Forget all that hype you've heard about the Prince George Cougars and their New Ice Age mantra.
Climate change has already taken hold of the Cougars and the effects of that meltdown are evident around the rink at CN Centre.
After years of dodging icebergs and narrowly avoiding a catastrophic sinking of the franchise under its former ownership, the Cougars made an abrupt turnaround last year when local hockey fanatics Greg Pocock, John Pateman, Ray Fortier and Ernest Ouellet formed EDGEPRO Sports & Entertainment and took over with backing from NHL pros Eric Brewer and Dan Hamhuis.
With the threat of losing the team to public indifference gone, people warmed up to the Cougars again. Attendance nearly doubled from the previous season and the local business community poured its support into the team.
The new owners immediately put their own stamp on the franchise and began running the Cougars like a professional team. They revamped the dressing room, built the players an in-house gym and spared no expense to increase the coaching/training staff, bringing in hired-gun professionals to coax more out of the players, who responded by ending a three-year playoff drought.
Not only have they shed their tag as perennial losers, but the Cougars are now part of an organization elite players want to join.
Despite the team's success over the past year, something is still missing in Cougarville. The Cats have been here since 1994 and have yet to claim their first WHL banner. That's 21 seasons of no division regular-season titles, no conference playoff championships and certainly no league final celebrations. Could this be the year the Cougars finally bring home a crown for their loyal followers? Perhaps, but don't go planning any parade routes.
Here's how the depth chart shapes up:
Goal
Maybe the best off-season move the Cougars made was when general manager Todd Harkins dialed up 20-year-old Mack Shields to convince him to come to Prince George after he'd cleared waivers. Shields is entering his fourth WHL season and was the go-to goalie for the Calgary Hitmen in the regular season and in the playoffs in their run to the Eastern Conference final. Shields gives incumbent Ty Edmonds an experienced sounding board as well as a safety net in case Edmonds falters as the starter. The 19-year-old did not have a veteran to lean on and the Cougars had no choice but to play him often (115 games in two seasons). With a young defence in front of Edmonds, it's no wonder the Cougars allowed 295 goals in 72 games for a 4.09 average, third-worst in the WHL. That will be much better with Edmonds and Shields splitting the duties more evenly and better all-around protection from the skaters.
Defence
For the first time since 2006, the Cougars have two defenceman on the radar of NHL teams. Sam Ruopp was bypassed his first draft year but Columbus wanted him this year. The Blue Jackets realized his assets as a tough, bone-crusher with good wheels and selected the Cougars captain in the fifth round.
"Sam was in the same boat as (Edmonds), thrust into a lot of icetime because of the lack of depth we had and now as a 19-year-old he's had a chance to skate with the big boys in a pro camp and that will do nothing but help him," said Cougars head coach Mark Holick.
Tate Olson might have been seen as an afterthought when Vancouver took him in the seventh round in June with the second-last overall pick of the draft but as he showed in the Canucks camp at CN Centre, Olson is quick and smart enough and has an offensive upside that helped him fit in with the pros. What Joseph Carvalho lacks in size he makes up for with his brain. The soon-to-be 20-year-old is a leader, playing in all situations, and with three full seasons behind him he knows his job well. He'll get support from sophomore Shane Collins, who will see a lot more icetime this season. Josh Anderson, 17, could well emerge as the most improved Cougar. He's big and mean and will be watched closely by NHL scouts. The Cougars lost puck-moving catalyst Josh Connolly to UBC and Olson is most likely to fill that hole, but rookies Joel Lakusta and Max Martin are also offensively-gifted, as is sophomore Collins. Import Luka Zorko is a giant but still has to develop his skating skills to get up to WHL calibre.
Forwards
The Cougars greatest depth is in the forward group, and that's not a well-kept secret. Five of them -Jansen Harkins, Brad Morrison, Jesse Gabrielle, Jared Bethune and Chase Witala - played in NHL camps. Harkins is the blue-chipper out there, Winnipeg's second-round pick, and he's on mission to make it to Canada's world junior team. Morrison's puck-handling wizardry and quick feet make him one of the league's most exciting players to watch and he'll be even better for his experience with the New York Rangers. Witala appears to have stepped up his game a notch, and the same can be said about Bethune. The Cats gave up a listed prospect to acquire Gabrielle. The 18-year-old Bruins pick was tops on the team in fitness tests and adds considerable depth and versatility as a left-handed shooter playing right wing. Make sure to watch Kody McDonald and import Bartek Bison. McDonald, a second-year winger, is heading into his draft year and doing all the right things to get himself noticed. The Dutch-born Bison is also just 17 and he's been a pleasant surprise. Nineteen-year-olds Colby McAuley, Jordan Ross and Tyler Mrkonjic and 18-year-olds Aaron Boyd, Haydn Hopkins and newcomer Zach Goberis (Banff Hockey Academy) will all fill vital roles and provide secondary scoring. Justin Almeida is only 16 but he possesses terrific skills as the fifth-overall bantam pick in 2014. Former Spruce King Brogan O'Brien is a big-bodied centreman with speed who can also light it up.
Prognosis
Todd Harkins is in his second season as GM and he's shored up the holes that needed to be filled to the point where he's comfortable the Cougars will be one of the division frontrunners.
"I think we've got a lot of skill and speed and depth up front, we've got puck-movers and hard-to-play defence on the back end and we've got two solid goaltenders who will give us a chance to win every night," he said. "If you're going to win and have a good playoffs you have to have depth and players who can play 60 minutes. We don't want to just rely on six (forwards). That's one of the things we've been able to accomplish with our group, to get players who can fill many roles up front and on specialty teams. As December or January rolls around, we're not going to have that lag like we had last year."
The Cougars barely made the playoffs in 2014-15 but now appear good enough to claim a top-four spot in the Western Conference, which would guarantee home-ice advantage in the first playoff round. With a hot goalie, capable defence and top-notch firepower, anything is possible but they're building to peak next season. They'll be considerably better than they were last year but still have a long way to climb to match the juggernauts, Brandon and Kelowna.
Predicted finish: Second in the B.C. Division, fourth in Western Conference.
