifies players with a system that includes four ratings. The ‘A’ rating indicates a first round candidate, a ‘B’ rating indicates a second/third round candidate, and a ‘C’ rating indicates a fourth through sixth candidate.
Gawdin’s former Canadians teammate Adam Musil also made the “B” list. He is with the Red Deer Rebels.
