Welcome to this edition of The Hockey News’ WHL 2025-26 preview series. Leading up to the start of the 2025-26 season, THN’s WHL team will preview each Western Hockey League organization and provide a prediction on how each team will perform during the campaign. Today’s edition will focus on the Portland Winterhawks, who will be looking for a fifth-straight spot in the playoffs.
The Cougars had a stacked team in 2024-25. Four players recorded over 70 points, while Joshua Ravensbergen was one of three goaltenders to record over 30 wins. Unfortunately, Prince George ran into a dynamic Portland Winterhawks team, which beat them in seven games during the first round.
Heading into 2025-26, the Cougars roster looks completely different than a year ago. Four of their top five point producers have departed, while their defence will be missing some key pieces from last season. Ultimately, Prince George will need to rely on some younger players to step up if the Cougars want to once again qualify for the post-season.
F Riley Heidt, F Koehn Ziemmer, F Borya Valis, F Matteo Danis, D Viliam Kmec
As mentioned, Prince George lost some significant firepower this off-season. Ziemmer, Valis and Kmec all aged out, while Heidt is headed to the AHL this season. As for Danis, he was selected in the Expansion Draft and will play for the Penticton Vees this year.
F Riley Ashe, F Dmitri Yakutsenak, F Brock Souch, F Jack Finnegan, F Kooper Gizowski
The Cougars were able to add some intriguing forwards this off-season who are NCAA-bound in the future. Ashe and Souch played last season in the BCHL, while Finnegan played in the States last year. As for Yakutsenak, he played last year in the MHL, while Gizowski joins the team after being picked up on waivers from the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
This season, all eyes will be on defenceman Carson Carels. The 17-year-old was impressive for Canada at the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and is a projected first round pick in this year’s draft. Based on Prince George’s roster, Carels should get plenty of ice time and very well could end the season as the Cougar’s number one defenceman.
With a significant portion of the 2024-25 roster gone, Prince George could be headed for a rebuild. This is not uncommon for teams that build championship rosters, as they often lose all their top players at once. At this point, the Cougars will need to rely heavily on younger players as the majority of their pre-season roster are WHL rookies.
– Fifth In The B.C. Division, Tenth In The Western Conference
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