The Prince George Cougars had a pretty good idea when the WHL Bantam Draft started on Thursday that they wouldn’t be getting Mathew Barzal.
“He was too good for bantam this year,” said general manager Dallas Thompson. “He was so far ahead of everyone else at the beginning of the season. The other players started to catch up as the season went along, but he was still the best.”
So the Cougars, holding the number three pick, weren’t surprised when the Seattle Thunderbirds picked Barzal first.
“We knew we had a pair of deals in place with our picks in the first round,” Thompson said. “The first deal was contingent on Barzal being picked first.”