For the second time this season, the Prince George Cougars hosted a hot stove session.
This time it was the Cougar faithful who had a chance to ask all the questions on topics such as player recruitment, injuries, and even the playing status of newly-acquired defenceman Brendan Guhle who has been called up on an emergency basis by the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres.
General Manager Todd Harkins says it was another good experience. “We heard some great questions on how you draft players, recruit players, how do you rebuild a team which includes dealing with some of your 19-year olds. Those are great questions because those are questions I ask myself everyday as a general manager and that’s how you do your job.”
Harkins adds things can sometimes get interesting when you’re out in public during non game days.
“I get more recognition now as the general manager of the Prince George Cougars than I ever did as an NHL player, to me it can be very rewarding in some ways but nerve wracking in others. You go out and to see the people recognize you and they come and say hi and they give you a couple of tips here and there in the long-term as well.”
When it came to the recruitment side of things Harkins was quick to point out the success level of CHL players heading to the NHL, a tactic he uses when recruiting players to the organization.
“The majority of players playing in the NHL are from the CHL so you can use that to your advantage, so it’s an easy tool to let them know if they want to play in the big leagues we have an opportunity in Prince George and a great franchise committed to developing players.”
Cougars Head Coach Richard Matvichuk along with Assistants Shawn Chambers, Steve O’Rourke and Goalie Coach Sean Murray were all in attendance during the Tuesday roundtable at Don Cherry’s Sports Grill.