Zac Funk is a junior player no more.
The Washington Capitals prospect saw his final WHL season with the Prince George Cougars end on Monday night in a double-overtime defeat to the Portland Winterhawks in the Western Conference finals.
Funk’s Cougars fell in the six-game series after eliminating the Spokane Chiefs and Kelowna Rockets earlier in the playoffs. The 20-year-old winger finished with 18 points (8g, 10a) from 15 postseason games and will now join up with the AHL’s Hershey Bears as a black ace for their ongoing run to repeat as Calder Cup champions.
“I got the call this morning that I’m going to Hershey on Saturday,” Funk said Tuesday. “It’s going to be good. They’ve got a really good team there. They’re a championship organization down there so I will learn a lot and it’s going to be really good for me. It’s going to be good to get my feet wet down there before I go into the real thing. I’m looking forward to it.”
The Capitals signed Funk to a three-year, entry-level contract in early March after he exploded for a career-best year with Prince George. The WHL Player of the Year nominee recorded a CHL-leading 67 goals in 68 games to go along with a career-best 56 assists. His 123 points ranked second in the WHL and he was one of just two players in Canada’s three major junior leagues to eclipse the 120-point mark.
Funk’s 67 goals are the new, all-time franchise-high for the Cougars, besting a record set by Quinn Hancock (54) back during the 1997-98 WHL season. Additionally, he recorded nine hat tricks after coming into the year with zero in his career. His last hat trick helped eliminate Kelowna and now Bears teammate Andrew Cristall.
To our trio of amazing 20s:
Thank you for giving everything to this team. Your skill, your leadership, your blood sweat and tears.
Always Cougars ❤️🖤 pic.twitter.com/6TB7IHZj7v
— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) May 7, 2024
Hudson Thornton, Cougars team captain, has also completed his junior career. The 20-year-old blueliner signed an AHL contract with the Bears in April. The Winnipeg native recorded 74 points (18g, 56a) in 68 games for Prince George this past season, adding 15 points (6g, 9a) in 15 playoff games.
Unlike Funk, Thornton isn’t joining up with Hershey until the start of next season.
“This is probably the most important offseason of my life,” Thornton said Tuesday. “I have to make that jump to professional hockey now where guys are a lot bigger and a lot stronger. Take some time off here, take a week or two, and have to get right back into it, back into the gym. Looking forward to the challenge of trying to be a professional hockey player next year.”
The other conference championship in the WHL also concluded on Tuesday night. The Capitals had representation with Alexander Suzdalev on the losing Saskatoon Blades. Suzdalev couldy join Funk with the Bears after he wraps up his duties with the Blades.
The Russian-born, Swedish-raised winger started his 2023-24 campaign with Hershey before making a stop with Mora IK in the HockeyAllsvenskan. He returned to the WHL in January, recording 25 points (9g, 16a) in 30 games.
