Don't believe all the hype you've been hearing about the New Ice Age prediction of climate change sweeping over the Prince George Cougars.
It doesn't mean squat if the Cougars are unable to shake themselves out of their funk as perpetual losers. The Chicago Cubs of major-junior hockey have a new ownership group that has poured money into the franchise and made several smart front office hires to inject new life and stimulate fan interest in a team that teetered on the edge of extinction during the latter stages of the Brodsky era.
However, the bottom line remains the same.
If the Cougars don't win a lot more often than they lose, that New Ice Age optimism will retreat in short order. There's no doubt the fans, who once made Prince George the envy of the league for their rabid sea-of-white enthusiasm, are coming back to the team. Now it's up to the Cougars to show the product on the ice is good enough to put them over the top and give the city what it has craved ever since the Cougars arrived 20 years ago. This year's version of the Cats is still missing a few pieces to be considered a championship contender but it most certainly is good enough to end a three-season long playoff drought.
Forwards
The Cougars start the season with 15 forwards, including eight newcomers, as well as 20-year-old Jari Erricson, who played in only four games last year due to a concussion, and converted defenceman Zach Gonek, 18, who played half his rookie season on the blueline.
Gone are 50-goal man Todd Fiddler and slick cornerman Klarc Wilson (who both graduated), as well as Alex Forsberg (the first-overall draft pick who failed to live up to the hype was traded to Prince Albert), as well as the 1-2 scoring punch of Troy Bourke and Zach Pochiro, both chasing spots with the pro teams that drafted them).
Everyone in Cougarville is wondering how good Jansen Harkins will be as a WHL sophomore. His stock grew in value as the season progressed and he finished with 34 points in 67 games. Now he's on the radar with Hockey Canada for his world junior potential. This is his draft year and having already shown he belongs in an elite group at the Ivan Hlikna tournament, Harkins could well emerge as an NHL first-rounder. Homebrew Brad Morrison is starting to fill out physically and has the offensive gifts to be a gamebreaker like Harkins. Chase Witala is the most likely Cougar to pick up the scoring slack left by Fiddler's departure and if he stays healthy don't be too surprised if he approaches the magic 50 mark.
The new bunch includes Colby McAuley, who showed flashes of brilliance while leading the team in preseason scoring with five goals in three games; Haydn Hopkins, a pint-sized tiger who possesses a wide assortment of play-making tools; Jordan Ross, a six-foot-two, 191-pounder who tasted junior A national championship victory with the Yorkton Terriers last season; and Aaron Boyd, a second-rounder in 2012 who appears ready to make the jump to the WHL.
The other returnees - Gonek, Erricson, Tyler Mrkonjic and Aaron Macklin - know their roles and if flashy 19-year-old import David Soltes can put behind a knee injury that wiped out all but 15 games of his first season in North America, the Cougars should have no worries up front.
"I feel we have a lot tougher group of guys here now," said Erricson. "Not everyone is expected to fight, everyone plays their role, but we have a few more of those bigger guys who aren't afraid to get dirty."
Considering his concussion history, Erricson will avoid dropping the gloves as much as possible but with former Prince Albert Raider Chance Braid (arguably the heavyweight champion of the WHL) more than willing to stick up for his teammates, the Cougars won't get pushed around like they did last season. Braid can fight, but also has a scorer's touch and he'll be counted on for offensive leadership as well.
"We wanted to add some size and I think we did that with Ross and guys like that but we wanted some grit too," said coach Mark Holick. "Hopkins is not big in stature but he's around the paint all the time and McAuley's another one who's had a good preseason chipping in some offence and being a physical pain in the butt. I like the way our veteran guys came back in shape. Witala's been awesome, Braid's been good and Erricson, being away for a year, has a bit of rust to knock off but he's played real well."
Defence
Assuming six-foot-six Marc McNulty returns from the Red Wings camp, and that Sam Ruopp, Tate Olson and Joseph Carvalho continue to progress, the Cougars' blueline will be much improved. They've got size and mobility in 20-year-old Wil Tomchuk, homegrown Raymond Grewal, 2013 third-overall pick Josh Anderson, and Slovakian giant Martin Bobos. Shane Collins and Dominic Thom are on the bubble as rookies.
"We'll have a lot faster team this year and just like it says on our shirts - predator not prey - we're going to be dictating our style of play the whole game, we're not going to be sitting back," said the 19-year-old Carvalho. "I think everyone is more confident with another year under our belt and we'll be more aggressive, taking chances."
Tomchuk joined the team at mid-season from Tri-City and has no doubts the Cougars' team defence will be vastly improved from their third-worst ranking in 2013-14.
"Everyone's got more experience now and more poise and patience with the puck - we'll be tough to play against and will also help out on the offensive end getting pucks on net," said Tomchuk.
Goaltending
Ty Edmonds had his ups and downs when thrust into a starting role with the Cats last year when Brett Zarowny got hurt. Edmonds played a ton and while that was tough on his mind and body he got the notice he deserved when he was picked for the CHL Top Prospects game.
While he didn't get drafted, Edmonds showed he has what it takes to handle the lion's share of crease time and how he performs will have a huge impact in determining how far the Cougars advance. Erratic goaltending, combined with longterm injuries to key players, killed the Cats last season but Edmonds has another year of maturity which should enable him to play with more consistency. Tavin Grant will be his understudy as a 16-year-old after proving his worth as the top-ranked goalie in the B.C. Major Midget League.
Intangibles
In addition to their team defence, the Cougars' special teams play last year was horrid. Their power play ranked 21st out of 22 teams and they were 17th-best in penalty killing. Is it any wonder they missed the playoffs? That has to change and it's up to Holick and his new assistants, Michael Hengen (who handles the defence) and Roman Vopat, (the forwards coach) to find the right formula.
"Goals will always come, guys want to score so that's the easy side of it, we want to make sure guys are taking care of their own end first and we're excited about where we're going," said Cougars general manager Todd Harkins.
The geographically-challenged Cougars are a six-hour bus trip away from Kamloops, their closest WHL destination. Whether that factors into the number of games lost to injuries is hard to prove, but it certainly doesn't help. They start the season Saturday in Portland with two injuries - Grewal suffered a concussion early in training camp and Soltes won't be ready to play until next weekend at the earliest. The Cats have hired a full-time athletic therapist, Craig Hyslop, and Hengen, with his background as a strength and conditioning coach, will have the players in good shape, assuming they can stay healthy.
Holick has a track record of success in the WHL with Kootenay and so far that has eluded him at the helm of the Cougars. With bodies replacing the rows of empty seats we've grown accustomed to at CN Centre there will atmosphere again in the building and Holick says that will help inspire the players to give the fans more of what they came for.
"The more people here the merrier and we want to make sure we perform when we're here," said Holick. "We've instilled that we're trying to make that culture change here and it takes some time to get that through but there's been a lot of buy-in so far and we'll see how it goes."
Prediction: Third in the B.C. Division, fifth in the Western Conference.
