The sale of the Prince George Cougars is expected to be voted on by the Western Hockey League's board of governors at a special meeting today in Calgary.
That's when the Brodsky family, which has owned the WHL franchise for 22 years, including the last 20 in Prince George, will officially cut ties with the team and hand over the reins to new owners.
The club will be taken over by the EDGEPRO Sports & Entertainment Ltd. ownership group, which is headed by Prince George businessman Greg Pocock and includes former Cougars defencemen Dan Hamhuis and Eric Brewer.
Rick Brodsky and alternate governor, current general manager Dallas Thompson, will represent the Cougars at the WHL meeting.
It's expected the sale will be approved, but it will require a two-thirds majority vote by the board of governors.
"I assume it will be approved but I won't be at the meeting myself," Cougars vice-president Brandi Brodsky told the Citizen April 24.
The Brodsky family has owned the Cougars since 1992 when they were based in Victoria. Rick Brodsky moved the team to Prince George in 1994.
The Cougars had a fan base that was once the envy of the league for its full-house rowdiness at home games but that base has dwindled to the smallest in the league the past three seasons. With an average 1,693 paying customers each night, the Brodskys could no longer afford to keep operating and decided it was time to sell the team.
Pocock's group initially began negotiations to buy the Cougars in September, eventually reaching an agreement in principle in late February. The group filed a purchase application with the league on March 28.
It's expected the new owners will replace the team's staff.
Brandi Brodsky said GM Thompson and Todd Harkins, the director of player personnel, will lead the Cougars through the WHL's bantam draft on Thursday.
The Cougars hold the fifth pick in both the first and second rounds of the draft.
Assuming the WHL gives the sale its blessing, the Cougars are planning a public reception on Tuesday, May 13 at CN Centre to unveil their new owners and staff.
Sources close to The Citizen have indicated that Andy Beesley is the team's new business manager.
Last week, Beesley resigned from his job as the city's associate director of recreation and cultural services. His last day at the city is Friday.
