They tried to trade him but the offers weren't sweet enough to satisfy the Prince George Cougars.
Since he quit the team and went home to Saskatchewan last December, Alex Forsberg has had a change of heart and now he's coming back.
There's a new coach in place behind the Cats' bench and Forsberg has decided he wants to return to the team that drafted him first overall in the 2010 Western Hockey League bantam draft.
"With the circumstances last January and him not returning it didn't just make it very favourable to make a good deal for the Prince George Cougars," said Cougars general manager Dallas Thompson.
"I got talking to Alex's agent and had some conversations with Alex and figured out that the best for him would be to come back here and get going. Alex is OK and excited about it. Obviously we've made some changes here. He talks to our guys and likes our guys and our guys like Alex and this is something both sides think we can get past after we see each other for five minutes."
Thompson tried to deal a disgruntled Forsberg before the team gave its permission for him to finish the season with the Humboldt Broncos of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, but there were no takers. The Cats continued to shop him around during the off-season and it didn't appear other WHL teams were prepared to give up much for his rights.
Thompson would neither confirm nor deny Forsberg's decision to quit the Cats stemmed from his rocky relationship with then-head coach Dean Clark, who had publicly criticized Forsberg's work ethic a short time before the Christmas break. Clark was fired Jan 22 and replaced by Mark Holick.
Forsberg was unavailable for comment Wednesday.
In 87 career games with the Cougars, Forsberg totaled 24 goals and 59 points. He was limited to nine goals and 10 assists in 31 games last season. The five-foot-11, 185-pound native of Waldheim, Sask., has the talent to be one of the Cougars top scoring threats and he'll be needed on a team trying to rebuild from a disastrous 2012-13 season in which they finished second-last overall with a 21-43-2-6 record.
"He's very dynamic offensively,"said Thompson. "Obviously, along with a number of other guys, there's work to do in other areas of the game and certainly Alex is aware of that and aware of what Mark did when he came in with our team in certain areas and those are things that will benefit Alex. Having Alex there is going to benefit us."
In 14 regular season games for Humboldt he had seven goals and seven assists and in 16 playoff games he collected 12 points, including two goals. The Cougars think he's capable of much more, playing in a mutually agreeable environment.
"I think when you're in a spot and go down a step and don't want to be in that area, guys tend to not really excel in places they don't really want to be, and that was partially a factor," said Thompson. "There was pressure with everything that went on. I think this is good, it's a fresh start for him and a good thing for us."
With Forsberg back in the fold, Thompson says he'll be in position to be a top-line left winger playing with a choice of linemates that will include Troy Bourke, Zack Pochiro, Chase Witala or Colin Jacobs (if he returns as a 20-year-old).
n The Cougars convene training camp at CN Centre on Friday, Aug. 23, with 115 players registered. The younger players (born in 1997 or 1998) will have one practice together and will then be grouped on three scrimmage teams along with two groups of 1996-or-later-born players.
