Having Dan Hamhuis as part owner of the Prince George Cougars is paying dividends to the WHL team.
The veteran Vancouver Canucks defenceman and former Cougar gave the Cougars the royal treatment this week, offering the players a behind-the scenes tour of the Canucks facilities at Rogers Arena in the two days leading up to their game Friday against the Giants.
Fresh from an uplifting 5-3 win over the league-leading Kelowna Rockets on Tuesday, the second time this season the Cougars have won in Kelowna, the Cougars left that night on the bus for Vancouver, where they were booked into the Fairmont Waterfront downtown hotel, where most NHL teams stay when they come to play the Canucks.
The Cougars' new ownership group headed by Greg Pocock planned the trip to Vancouver to provide the players an NHL experience, providing the players an opportunity to live life like pro hockey players. Hamhuis spent the day with the Cougars and they visited the Canucks dressing room and training facilities, ate NHL-style meals, then took in Thursday's Canucks-Los Angeles Kings game, where they were entertained in a private suite at Rogers Arena.
"We took a look at our schedule when we bought the team and identified this an opportunity to do something a little special for the boys," said Pocock. "It's one of the rare occasions where we're in Vancouver with some time on our hands and the Canucks were also in town with time on their hands, so we talked to Dan and arranged a special NHL experience for our players and management staff. Dan talked about his experiences and what it takes to be a pro and be successful and what it takes to get there."
Hamhuis did not play Thursday. He suffered what is believed to be a groin injury in a game Nov. 20 against Anaheim and it's expected the 32-year-old Smithers native will miss at least the next six weeks.
Pocock and Cougars head coach Mark Holick agreed the Vancouver trip had the desired effect of motivating the troops.
"It's a credit to our ownership group which has provided us the means to do what we did here in Vancouver and give the boys a taste of an NHL club and how they travel and their meals and schedules," said Holick. "As part of our culture change, we're trying to be as close to professional hockey in their actions and their structure and their commitment as they possibly can. We want kids who want to be pros and we thought we'd give them a taste of what life on the road in NHL is like."
