High Prairie’s Shantz signs with WHL’s Cougars

Sep 15, 2021 | 1:27 PM

High Prairie native and former GPAC Storm U15 AAA player Zackary Shantz has signed a Standard Player Agreement with the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League (WHL).

Shantz was drafted in the third round of the 2020 WHL Prospects Draft by the Cougars.

He recently participated in Cougars training camp over the last week and was one of two players who signed a Standard Player Agreement on September 15.

Cougars’ Director of Scouting Bob Simmonds said Shantz, along with Ephram McNutt, both stood out at camp.

“Both Ephram and Zack had very strong showings during our training camp. They were determined to prove they can play at this level and earned their agreements. Both will be really good fits to our skilled, young core going forward.”

During the 2020-21 shortened season, the 16-year-old forward was limited to just three games where he played for the Northern Alberta Xtreme (NAX) U-16 Prep team. He tallied four points in those three games.

Prior to joining NAX, Shantz scored 52 points in 33 games for the U-15 AAA Storm. His work led him to being named the 2019-20 Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League’s Most Valuable Player.

by Shane Clausing