The expectation from the Cougar’s organization and fans is the Prince George Cougars will be an improved team in the 2014-15 WHL season. The lingering question is how much?
Will the Cougars sneak into the playoffs for the first time in four years? Is there a realistic chance they can surprise and move up to the middle of the pack or perhaps even higher in the Western Conference?
This is the time of year everybody is optimistic and why not? All WHL teams are 0-0 but that will quickly change this weekend as the puck drops to start the season.
The Cougars actually improved by 12 points last season going from 50 to 62, but that improvement was not evident in the standings since they finished 9th out of 10 for a second straight year. Here’s a look at the roster.
Forwards
The top two scorers from last season (Todd Fiddler and Troy Bourke) are gone but the Cougars should still have enough firepower, led by Chase Witala (19) and Jansen Harkins (17), to be competitive. Chance Braid (20) and Lance Yaremchuk (18) came from the Prince Albert Raiders for Jordan Tkatch (19) and are expected to make a tenacious contribution, but it should be noted they haven’t produced big numbers offensively. Braid, a physical presence, has 17 goals and 57 points in 201 career regular season WHL games while Yaremchuk had just a goal and two assists in 15 games last season with the Raiders. Local product Jari Erricson (20) has the talent to have a break out year but there is no predicting how he will respond after missing nearly all of last season with a concussion. Another notable forward coming off a major injury is import David Soltes (19) who is still not healthy enough to start the season. Overall, the Cats are youthful up front with the majority of their forwards 18 or under.
FORWARDS (15):
Kody McDonald (98)
Jansen Harkins (97)
Aaron Boyd (97)
Brad Morrison (97)
Haydn Hopkins (97)
Zach Gonek (96)
Tyler Mrkonjic (96)
Lance Yaremchuk (96)
Colby McAuley (96)
Jordan Ross (96)
David Soltes (95) (Injured)
Aaron Macklin (95)
Chase Witala (95)
Chance Braid (94)
Jari Erricson (94)
Defence
Behind the blue line remains a concern. The Cougars gave up a conference high 405 goals last season,(tied with Kamloops) well over four per game. That number needs to be cut down by a goal per game to become a .500 team. Mark McNulty (19) leads the defencemen. He has an offensive touch and has had great games but he needs to be more consistent and improve his plus-minus rating
(-10 last season) to get to the next level. The Cougars are carrying several defencemen on their roster with WHL experience and Josh Anderson (16), the third overall pick in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft, will be one of the rookies to watch.
DEFENCE (10):
Josh Anderson (98)
Shane Collins (97)
Tate Olson (97)
Sam Ruopp (96)
Dominic Thom (96)
Marc McNulty (95)
Joseph Carvalho (95)
Martin Bobos (95)
Raymond Grewal (95) (Injured)
Wil Tomchuk (94)
Goal
Ty Edmonds was slotted as the back-up to start the 2013-14 season but quickly became the starter. He had an up and down season with much of his success in the first half. Edmonds (18) should be highly motivated as he wasn’t drafted by an NHL team, although he was good enough to play in the CHL Top Prospects game. He will welcome the challenge of carrying the load and the pressure that comes with it. Tavin Grant (16) is an untested rookie as the back-up, who likely won’t be counted on for many starts.
GOALTENDERS (2):
Tavin Grant (98)
Ty Edmonds (96)
Outlook
Based on returning players and last season’s standings, Kelowna, Victoria and Portland (not necessarily in that order) should be the class of the West. Seattle and Everett appear to be strong middle teams and then there’s the rest. Spokane has lost plenty of fire power and experienced defencemen making them a prime candidate for the biggest fall. Tri-City will be competitive as long as Eric Comrie is in net. Highly touted rookie Tyler Benson should help Vancouver compete for a playoff berth and Kamloops is expected to be improved with Don Hay back behind its bench.
This leaves Prince George. We know the excitement with the new ownership; we know crowds at CN Centre will show a significant increase; and we know the players, coaches and management are re-energized to make the New Ice Age a success and not just a slogan.
If the Cougars finish 5th or better I believe they will have overachieved. If the Cats finish 6th to 8th, that would be moderate progress, but that’s a realistic goal considering their talent. If the Cougars finish 9th or 10th, it will be another disappointing season where the sizzle was more impressive than the steak.
To be a playoff team, the Cougars need much better production on special teams, a major reduction in goals allowed and more points from all those key home doubleheaders (Regulation time splits are not good enough).
Pick
The P.G. Cougars to finish 7th out of 10.
From the Quote Rack:
This isn’t an NFL season, it’s a remake of “the Longest Yard.”
New MLB slogan: When we suspend players, it’s because they only illegally hit baseballs.
Contributor Janice Hough of Palo Alto, California www.leftcoastsportsbabe.com
If the Philadelphia Eagles ever dedicate a game to LeSean McCoy, their battle cry will be ‘Let’s Win One for the Tipper!’
A late time-out called by NY assistant Marty Mornhinweg from the sidelines cost the Jets a game-tying TD in the loss to the Packers. But the good news for Marty is that at least he had the wind to his back.
Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California
Too bad Johnny Football didn’t pursue a career in baseball. So far he looks like Johnny Bench.
Ontario-born astronaut Jeremy Hansen is part of a NASA crew living on the ocean floor. He grew up watching the Maple Leafs, so he’s used to being at the bottom.
Comedy writer RJ Currie www.Sportsdeke.com
And in case you missed it:
A skydiver delivering the game ball for the Penn State-Central Florida football game in Dublin got off-course and missed the stadium entirely. In other words, unintentional grounding.
Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sidelinechatter/
Hartley Miller is the sports director and morning news anchor for radio station TheGoat94.3 His column appears Fridays on hqprincegeorge.com. Send along a quote, note, or anecdote to [email protected]
Follow him on twitter: @Hartley_Miller