After more than a year in pandemic limbo the Prince George Cougars will finally get to play hockey again when they face off against the Kamloops Blazers tonight in Kamloops.
The Cougars have 10 rookies on the roster heading into the new season, a condensed 24-game schedule that wraps up May 12.
The Cougars will be playing exclusively B.C. Division opponents and will face each team six times.
Prince George is based in Kamloops along with the Blazers and Vancouver Giants, while the Kelowna Rockets and Victoria Royals are living in similar conditions in a controlled environment in Kelowna.
Twenty-year-old defenceman Jack Sander, chosen by his teammates earlier this week to wear the ‘C’ as Cougar captain, says that despite the fact his team has had just six practices since they last played together at the tail end of the 2019-20 season, they will be ready to go when they take to the ice to play the Blazers in Saturday’s 7 p.m. season-opener.
“From what I’ve seen so far I’m pretty excited and I think the fans will be too,” said Sander, a native of Beaumont, Alta. “We have a lot of young talent and also older talent too. “There’s a great future and a bright future for the Cougars but that doesn’t mean that were not going to do anything this year and I think we’re going to do pretty well.
“It’s definitely been a long summer and a long off-season physically but I would say even more so mentally, just making sure you’re able to do the things you always do and come back into the next season. It was a long wait and it was tough to just set goals and find that stuff but if guys are able to do that they’re going to be doing well this year so I’m excited.”
All 24 Cougar games will be webcast on WHL TV, a subscription-only service available through the league website, whl.ca.
See the Citizen website later today for a preview of what the Cougars will be bringing to the ice this season.
LOOSE PUCKS: Friday night in Kamloops the Blazers defeated the Vancouver Giants 7-3 late in their season-opener at Sandman Centre. In the other B.C. Division game in Kelowna, Cole Schwebius made 19 saves in a 5-0 shutout win over the Victoria Royals at Prospera Place... Defenceman Majid Kaddoura and forwards Ethan Browne, Connor Bowie and Jonny Hooker were chosen the Cougars’ assistant captains… Seventeen-year-old defenceman Hudson Thornton, who signed with the Cougars Feb. 26, has not been cleared to play. Thornton, a native of Winnipeg chosen by the Cats in the second round, 33rd overall in the 2018 WHL bantam draft, played 23 games this season in the USHL with the Fargo Force... The Cougars will be classed as the home team tonight, giving them last line-change honours.
