Prince George Cougars defenceman Carson Carels, who’s projected as a top-five selection in June’s NHL Draft, left Game 1 of the playoffs Friday against the Spokane Chiefs after an awkward collision propelled him face first into the boards and he didn’t dress for Game 2 Saturday.
The No. 3 seeded Cougars (44-22-2-0) are up 2-0 in the WHL best-of-seven opening round set on the No. 6 seeded Chiefs (36-30-2-0) thanks to 6-3 and 3-2 victories. The series shifts to Spokane for Game 3 on Monday.
The Cougars are listing Carels, 17, as sidelined day-to-day but teams are typically coy about injuries during the playoffs.
Carels went shoulder to shoulder with Chiefs forward Brodie Gillespie near the side boards just outside the Spokane blue line in the waning moments of the first period Friday. The Prince George Citizen’s Ted Clarke reported that Carels stayed down on the ice for few seconds before skating back to the Cougars’ bench. He did drop to one knee at one point as he tried to gather his senses, and appeared wobbly on his feet as he walked to the dressing room, according to Clarke.
Gillespie received a double minor for boarding.
The 6-foot-1, 202-pound left-shot Carels put up 20 goals and 73 points in 58 regular season games with the Cougars. TSN’s Craig Button had Carels at No. 2 — behind only Penn State winger Gavin McKenna — with his latest draft rankings, which were published March 24.
Vancouver Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin was at the Langley Events Centre on Jan. 18 to watch Carels and the Cougars square off with the Vancouver Giants. Prince George won that night 5-1.
As part of his rankings, Button linked Carels to Detroit Red Wings great Nicklas Lidstrom, explaining that “there’s no way anybody’s ever going to be Nick Lidstrom,” but the “manner in which he plays in ever single regard — the big minutes, the hard minutes, the offensive and defensive play and the timely play — he’s got all those elements.”
Elite Prospects currently Carels going at No. 5, while Sportsbet’s Sam Cosentino and Jason Bukala rank him at No. 7 and No. 8, respectively.