Todd Harkins can now take the interim tag off his general manager title with the Prince George Cougars.
The Cougars promoted Harkins from the interim GM role and director of player personnel to the WHL team's general manager in a move that was announced Tuesday morning outside the Cats' locker room at CN Centre.
"He is one of the bright young minds of hockey," said Cougars president Greg Pocock. "We wanted a dedicated general manager who's dedicated to Prince George, to our players, to our fans, to our staff. We wanted someone who can identify talent and is dedicated to promoting Prince George and who is also an ambassador who knows what Cougars hockey is and is dedicated to bringing a championship [to the city]."
Harkins spent last season as the Cougars' head scout and director of player personnel.
Prior to joining the Cougars as a regional scout in 2012, he served as hockey director for the North Shore Winter Club in North Vancouver where the organization won six provincial peewee championships, three bantam championships and a western Canadian championship. He then led the Vancouver Northwest Giants to back-to-back provincial major midget championships in 2011 and 2012.
After the 2011-12 season, Harkins was named B.C. Major Midget League coach of the year.
Hiring a general manager has been on the new ownership (EDGEPRO Sports and Entertainment) group's to-do list. The position has been vacant since May 1 when former GM Dallas Thompson's contract wasn't renewed.
The Cougars finished fourth-worst in the WHL last season (27-37-3-5) and have missed the postseason in five of the last seven years, going three seasons without a playoff game.
Pocock said 17 people expressed their interest in the GM role. The Cougars talked to eight of them, interviewed five of them and short-listed two of them, one of which was Harkins. The other candidate was an experienced WHL general manager whom the team didn't name.
Harkins said the recent call from Pocock asking him if he was still interested in the job "came out of the blue" and the deal was finalized last week.
Harkins becomes the fifth GM in the team's 20-year history in Prince George. He signed a four-year contract with another year as an option. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"I want to create a culture of winning," said Harkins. "We have some outstanding prospects and we can compete with size, speed and skill. I'm determined to bring a winning atmosphere to CN Centre.
"We can build by finding the right players, kids who can skate with speed and want to compete."
Pocock said the process of finding a new GM began Jan. 2 during a discussion with WHL commissioner Ron Robison on how the two roles of general manager and head coach could be separate.
A number of names of candidates were put forth and Robison acted as a sounding board, ranking their strengths and weaknesses.
Among the candidates were Harkins and Cougars head coach Mark Holick, who had expressed interest in the job. (The Cougars also announced on Tuesday that Holick, who had two years left on his contract, received a two-year extension. See other story.)
In the end, it was decided the two roles - general manager and head coach - would be defined and separated.
"We wanted a coaching staff that's dedicated to winning and we want them dedicated to Prince George and winning championships," Pocock said. "We're extremely happy with Mark's professionalism through this whole process."
Holick also told Pocock that Harkins was the guy they needed to hire.
"I got to know Todd a lot this season," said Holick. "We had a ton of conversations about philosophy, coaching and more. Even our families got to know each other.
"He's someone you can trust and trust is a big part of it. We have a lot of the same philosophies on how to build a hockey club and the playing style we wanted to have. We're very much on the same page."
As interim GM, Harkins oversaw the team's 2014 bantam draft in Calgary on May 1 and engineered several trades in the last two months with the Saskatoon Blades and Prince Albert Raiders.
"We really watched how Todd conducted himself during the draft," said Pocock. "He understands what it's like for kids to leave home and talking to parents and making the move to the WHL. He shares the vision of the management team. He's motivated and driven. He's connected to this existing group of players and he has respect within the Cougars organization."
When asked how long it will take to build a contending team again, Harkins couldn't pinpoint an exact time frame.
"We have to put a plan in place and we need to have players who are hard-working, talented, cohesive and motivated," he said. "It will take some time."
The challenges of making the team better, he added, include improving it through the draft as well as finding 16- to 17-year-old players and listing them as well as making trades for players who have character and skill.
"They have to be given the opportunity to develop while they're here," he said.
He's not worried the Cougars are his first WHL gig.
"A couple of years ago when I left North Shore it was my goal to get to the WHL," he said. "I felt my philosophy is more in tune with management and it's a leap of faith to be given this opportunity."
Harkins' son Jansen is one of the team's top forwards. Dad has received calls from other teams about a possible trade for his boy.
"They have tried to trade for him already - he has a no-trade clause," the proud papa said with a grin.
