Prince George Cougars owner Rick Brodsky says he plans to take on a more active role with the team in the upcoming Western Hockey League season.
"I've been neglecting the team a little bit in the last few years and I plan on changing that," said Brodsky in an interview with the Citizen from Phoenix, where he was scouting potential players.
Brodsky said he'll be in Calgary on Thursday for the 2013 bantam draft, along with general manager Dallas Thompson, and he has plans to be in Prince George for training camp in August and more often during the upcoming season then he has been the past few seasons.
He added he's committed to the Cougars and building them into a winning franchise in Prince George.
"We're not going anywhere," said Brodsky. "I love the Cougars. I want to succeed with the Cougars, they're my team and I want to make Prince George proud of us."
Brodsky also denied that he had any plans to sell the team.
"I've heard more times [than I can count] that I've sold the team," said Brodsky. "I've never gotten anybody asking about selling the team. Not ever. Every time I've heard that I've sold the team my first question is 'How much did I get?'
"Nobody's coming to us with a great offer," he added.
Cougars vice president Brandi Brodsky also denied that there is a For Sale sign on the team saying, "It's all lies," about the team being sold to local businesspeople in Prince George.
Last week, WHL commissioner Ron Robison was in Victoria and restated that the league would like to have two teams on the Island to make travel more cost effective, leading to speculation that the Cougars or the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook may be on the move.
The Cougars were relocated to Prince George from Victoria by Rick Brodsky in 1994. In the 19 seasons the Cats have spent in Prince George they've played 1,368 regular season games, compiling a .425 winning percentage and a record of 529 wins, 733 losses, 51 ties, 27 overtime losses and 28 shootout losses.
They've missed the playoffs four times in the last six seasons. They lost in the first round in 2009 and 2011.
Brodsky said he expects with the wealth of young talent coming to the Cougars next season - with forwards Brad Morrison, Jansen Harkins, Aaron Boyd, defencemen Tate Olson, Shane Collins and goalie Matt Kustra - the team will show an enormous improvement from last season when they finished with a 21-43-2-6 record. He added that a lot of the Cougars' struggles last season were due to the fact they only had four 19-year-old players and the veterans weren't the top players on the young team.
"With the kind of team that I expect us to have on the ice this year I expect to win more games," said Brodsky. "Come out and support us, we're going to, maybe, surprise you with how good we are next year.
"The one thing I would like to say is that the players love having some support," he continued. "I think that there's a lot of really good players on our roster and we'll have a pretty exciting team and I think the players deserve a little more support. I'd sure like to see the people come out to support us."
During the 1998-99 season the Cougars
averaged 5,824 fans per game (capacity at CN Centre is 6,000) but attendance has steadily decreased every year since, hitting an all-time low last season of 1,840 fans per game. The Cougars drew about 4,000 fans to the home opener and Teddy Bear toss games, while most nights the announced attendance was between 1,300 and 1,500.
Brodsky said a few more wins will help cure a lot of the fan apathy that infects the Cougars.
"The onus is on us to win the games," he said. "People will come when there's a team on the ice that makes people want to buy tickets to watch us play. Win more games - it's pretty simple."
He added that winning will bring in more corporate support, filling the empty spaces on the boards and in other parts of the arena, as well.
"I want to get the success back in Prince George that we had in the past," said Brodsky. "I know we can do it and I know they supported us in the past. My goal is to succeed in Prince George."
Brodsky wouldn't comment on the sudden resignation of assistant general manager/director of player personnel Wade Klippenstein a couple weeks ago, but said he has confidence in Thompson to turn the Cougars into a winning team.
"The proof will be in the pudding and nothing I'll say really matters a heck of a lot," said Brodsky. "Our performance next year will tell the tale."
