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Cats filling billet needs for upcoming season |
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Written by Citizen Staff
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Wednesday, 06 August 2008 |
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COUGARSPRINCE GEORGE COUGARSJIM SWANSONFRIDAY-SATURDAY
Citizen Sports Editor
An advertisement in last weekend’s editions of the Kelowna Daily Courier asked families interested in billeting Rockets players to call the team’s Prospera Place office.
The Prince George Cougars, as is the annual need around the Western Hockey League, are in a similar place -- needing host families for the upcoming season.
“Our players will spend more time with the billets than they will at school with their teachers, or at the rink with their coaches,” said Wade Klippenstein, the assistant GM/coach of the Cougars, who handles billet arrangements as one of the many aspects in his job description.
“Our billets are our A-No. 1 contact between the community and our players.”
Klippenstein said the Cougars are shy of suitable beds for as many as six players, which means Klippenstein is hopeful of four or five families coming forward.
“It’s actually not a bad spot we’re in -- I’ve seen it worse in the past with other teams I’ve worked for,” said Klippenstein.
“We had a younger team last year, so we only lost three 20-year-olds and we didn’t have the turnover of losing seven or eight 19-year-olds who turned pro. Most guys are returning, and most of those are going back to the same situations they were in last season, so it’s great that we’re in that situation.
“We have some families who have been looking after players in excess of 10 years now. We’re very fortunate from that side of things, for sure.”
Klippenstein said billets will decide not to return for a variety of reasons -- people move, their jobs change, or younger families get older.
The Cougars open training camp on Aug. 24, while the first home exhibition games are slated for Sept. 5-6 when the Edmonton Oil Kings arrive for a Friday-Saturday set.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 06 August 2008 )
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