At noon on Thursday at the Kin Centre atrium, the 11th head coach in the 22-year-history of the Prince George Cougars will be introduced to the public.
Fans are invited to attend the news conference to find out firsthand what the new coach has to offer a veteran-laden team expected to make some noise next year in the Western Hockey League playoffs.
For Todd Harkins, now entering his third season as Cougars general manager, the man he has hired to replace Mark Holick behind the bench is a coach he has handpicked for the job, the product of a seven-week search since Holick and the Cougars mutually agreed to part company.
"I was a bit nervous about it at the start, just because I've never done it before, but I embraced the situation and really enjoyed the process," said Harkins.
"I was able to brag about our team, our city and our organization, and that was a great experience to go through."
Harkins received close to 50 expressions of interest in the job from potential candidates, either through emails, phone calls or text messages, and he then personally approached another 30 candidates. He said it helped having two NHL players - Dan Hamhuis and the now-retired Eric Brewer - as part of the Cougars ownership group to entice quality coaches to pursue the position.
"Knowing that those guys are involved and what the ownership group has done the past couple years in creating a fan experience that's second to none and the professionalism it has brought to the players, that allowed me to talk to coaches who in past years wouldn't be open to a phone call from the Cougars," said Harkins.
Harkins interviewed several coaches in the minor pro ranks, either the AHL or ECHL, and they liked the idea of coaching one of the country's major-junior teams as a potential stepping stone to the NHL.
"We are a development league and all those guys are in one track, trying to get to the next level of that organization," said Harkins. "The beauty of the CHL (Canadian Hockey League) is you have an opportunity to coach 30 (NHL) teams when you have success. The tough part for an ECHL coach is your players get poached by the AHL team, so it's not easy to win."
One of the first priorities of the coach who will be introduced today, rumoured to be former NHL defenceman Richard Matvichuk, (the head coach of the ECHL's Missouri Mavericks the past two seasons), will be to find a replacement for assistant coach Roman Vopat. Harkins confirmed Vopat, whose contract expired this spring, won't be returning for a third season with the Cougars.
"Roman is going to head back to Cranbrook and I think he'll pursue a position with the Kootenay Ice," said Harkins
Assistant coach Mike Hengen still has one year left on his contract and Harkins said he will remain with the team.
The Cougars GM said he plans to attend the WHL annual general meeting in Vancouver, June 14-15.
