The winds of change are blowing in for the Prince George Cougars.
The WHL franchise kicks off its regular season on Friday against the Spokane Chiefs and will most likely ice a younger, more inexperienced team than in the past two seasons.
Several familiar faces are gone and have turned pro including Jansen Harkins (Winnipeg Jets), Jesse Gabrielle (Boston Bruins), Brendan Guhle (Buffalo Sabres) and Colby McAuley (AHL).
Other players like Brad Morrison (traded to Vancouver Giants), Sam Ruopp (Graduation) and Tanner Wishnowski (BCHL) have either been traded, moved on, or playing Junior A this season.
Even with all of those moves, the Cougars roster is far from settled heading into the weekend with six 20-year olds and three European players still on the roster.
Cougars general manager Todd Harkins says he’s not expecting an overnight solution to the problem since many other teams are in the same boat.
“Everyone is kind of jockeying for 20-year-olds and what we’re going to do with all them – not just us but every other team. We have talked to teams every day about our 20 year old’s and there is a lot of interest but again, it’s a tough decision to make right now with Tate’s (Olson) injury and being out probably until the beginning of November and also Radovan Bondra who is in Chicago’s camp, who is having a great camp right now.”
Other 20-year-olds on the roster include Brogan O’Brien, Jared Bethune, Shane Collins, and Aaron Boyd.
With more changes on the horizon, a lot of younger players will get a chance to crack the lineup this season including Benjamin Coppinger, Chance Adrian, Reid Perepeluk and Cole Moberg just to name a few.
Harkins believes with the younger line-up could allow the Cougars to fly under the radar.
“You never want to be the frontrunner in anything with the start of the season. We’ve got a young team with a lot of eager kids that want to play and develop, we have a lot of guys that are trying to get drafted in the NHL this year and then we have some guys that are trying to prove themselves and get pro contracts. It’s a recipe for a team to continue to compete more and impress the fans in the city of Prince George.”
Harkins says regardless of who is in the lineup, building the proper culture remains key.
“One of the things we always want to try and do is try to make the playoffs, that’s first and foremost as the season approaches. You have 72 games; it’s a long year but you want to make the playoffs and then from there hit that second season, you want to make sure that you’re healthy and in shape and focus and prepare to win hockey games to try to win a championship.”
Probably the biggest glaring difference heading into the season will be the goaltenders.
Out are both McBride and Edmonds and former Prince George Spruce King Tavin Grant has the inside track on starting between the pipes for the Cougars.
Grant suited up for the Cougars as a 16-year-old before bouncing around the Junior ‘A’ and ‘B’ ranks, including a stint with the Kamloops Storm.
Former 1st round bantam pick Taylor Gauthier is slated to begin the season as the backup and goalie of the future while 17-year-old backstopper Isaiah DiLaura is also in the club’s future plans.
Puck drop for both weekend games is at 7PM at the CN Centre.
Fans are encouraged to attend Friday’s game a bit early with a large crowd expected to witness last year’s BC Division banner being raised to the rafters.
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