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.

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.

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

SeasonGP W L T OTLGF GA PointsFinishPlayoffs
1994–957214553-229392317th WestOut of playoffs
1995–967217532-219340367th WestOut of playoffs
1996–977228395-238287616th WestLost West Division final
1997–987243245-311236913rd WestLost West Division semi-final
1998–997234326-255264744th WestLost West Division quarter-final
1999–200072432045279228952nd WestLost West Division final
2000–0172313344242266705th WestLost West Division quarter-final
2001–0272342792244215793rd B.C.Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2002–0372264132257317575th B.C.Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2003–0472303471214236685th B.C.Out of playoffs
2004–0572264132158223575th B.C.Out of playoffs
SeasonGP W L OTL SOLGF GA PointsFinishPlayoffs
2005–0672353124195195764th B.C.Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2006–0772333135221217743rd B.C.Lost Western Conference Finals
2007–0872204813172304445th B.C.Out of playoffs
2008–0972254403188298534th B.C.Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2009–1072125613172327285th B.C.Out of playoffs
2010–1172333522258265704th B.C.Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2011–1272244602166357505th B.C.Out of playoffs
2012–1372214326177273504th B.C.Out of playoffs
2013–1472273535238305624th B.C.Out of playoffs
2014–1572313623222295673rd B.C.Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2015–1672363132240225774th B.C.Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2016–1772452133253201961st B.C.Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2017–1872243855217295585th B.C.Out of playoffs
2018–1968194153152237465th B.C.Out of playoffs
2019–2062203444144205485th B.C.Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–2122910215762214th B.C.No playoffs were held
2021–2268243941177240533rd B.C.Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2022–2368372461290241812nd B.C.Lost Western Conference Semi-final

Team records

Team records for a single season
StatisticTotalSeason
Most points962016-17
Fewest points282009–10
Most wins452016-17
Fewest wins122009–10
Most goals for3111997–98
Fewest goals for1582004–05
Fewest goals against1952005–06
Most goals against3921994–95
Individual player records for a single season
StatisticPlayerTotalSeason
Most goalsQuinn Hancock541997–98
Most assistsRiley Heidt722022-23
Most pointsQuinn Hancock1121997–98
Most points, rookieBrogan O'Brien562015-16
Most points, defencemanChristian Chartier682000–01
Most penalty minutesBraden Gelinas3572015-16
Most games played (Goalie)Scott Myers661998–99
Best GAA (goalie)Scott Bowles2.402005–06
Most shutouts (goalie)Scott Bowles62005–06
Goalies = minimum 1500 minutes played

Current roster

Updated December 31, 2023.[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 19 2022 Ostrava, Czech Republic Undrafted
15 Canada Carson Carels D L 15 2023 Cypress River, Manitoba Eligible 2026
14 Canada Matteo Danis C L 18 2023 Calgary, Alberta Undrafted
19 Canada Carlin Dezainde C L 19 2021 Calgary, Alberta Undrafted
24 Canada Keaton Dowhaniuk D L 19 2019 Star City, Saskatchewan Undrafted
2 Canada Bauer Dumanski D L 19 2020 Drake, Saskatchewan Undrafted
16 Canada Aiden Foster LW L 16 2022 Lloydminster, Alberta Eligible 2025
17 Canada Zac Funk (A) LW L 20 2023 Vernon, British Columbia Undrafted
27 Canada Riley Heidt (A) LW L 18 2020 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan 2023, 64th Overall, MIN
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 16 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 17 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
23 Canada Lee Shurgot C L 16 2022 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Eligible 2025
12 Canada Hudson Thornton (C) D L 20 2018 Winnipeg, Manitoba Undrafted
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.

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. On August 20, 2008, the Cougars unveiled a new logo, resembling closer to the third logo than the second, and was designed by Mike Doran of Splash Media.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Cougars Sale Approved By WHL Governors". CKPG NEWS. Archived from the original on 2014-11-29.
  2. ↑ "Cougars, Investors Reach Deal In Principle For Sale Of Team". CKPG NEWS.
  3. ↑ WHL Network, Western Hockey League, retrieved 2023-12-31
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