PREVIEW: Giants Look to Keep Streak Going vs. Visiting Cougars on Friday

Langley, B.C. – Tonight the Vancouver Giants look to start the season with a 3-0 record for the first time in a decade when they host the Prince George Cougars at 7:00 p.m. at the Langley Events Centre.

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The Giants won both games during opening weekend by a score of 4-3, the first of which came in overtime over Seattle in the club’s home opener last Friday.

The following night, Vancouver spoiled Everett’s home opener, much in part thanks to 37 saves from goaltender Burke Hood, who was making his first career Western Hockey League start.

The 2007-born draft class showed up in a big way last weekend, with 17-year-olds Cameron Schmidt (four goals), Aaron Obobaifo (two goals) and Jakob Oreskovic (one goal) providing seven of the team’s eight goals, with Tyler Thorpe being the only other goal scorer (OT winner on Friday). Now, they have reinforcements in the form of four players that have returned from NHL Training Camps: forwards Ty Halaburda and Connor Levis, plus defencemen Mazden Leslie and Colton Roberts. 

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TONIGHT’S MATCHUP

Tonight is the first of eight head-to-head meetings between Vancouver and Prince George this season, which is the case for all of the Giants B.C. Division opponents. Just like last season, the G-Men will play the Cougars four times in the first half and four times in the second half of the year.

While the Giants have four players back from NHL camps, the Cougars have four of their own. Bauer Dumanski (free agent invite Detroit), Hunter Laing (Calgary Flames draft pick), Borya Valis (free agent invite Detroit) and Villiam Kmec (free agent invite Vegas) were all returned to Prince George this week.

Last season, the Giants went 2-6 against the Cougars, who finished as the top seed in the Western Conference with 49 wins.

Players to Watch

The Player to Watch for the Giants is forward Kyren Gronick, who had four assists in two games last weekend.

Not only did the 5-foot-10 forward chip in offensively, but he also played more than 23 minutes per game (in all situations) and won 67.5 percent of his face-offs. On Friday, Gronick had the second assist on Schmidt’s second goal and he had the primary assist on Obobaifo’s game-tying-goal, sending him a beautiful no-look pass backdoor for an easy tap-in.

On Saturday, Gronick had the primary assist on both Obobaifo and Oreskovic’s tallies.

The 20-year-old enjoyed his best offensive season in limited action last year with 28 points in 45 games (10G-18A) and looks determined to stick as one of the team’s three 20-year-olds this season.

The Player to Watch for the Cougars is defenceman Viliam Kmec, who is fresh off signing an entry-level contract with the Vegas Golden Knights. The Slovakia native wasn’t drafted to the NHL, but has enjoyed success the last three years as a Cougar, accumulating 80 points in 180 games, to go along with a +44 rating. Last season, he was second on the Cougars blueline in scoring with 34 points in 58 games (9G-25A) and was a +39.

Kmec also represented his home country at the U20 World Junior Championship in 2024, recording four points (4 A) in five games.

TALE OF THE TAPE (2024-25 REG SEASON)

SEASON SERIES VS. PRINCE GEORGE (0-0-0; 8 H2H)