Dach, Cozens named CHL TPG captains

Kirby Dach of the Saskatoon Blades and Dylan Cozens of the Lethbridge Hurricanes will serve as captains at the 2019 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.

The Top Prospects Game will be played on Jan. 23 in Red Deer.

Dach, fourth in Future Considerations’ Winter ranking for the 2019 NHL Draft, will lead Team Orr with alternates Jakob Pelletier of the Moncton Wildcats and Ryan Suzuki of the Barrie Colts. Cozens, ranked fifth, will lead Team Cherry with alternate captains Thomas Harley of the Mississauga Steelheads and Raphael Lavoie of the Halifax Mooseheads.

Cozens, 17, is currently among the top-10 scorers in the Western Hockey League with 58 points (25 goals, 33 assists) in 43 games. He was originally selected by the Hurricanes with the No. 19 pick in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft, and was the WHL’s Rookie of the Year last season.

“It’s a huge honour,” Cozens said in a release. “To be named captain of a team for something of this high a level and to get to represent the WHL and the Lethbridge Hurricanes as a captain is something that I am very grateful for, and I hope to represent well.”

Dach, who turns 18-years-old on Monday, was the No. 2 pick in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft. He currently leads the Blades with 48 points (17 goals, 31 assists) in 41 games, and helped Canada to a first-place finish at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in August.

“It’s pretty special to be part of this game in the first place and to be able to wear a letter on my chest is an incredible honour,” Dach said. “It’s something I’ll take very seriously and cherish for the rest of my life.”