It was just like any other school day for Tatum Fouquette, at least it was until he heard his name called in the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft back on May 9.
The Prince Albert product was selected in the fifth round, 110th overall by the Prince George Cougars.
“I was chilling in class and I was sitting beside my buddy.” Fouquette recalls. “He was on the draft just watching it. The computer was open, I looked over and saw my name and got pretty excited.”
In 27 games for the Prince Albert U15 AA Pirates this past season, Fouquette registered 28 goals and 14 assists. He added one goal and four assists in three playoff games.
The Prince George Cougars are fresh off an appearance in the Western Conference Final, where they lost to the Portland Winterhawks in six games. The final game of the series was a double overtime thriller with Josh Davies scoring the game winning goal.
After seeing the excitement around the team during the playoff run, Fouquette says he is looking forward to arriving in Prince George for training camp later this year.
“I’m super excited to be part of the organization. They’re great. I’m so excited to get to camp, to meet the guys, meet the coaching staff and everybody. It’s such an amazing thing. It only happens once in a lifetime.
Fouquette will not be eligible to play full-time in the WHL until the 2025-26 campaign. Next season, he is committed to play in the U18 AAA ranks for the two-time defending champion Saskatoon Blazers.
Fouquette was one of three Prince Albert Pirates selected in the WHL Prospects Draft this year. Both Connor Howe and Declan Borthwick were selected by the Prince Albert Raiders. Howe was taken in the second round, 31st overall. Borthwick was taken 10 selections after Fouquette, with the 120th overall selection in the sixth round.
“I’m proud of those guys.” Fouquette says. “They’ve been my teammates, Connor’s been working here for two years and Declan, I just met him this year. I feel like I’ve known these guys for a lifetime. They’re such great people and it’s been a great season with them and hopefully I can play against them in the future.”
The last name Fouquette may sound familiar to WHL fans and that is for good reason. Tatum’s older brother Tre was selected by the Prince Albert Raiders in the fourth round of the 2019 WHL Prospects Draft, 74th overall.
Tre played parts of three seasons for the Raiders, appearing in 13 games in Prince Albert. Last season, he played in 24 games for the Brandon Wheat Kings posting one goal and three assists before being reassigned to the Nipawin Hawks of the SJHL.
Tatum says his older brother has told him great things about playing in the WHL.
“He had a great experience with the WHL. He loved playing in Brandon and in PA. He loved it and I’m excited to share that same experience and talk about it. I’m just excited to be part of the WHL.”
sports@paherald.sk.ca
