The changes continue for the Prince George Cougars after another disappointing season.
Wade Klippenstein tendered his resignation from the Western Hockey League club after serving six years in a variety of positions in management and coaching. Klippenstein served as the Cougars assistant general manager and director of player personnel for the past four seasons.
Dallas Thompson accepted the resignation, effective immediately.
The Cougars finished the 2012-13 season with a 21-43-2-6 record, putting them 21st out of 22 teams. The 50 points the Cats earned matched their point total from the 2011-12 season. The Cougars have missed the playoffs in back-to-back years and failed to qualify for the post-season in four of the last five seasons.
In 2011 the Cougars were swept by the Kelowna Rockets in four straight games.
Klippenstein's resignation follows the firing of head coach Dean Clark, in the fourth season of a five-year contract, in January. Clark was replaced by former Kootenay Ice head coach Mark Holick.
The Cougars also saw two players - Alex Forsberg and Daulton Siwak - walk out on the team after the Christmas break. Forsberg didn't return to Prince George while Siwak left the team before they departed on an early January road trip to the United States.
Forsberg, who turned 18 in January, was drafted by the Cougars first overall in the 2010 WHL bantam draft and was expected to help make the club a playoff contender. The Saskatchewan native finished the season the Humboldt Broncos of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. The Broncos season came to a close last weekend when they fell to the SJHL champion Yorkton Terriers.
Siwak, 19, eventually joined the Dauphin Kings of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. The Kings season ended Wednesday night in the MJHL final when they lost 3-2 to the Steinbach Pistons. The Cougars acquired Siwak in December 2011 from the Red Deer Rebels in exchange for Charles Inglis.
Klippenstein was in charge of the Cougars bantam draft selections. It wasn't immediately clear Thursday who would handled the Cougars draft duties during the 2013 bantam draft, slated for May 2 in Calgary. Prince George will pick third in the first round behind the Vancouver Giants and lottery-winning Regina Pats.
