Cariboo Cougars captain Riley Coish will be too old to play in the Telus Cup when Prince George hosts the event in 2017 but that doesn't rule out his shot at taking the Cougars to this year's national midget hockey championship.
For Friday's official launch of the 2017 tournament at Kin 1 arena, the 17-year-old Coish was sporting two 'C's on his brand-new jersey, one to designate his captaincy and the other on the newly-minted crest his team will be wearing this season.
"It's definitely a big event for Prince George, everyone's looking forward to it and hopefully we'll have a good year to lead into next year's Telus Cup," said Coish. "I won't be around but I want to try to bring my experience from last year and show the guys the ropes so they can carry a good year into the Telus Cup."
Premier Christy Clark was on hand for Friday's announcement with a $30,000 contribution from the province to help local organizers promote the week-long tournament, set for April 24-30, 2017 at CN Centre. Clark referred to the city as Canada's version of Hockeytown and said fans will enjoy watching the country's top male midget teams battle for a national title.
"It's fantastic for the community, it will bring so much attention to the community, everybody in the hockey world in North America will be following this," said Clark. "It'll be a chance to see some incredible players like Sidney Crosby, Steve Yverman, Patrick Roy -- future NHL players are going to be playing here."
Clark has no reason to doubt the Cariboo Cougars will be capable of winning it all as the host team.
"An earlier version of this team already proved themselves (last season), winning the Mac's tournament -- they've got what it takes," Clark said.
Prince George was the last B.C. city to host the national tournament, in 2001, when it was known as the Air Canada Cup. The success of that tournament and the response of fans who packed the stands, combined with the city's effort in hosting the 2015 Canada Winter Games in February, helped convince Hockey Canada to select the Prince George bid.
Randy Henderson, the past-president and now chair of Hockey BC, said there will be a Telus Cup legacy fund after the 2017 tournament which will be used to promote minor hockey in the region. He predicts fans are in for a treat.
"This is fast hockey, it is the best midget hockey in the country," said Henderson. "It speaks volumes to the size of the community, the strength of the volunteers and it just is a perfect match with the event. This is an event that's going to capture the whole community."
Longtime major midget Cougars sponsor Jack Fomenoff of CIF Construction has also contributed $30,000 to the 2017 Telus Cup committee, headed by co-chairs John Morrison and Shawn Rice.
Midget Cougars head coach Trevor Sprague was an assistant coach for the host Prince George team at the 2001 national tournament. He said there's no doubt his team's win at last year's Mac's tournament helped with the local bid.
"It's pretty special to come back to B.C. after all these years and here we are again," said Sprague. "Winning the Mac's put the Cougars at a whole other level."
The Cougars begin their B.C. Major Midget Hockey League season tonight at 8 at Kin 1 against the Valley Hawks. The same teams meet Sunday in a rematch at 12:30 p.m. The Cougars won four of their five exhibition games.
