There were several controversial cuts in the Canadian team selection camp for the 2025 world junior hockey championship, including returning forward Matthew Wood of Nanaimo and Andrew Cristall of the Kelowna Rockets.
Other decisions that some observers felt were head-scratchers included leaving forward Riley Heidt and goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen of the Prince George Cougars off the Canadian team.
Heidt and Ravensbergen were instead relegated back to club play in the Western Hockey League and featured in the weekend set at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre for the Cougars against the Victoria Royals.
“Heidt is the best player we have played against this year,” Royals head coach James Patrick told reporters.
Fifteen WHL players are competing in the 2025 world junior championship tournament in Ottawa, including eight for sa国际传媒. A lot people thought Heidt would be in that mix.
“Heidt was at the world junior camp. I was very shocked he didn’t make it,” said former NHL defenceman Patrick, a world junior gold medallist for sa国际传媒 in 1982 and bronze medallist in 1983.
“Heidt makes plays and plays a high-speed game and can control the game. You really have to back-check against him and his line.”
The flash-quick Heidt, a second-round NHL draft pick of the Minnesota Wild, scored Prince George’s goal in regulation time and Ravensbergen was named first star in the Cougars’ 2-1 shootout victory over the Royals on Friday night at the Memorial Centre to start the two-game set between the Western Conference second-place Cougars (20-9-5) and fifth-place Royals (17-11-6).
Heidt continues moving up the all-time Victoria/Prince George Cougars franchise points-scoring list. Heidt is the career leading scorer since the team moved to Prince George from Victoria in 1994-95 and is the only player from the Prince George era in the franchise all-time top-10 scoring list.
The others are all from the Victoria Cougars era from 1971-72 to 1993-94 — Mark Morrison, Barry Pederson, Rich Chernomaz, Curt Fraser, Simon Wheeldon, Ken Priestlay, Adam Morrison, Geordie Robertson and Gary Lupul.
Patrick had Prince George as the team to beat this season and it has mostly lived up to that billing.
“The Cougars were the team in the pre-season that everyone looked to as being the top team in the league and, next to Everett, they have been the most consistent in the Western Conference,” Patrick said.
The Victoria mentor knows his team, by comparison, has to work for everything it gets: “We are not a high-octane, run-and gun offence that can play river hockey. We have to pay the price to get in the paint and get more ugly goals. We have big defencemen, and when we defend well as a team, we end up in a lot of close games, but we give ourselves a chance to win. That’s the type of team we are.”
And will have to be as the second-half charge to the finishing gate begins, continuing with back-to-back 2 p.m. cross-strait matinees against the conference-rival Vancouver Giants on Tuesday at the Memorial Centre and Wednesday at the Langley Events Centre.
“It now feels like a sprint out of the Christmas break. Especially with how close the conference is, from 1 to 12,” said Patrick.
“A good spell will solidify your chances. A bad spell down the stretch will make things tough on you. We know how important these games are.”
ON THE ICE: The Cougars beat the Royals 2-1 on Saturday night as goalie Ravensbergen was again named first star. Teydon Trembecky scored the Royals goal.
