Mark Holick wanted to be in Prince George in time for the opening face-off. Snowy conditions on the highway between 100 Mile House and here conspired against him.
But Holick, the new head coach of the Prince George Cougars, arrived at CN Centre during the first intermission of a Western Hockey League game between his new team and the Prince Albert Raiders. He was happy to arrive in one piece and thrilled to begin a new chapter in his career.
"There are only 22 [head coaching] jobs in the league and they're all pretty prestigious positions," said Holick, who made the drive north from his home in Penticton on Wednesday. "If you get an opportunity to work in the league I think you should certainly look at it so I'm real happy to be here."
Holick's WHL resume includes three seasons at the controls of the Kootenay Ice. He guided the Ice into the playoffs all three years (2007-08 to 2009-10) and was named the WHL's top coach in his last season with Kootenay. He then stepped up to the pro ranks with the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League and stayed with that organization until last season.
Holick said he first had discussions with Cougars general manager Dallas Thompson a couple weeks ago. The two men then met face-to-face last weekend in the Okanagan.
"Talks got a little bit more serious and we managed to work something out," Holick said.
Holick is the replacement for Dean Clark, who was fired by Thompson on Tuesday.
Holick -- who said he has known Thompson for years and is comfortable with him -- takes over a team that has struggled with its consistency this season and finds itself near the bottom of the Western Conference standings.
"Coming in, it's a little bit of a challenge but at the end of the day we just want to try and instill some good habits and try to be the hardest-working team on the ice," he said. "If we can do that, the rest takes care of itself."
Regarding his style as a coach, Holick said he's firm but fair.
"You don't get benched for playing hard," he said with a chuckle. "If you come to the rink and bring your lunch bucket and go to work, you'll be fine."
Holick saw his Cougars fall 3-2 to the Raiders, one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. The Cats surrendered a 2-0 lead in the contest and dropped to 14-27-2-4 on the season.
Holick will run the Cougars' practice today and will be behind the bench Friday night when the Cats play a key home game against the Everett Silvertips, one of the teams they are trying to catch for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Silvertips, who played in Kamloops on Wednesday night, currently hold down seventh place. The Cats and Silvertips will also do battle on Saturday.
The Cougars are currently ninth in the standings, five points back of the eighth-place Seattle Thunderbirds but with a game in hand.
