The campaign officially begins today.
The results? They won't truly be known until fall. Until then, the candidates will battle one another and do everything they can to show themselves in the best possible light. They'll showcase their strengths and try to hide their weaknesses. At the same time, they'll try to expose the flaws in their rivals.
As this drama is unfolding, their performances will be broken down and analyzed by those in the position to make decisions. At the end of the process, votes will be cast. A select number of the candidates will get jobs. Some will have one-year terms while others will stick around for two years.
Thankfully, there will be no election signs littering boulevards and roadways in Prince George for the next month or so because this campaign will be waged on ice and has nothing whatsoever to do with federal politics.
The closest thing to a link? Local conservative candidate Todd Doherty does have past involvement with the Cariboo Cougars, who are starting their summer identification camp today at the Coliseum. Doherty is a former assistant coach and video technician with the club, which, this weekend, is taking its first real strides toward the 2015-16 B.C. Hockey Major Midget League season. Perhaps more importantly, the Cariboo coaches will be on the lookout for players who will form the backbone of the team that will host the 2017 Telus Cup national midget championship tournament.
At the camp, it will be all business right away. Players vying for roster spots will be divided into five teams, and games are planned for 4:30 p.m., 6:15 p.m. and 8 p.m. Fitness testing, games (four of them) and meetings are on the schedule for Saturday and the camp will wrap up Sunday with three more games, exit interviews and meetings with those players who have been chosen to advance to the next stage of evaluations. Next in the selection process will be a fall camp, which will get going on Sept. 9. From that gathering and some pre-season action, the final roster will take shape.
For the Cougars staff - led by head coach and general manager Trevor Sprague - picking the players who will wear the Cariboo jersey will be a little trickier than usual. Sprague and company (including co-coach Bryan MacLean and assistant Tyler Brough) will have to make their selections with one eye on the present and the other on the Telus Cup year. Working within the confines of the 15- to 17-year-old age range, they'll want to ice a team that will be as competitive as possible this coming season but one that will also be stocked with top-end talent for 2016-17. Most likely, this season's Cougars will feature more 15-year-olds than is typical. But, the real prize players will be highly-skilled 16-year-olds because they'll be eligible to come back next season and make huge impacts as the oldest, most experienced players on the ice.
In the 15-year-old group, the Cougars are bullish on a pair of defencemen, Jonas Harkins and Zach Minaker. Both were chosen by the Prince George Cougars in the most recent Western Hockey League bantam draft (second round and ninth round respectively). Harkins - already six-foot-two and 190 pounds - is a lock to wear a Cariboo uniform this season, while Minaker will have to show he's ready for the major midget level. There's also a decent chance both players will be available for duty during the Telus Cup season because it's uncommon for 16-year-olds to become full-timers in the WHL, especially on defence.
Another 15-year-old who could be a two-year player for the Cariboo Cougars is forward Ty Kolle of Quesnel. He's a fresh draft pick of the WHL's Portland Winterhawks, who chose him in the fourth round this spring.
And how about some of the 16-year-olds who could be worth their weight in U.S. dollars (never mind the fading loonie) for the next two seasons? One of them is a local boy, blueliner Jeremy Gervais, who already has a year of midget hockey on his rsum after having played for Prince George's midget Tier 1 squad last season.
While the Cariboo Cats would like to have a dozen returnees for their run at the Telus Cup, there are no guarantees this year's 15- and 16-year-olds will stick around. Really, the best Sprague and his fellow evaluators can do is pick the top guys in that age bracket and then play the waiting game.
When it comes to the Prince George Cougars prospects who will be at the Cariboo camp (including 2015 draft pick Reid Perepeluk on defence and 2014 selection Ethan O'Rourke at forward, who will be a spectator because of a broken foot) Sprague said there is no unspoken agreement between the WHL club and the major midget team that players will be made available for 2016-17 and the national tournament.
"Not at all," said Sprague, who also serves as a scout for the WHL Cats. "We would like them, we're not going to keep it a secret. We want at least 10 to 13 guys that are going to be back in our lineup (in 2016-17) and then piece the puzzle together after that."
But, Sprague said, it all depends on the needs of the big Cats. And, ultimately, the Cariboo team is in the business of moving players along to higher levels. If a player is ready to jump up to junior, that means the Cariboo coaches have done their jobs.
For now, the players are all candidates. The current season is still more than a month away and the Telus Cup is even farther down the road.
Choices, however, are about to be made. Ultimately, 20 seats in the Cariboo Cougars dressing room will be earned.
For the players, the trick is to stand out in a crowd. And to do it with actions, not words.
