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With the 46^th NHL Entry Draft slated for June 21’st and 22^nd in the nations capital, we wanted to take a look back at some special Cougars who have been selected by NHL teams.

Since the Cougars relocated to Prince George for the 1994-1995 season, Twenty-Six Cougars have had their name called by National Hockey League teams.

Martin Hohenberger was the very first Prince George Cougar to be selected. The Montreal Canadiens selected Hohenberger in the 3^rd Round 74^th overall back in the summer of 1995. He never played a game for the Habs, but the distinction of being the Cougars first draft pick in Prince George will always be his.

Chris Mason was also selected in the 1995 draft as the New Jersey Devils took the native of Red Deer Alberta in the 5^th Round. Mason is a huge part of the Nashville Predators today. He appeared in a career high 51 games for the Preds in the 2007-2008 season.

Joel Kwiatkowski and Ronald Petrovicky were selected in the 8^th and 9^th rounds respectively in 1996. Dallas took Kwiatkowski 194^th overall and the Calgary Flames selected Petrovicky in the 228^th spot. Despite being such low picks, both made their mark on the NHL. Petrovicky, who now plays for Zug in the Swiss League, appeared in 342 NHL games, while Kwiatkowski spent the 2007-2008 season with the Atlanta Thrashers has amassed nearly 300 NHL games of his own.

The 1997 draft featured Eric Brewer as the highest Cougar ever selected. The New York Islanders took Brewer 5^th overall that summer. Brewer has appeared in almost 600 NHL games, won a gold medal with the Canadian Olympic Team in 2002 and was named an NHL All-star in 2002-2003.

1998 saw four Cougars selected. Blair Betts was taken in the 2^nd round (33^rd overall) by the Calgary Flames. Tyler Bouck was also selected in the 2^nd round (57^th overall) by the Dallas Stars. Goaltender Scott Myers was taken in the 4^th round (110^th overall) by the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Trent Hunter who had one of the best seasons ever by a Cougar in 1999-2000 was selected by the Anaheim Ducks in the 6^th round. (150^th overall) Myers is the only member of that group to be out of professional hockey.

Dan Hamhuis became a household name in 2001 when the Nashville Predators took him 12^th overall in the 1’st round. In just 4 short years Hamhuis has amassed over 300 NHL games, played in the NHL Young Stars game, and was named a 2^nd Team AHL All-Star during the 2004-2005 lock-out season. Also in 2001, Billy Thompson was selected by the Florida Panthers in the 5^th Round, and both Derek Boogaard and Dan Baum were taken in the 7^th round by Minnesota and Edmonton respectively. The “Boogey Man” has almost 150 NHL games and over 350 penalty minutes since leaving the WHL in 2003.

Jonathan Filewich and Dustin Byfuglien highlighted the 2003 Cougars Draft Class. Filewich was taken by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 3^rd round (70^th overall) and is just starting to make his impact at the NHL level. He appeared in 5 games with the Penguins during the 2007-2008 season. Byfuglien meanwhile has already made a big impact with the Chicago Blackhawks, who took the hulking native of Minneapolis in the 8^th round. (245^th overall) In his first full season with the Blackhawks, Byfuglien notched 19 goals and will no doubt be a huge part of Chicago’s resurgence.

Other players like Justin Pogge (TOR, 90^th overall, 2004) and Nicholas Drazenovic (STL, 171st overall, 2005) are just starting to make their mark in professional hockey. Only time will tell if those players will leave the same mark as some of the players above.