The Prince George Cougars are doing what they can to keep in touch with their fans.
With so much uncertainty (because of COVID-19) about when they will play their next game, the Cougars realize now is not the time for a big-ticket or promotion campaign unlike other years in the month of May.
The team is finding creative ways to remain relevant in the off-season.
Recently the Cougars hosted a virtual Town Hall with Team President John Pateman, Vice President of Business, Andy Beesley, and General Manager & Head Coach, Mark Lamb.
The three were asked fan-submitted questions by host Fraser Rodgers.
Missed our virtual town hall from this week? Cougars’ President John Pateman, Vice President of Business, Andy Beesley, and General Manager & Head Coach, Mark Lamb answered fan-submitted questions.
PART 1 https://t.co/ln1TRKXvVg
PART 2 https://t.co/vVMxoAo2CE pic.twitter.com/4sTTItEY9O— PG Cougars (@PGCougars) May 10, 2020
The Cougars popular co-owner Dan Hamhuis, who at age 37 continues to patrol the blue line in the NHL with the Nashville Predators, recently took questions from some fans.
Alum, co-owner, and NHL defenceman, Dan Hamhuis chatted with some lucky fans today via Zoom. He told them the pieces to a successful future are in place.#NorthernUprising | #WHL pic.twitter.com/JCqk0aRGI5
— PG Cougars (@PGCougars) May 11, 2020
Next month the Cougars will host a “Hockey Hot Stove” with Lamb, Co-Owner, Eric Brewer, Associate Coach, Jason Smith, and Director of Scouting Bob Simmonds.
The four will answer a variety of questions from the public about the team.
Those questions (that need to be submitted by Friday, June 12th) will be answered during a recorded Zoom call.
The Hockey Hot Stove will be published on the Cougars’ website on Wednesday, June 17th.
Our Hockey Hot Stove is coming up on June 17th. Eric Brewer is one of our four panelists. Have a question for him? Follow the link below.#NorthernUprising | #WHL
SUBMIT QUESTIONS | https://t.co/VGhWF33dCw pic.twitter.com/cfVTn8PJYj
— PG Cougars (@PGCougars) May 20, 2020
I’m sure diehard fans appreciate the opportunity to ask questions of the Cougars top brass that are normally reserved for the media.
While the team will be able to give responses about team personnel and prospects they won’t be able to give much insight about the most pressing issue which is will the season start on time in September or will there be a WHL season at all?
We may be waiting for many weeks before an answer is finalized.
Ultimately and unfortunately, the status of the virus will dictate the final response.
@
The WHL needs fans to operate or do they?
A poll is being conducted on Twitter @TBirdTidbits
The question reads would you pay a full in-person ticket price to stream a WHL game from an empty arena if it was the only way for a 2020-21 season to happen?
Not surprisingly, about 70 per cent said they would not which again reiterates that there are not many revenue options for the WHL should they attempt to play with either no fans or at best with many empty seats.
24 hours later and we have about 350 votes. Thanks for sharing so we can get more responses!
We’ve been reading your replies here and on other threads. A common theme seems to be “Yes, but…” https://t.co/dbKeoVHc70
— TBird Tidbits (@TBirdTidbits) May 21, 2020
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Yes, there is NASCAR, MMA and even some golf, but don’t you agree that it will not feel that sports are back until the return of either the NHL, NBA, MLB or NFL?
With June a week-and-a-half away, we should be getting some answers about the prospects of at least one of those leagues resuming in the near future.
One gets the feeling those four sports leagues are going to find a way to either finish the season in the case of the NHL and NBA or start the season in the case of the MLB or NFL as long as the players sign off on it.
There is a bit of a hint the NBA could be returning July 15th.
NBA returning July 15th? ? pic.twitter.com/MVcK4R4vY1
— theScore (@theScore) May 22, 2020
There may not be any fans in attendance but just to have it on television will be more than enough to fill a void that surprisingly has now gone beyond two months (since March 11th).
There are critics complaining that 24 teams in the NHL playoffs are too many but as simple as it sounds we should all just be pleased if there is a post-season at all.
The NHLPA’s Executive Board is taking a vote on the 24-team return-to-play playoff format proposal, @reporterchris reports.https://t.co/VvJhU8uh05
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 22, 2020
With 2020 the year of the virus whatever sports we can get, in whatever format, is a bonus.
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FROM THE QUOTE RACK
A South Korean soccer team has apologized for planting sex dolls throughout the stands to make the stadium appear fuller. Man, talk about inflating attendance figures.
*Contributor Marc Ragovin of New York
A South Korean soccer club is facing penalties, including expulsion from its own stadium, for putting sex dolls in empty seats during a match last weekend.https://t.co/w8fcVwjTaC
— ABC 7 Amarillo (@ABC7Amarillo) May 22, 2020
If NBA playoffs happen, Orlando and Disney World are considered the frontrunner to host the games, all the way to a potential championship. Such a deal would probably exclude future games involving the NY Knicks. That’s a shame because few teams better exemplify the term “Mickey Mouse organization.”
*Comedy writer Janice Hough of Palo Alto, California www.leftcoastsportsbabe.com
Mike Tyson, 53, is pondering a comeback. When he learned that Evander Holyfield is contemplating the same, he started training for a possible rematch by sharpening his dentures.
*Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California
From the Life Ain’t Fair File comes word that a 110-year-old Shoeless Joe Jackson baseball card just sold at auction for $492,000. In other words, nearly 100 times the $5,000 Joe was bribed to throw the 1919 World Series.
*Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times http://www.seattletimes.com/author/dwight-perry/
IN CASE, YOU MISSED IT:
According to ESPN, just two years after their NFL career ends, 78 per cent of players are penniless or deeply in debt. Think about that when the coach yells “Go for broke.”
*Canadian comedy writer RJ Currie www.Sportsdeke.com
Hartley Miller is the news and sports supervisor and morning news anchor for 94.3 the GOAT and Country 97.
He also is the 94.3 the Goat radio colour commentator for P.G. Cougars home games.
His column appears Fridays on myprincegeorgenow.com.
Send along a quote, note, or anecdote to [email protected]