Prince George Cougars
CityPrince George, British Columbia
LeagueWestern Hockey League
ConferenceWestern
DivisionB.C.
Founded1971
Home arenaCN Centre
ColoursRed, bronze, white and black
       
General managerMark Lamb
Head coachMark Lamb
Websitewww.pgcougars.com
Franchise history
1971–1994Victoria Cougars
1994–presentPrince George Cougars

The Prince George Cougars are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team currently members of the B.C. Division of the Western Conference in the Western Hockey League (WHL). The team is based in Prince George, British Columbia, and plays its home games at the CN Centre, formally known as the Prince George Multiplex. The Cougars were founded in 1971 as the Victoria Cougars, but later moved to Prince George in 1994, becoming the northernmost franchise in the Canadian Hockey League. On March 19, 2014, after months of rumours, a team of local investors led by Greg Pocock, along with NHLers Dan Hamhuis and Eric Brewer, agreed in principle to purchase the Prince George Cougars. The deal was approved by the WHL Board of Governors on April 30 the same year.[1]

History

1994–1996 Logo.

The Prince George Cougars played the 1994–95 season at the Prince George Coliseum, along the Tier II Prince George Spruce Kings, until the construction of the team's own arena was complete. The Cougars' logo for their first season in Prince George closely resembled that of the Victoria Cougars'. For the 1995–96 season, the Cougars moved into their new home, the Prince George Multiplex, since renamed the CN Centre. A new logo was also unveiled the same season.[citation needed]

The Cougars first made the playoffs in the 1996–97 WHL season under coach Stan Butler. The Cougars' most successful playoff run came during the 2006–07 season. Prince George achieved their first sweep of the Kamloops Blazers in a best-of-seven-game series, proceeded to defeat the top-ranked Everett Silvertips in six games and reached the Western Conference finals for the third time, which they ultimately they lost in five games to the eventual 2007 Memorial Cup champions, the Vancouver Giants.[citation needed]

1996–2008 Logo.
Logo used from 2008 to 2015

2014 sale

After months of rumours, it was announced on March 19 that a team of local investors led by Greg Pocock, along with current NHLers and former Cougars Dan Hamhuis and Eric Brewer, had agreed in principle to purchase the Prince George Cougars. The price of the sale was undisclosed, and the official confirmation of the sale occurred on April 30 after approval from the WHL Board of Governors. Cougars owner Rick Brodsky and vice president Brandi Brodsky declined to comment at the time of the sale.[2]

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Season GP W L T OTL GF GA Points Finish Playoffs
1994–95 72 14 55 3 - 229 392 31 7th West Out of playoffs
1995–96 72 17 53 2 - 219 340 36 7th West Out of playoffs
1996–97 72 28 39 5 - 238 287 61 6th West Lost West Division final
1997–98 72 43 24 5 - 311 236 91 3rd West Lost West Division semi-final
1998–99 72 34 32 6 - 255 264 74 4th West Lost West Division quarter-final
1999–2000 72 43 20 4 5 279 228 95 2nd West Lost West Division final
2000–01 72 31 33 4 4 242 266 70 5th West Lost West Division quarter-final
2001–02 72 34 27 9 2 244 215 79 3rd B.C. Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2002–03 72 26 41 3 2 257 317 57 5th B.C. Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2003–04 72 30 34 7 1 214 236 68 5th B.C. Out of playoffs
2004–05 72 26 41 3 2 158 223 57 5th B.C. Out of playoffs
Season GP W L OTL SOL GF GA Points Finish Playoffs
2005–06 72 35 31 2 4 195 195 76 4th B.C. Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2006–07 72 33 31 3 5 221 217 74 3rd B.C. Lost Western Conference Finals
2007–08 72 20 48 1 3 172 304 44 5th B.C. Out of playoffs
2008–09 72 25 44 0 3 188 298 53 4th B.C. Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2009–10 72 12 56 1 3 172 327 28 5th B.C. Out of playoffs
2010–11 72 33 35 2 2 258 265 70 4th B.C. Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2011–12 72 24 46 0 2 166 357 50 5th B.C. Out of playoffs
2012–13 72 21 43 2 6 177 273 50 4th B.C. Out of playoffs
2013–14 72 27 35 3 5 238 305 62 4th B.C. Out of playoffs
2014–15 72 31 36 2 3 222 295 67 3rd B.C. Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2015–16 72 36 31 3 2 240 225 77 4th B.C. Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2016–17 72 45 21 3 3 253 201 96 1st B.C. Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2017–18 72 24 38 5 5 217 295 58 5th B.C. Out of playoffs
2018–19 68 19 41 5 3 152 237 46 5th B.C. Out of playoffs
2019–20 62 20 34 4 4 144 205 48 5th B.C. Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21 22 9 10 2 1 57 62 21 4th B.C. No playoffs were held
2021–22 68 24 39 4 1 177 240 53 3rd B.C. Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2022–23 68 37 24 6 1 290 241 81 2nd B.C. Lost Western Conference Semi-final
2023–24 68 49 15 1 3 316 187 102 1st B.C. TBD

