The Prince George Cougars Hockey Club announced the hiring of Mike Matthies as the team’s new Athletic Therapist.
The Prince George, BC product comes to the Cougars from the Victoria Royals where he served as a student Athletic Therapist for the past two seasons. Matthies recently completed a Bachelor of Athletic & Exercise Therapy degree from Camosun College.
Matthies has spent the last four years in Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence as an Equipment Manager. He was a staff member on Hockey Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 team that won a gold medal at the 2019 World Under-18 Championship in Japan. He was also was a member of the National Women’s Development team that won a silver medal at the 2018 4 Nations Cup in Germany. Prior to that, he was the Equipment Manager for four years for Team B.C., working with the Under-18 women’s team which included the 2015 Canada Winter Games.
“I’m very lucky to come into such a great organization and work for a team I grew up watching and cheering for,” said Matthies. “My experiences with the Royals and Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence has helped me prepare for this new challenge.”
Cougars’ Equipment Manager Ramandeep “Chico” Dhanjal has been named an Equipment Manager for Team Canada at the 2019 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, which takes place November 2-9 in Medicine Hat and Swift Current. Chico will work with Team Canada Black.
Dhanjal joined the Cougars in the 2008-2009 season and has spent the last 11 seasons as the team’s Athletic Trainer and Equipment Manager. He has represented Canada before on the international stage, when he served as the Equipment Manager for Team Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 & Under-22 teams. He has twice represented the WHL at the CIBC Canada-Russia series.
Dhanjal is in Calgary this week participating in Canada’s National Under-17 development camp, which opens today and runs until July 26th, at Markin MacPhail Centre at WinSport’s Canada Olympic Park. Prospects Tyler Brennan (goaltender), Hudson Thornton (defenceman) and Craig Armstrong (forward), are among 112 players participating in the week-long camp.
With files from the Prince George Cougars