Current roster

Updated March 30, 2024.[3]

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Drafted
9 Canada Arjun Bawa LW L 18 2023 Richmond, British Columbia Undrafted
21 Czech Republic Ondrej Becher RW L 20 2022 Ostrava, Czech Republic Undrafted
15 Canada Carson Carels D L 15 2023 Cypress River, Manitoba Eligible 2026
14 Canada Matteo Danis C L 19 2023 Calgary, Alberta Undrafted
19 Canada Carlin Dezainde C L 19 2021 Calgary, Alberta Undrafted
24 Canada Keaton Dowhaniuk D L 20 2019 Star City, Saskatchewan Undrafted
2 Canada Bauer Dumanski D L 19 2020 Drake, Saskatchewan Undrafted
16 Canada Aiden Foster LW L 17 2022 Lloydminster, Alberta Eligible 2025
17 Canada Zac Funk (A) LW L 20 2023 Vernon, British Columbia 2024, FA, WSH
27 Canada Riley Heidt (A) LW L 19 2020 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan 2023, 64th Overall, MIN
30 Canada Brady Holtvogt G L 16 2022 Humboldt, Saskatchewan Eligible 2025
6 Slovakia Viliam Kmec D R 20 2021 Kosice, Slovakia Undrafted
11 Canada Hunter Laing RW R 17 2021 Kelowna, British Columbia Eligible 2024
26 Canada Jett Lajoie LW R 17 2022 Winnipeg, Manitoba Eligible 2025
20 United States Nicholas McLennan RW R 17 2021 Anchorage, Alaska Eligible 2024
3 Canada Ephram McNutt D R 18 2020 Red Deer, Alberta Undrafted
32 Canada Terik Parascak RW R 17 2021 Lethbridge, Alberta Eligible 2024
4 Canada Chase Pauls D R 20 2023 Osler, Saskatchewan Undrafted
5 United States Drew Peterson D R 18 2021 Milwaukee, Wisconsin Eligible 2024
31 Canada Joshua Ravensbergen G R 17 2023 North Vancouver, British Columbia Eligible 2025
8 Canada Oren Shtrom LW L 19 2023 Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec Undrafted
38 Canada Patrick Sopiarz RW R 16 2023 Edmonton, Alberta Eligible 2026
12 Canada Hudson Thornton (C) D L 20 2018 Winnipeg, Manitoba Undrafted
18 United States Borya Valis RW R 19 2023 Denver, Colorado Undrafted
33 Canada Ty Young G L 19 2019 Coaldale, Alberta 2022, 144th Overall, VAN
13 Canada Koehn Ziemmer (A) C R 19 2019 Mayerthorpe, Alberta 2023, 78th Overall, LAK

NHL alumni

The following alumni of the Prince George Cougars have played in the National Hockey League.[citation needed]

Uniforms and logos

Third jersey Logo.

The Cougars colours are red, white and black. Home jerseys have a white upper portion, with a burgundy lower portion, separated by a diagonal black stripe. Away jerseys have a black upper portion, with a burgundy lower portion, separated by a diagonal white stripe. Prince George's third jersey features a redesigned logo (inset), on a burgundy jersey, with black, grey and white trim on the lower portion.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Cougars Sale Approved By WHL Governors". CKPG NEWS. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014.
  2. ^ "Cougars, Investors Reach Deal In Principle For Sale Of Team". CKPG NEWS.
  3. ^ WHL Network, Western Hockey League, retrieved March 30, 2024

External links

Prince George Cougars
Western Hockey League
Sports teams based in British Columbia
Categories