Cougars still doing things backwards. Start with the GM and maybe players will want to play here.

In the past 10 seasons, they have finished out of the playoffs 5 times and only once have they made it past the first round. In the same time frame, they have had losing seasons (i.e. sub .500 hockey) in 8 of ten years.
I think the problem runs deeper than coaching.

The only thing wrong with the Cougars is the fact the GM is the son-in-law of the owner. He has no hockey knowledge and the culture from senior management does not help players grow and develop. The cougars need a complete overhaul from the top down and perhaps then, the organization can grow into some respectability. Until that happens they will continue to be the laughingstock of the WHL.

One CLARK gone.. One more to go…. :)

“There has been no word on who will take over the coaching duties”

Wait, you mean there is actually someone on planet earth who would want that job?

Now if they would move the franchise somewhere else we could put an end to this saga.

Palopu on January 22 2013 1:46 PM

Now if they would move the franchise somewhere else we could put an end to this saga.

————————-

I hope not. It’s one of the few affordable forms of entertainment in this god-forsaken city.

Palopu, Why would you want the team to leave? You must not enjoy hockey. The players we have been able to watch are now stars in the NHL. It is tiresome watching the Cpugars lose but I love watching high quality hockey for $17. I for one hope the team never leaves. I think WHL hockey is great.

It’s well known that Palopu doesn’t like hockey and wants the Cougars out.

As for Dean Clark, it’s too bad and not fair that the coach has to go when the team isn’t producing, but that’s life.

The only problem (as NMG alludes to) is that it’s getting harder and harder to find quality replacements to coach a franchise that hasn’t had any real success and a losing culture in almost 20 years here.

And yes, the GM needs to go too, but I don’t see that happening.

Ballsy. Its quite simple. The WHL Cougars franchise is a private business.

The problem is there are not enough fans in Prince George to make this a viable business, so the taxpayers have to compensate the owners to keep the franchise in Prince George. In other words we are subsidizing a private business. Why???

If the people of Prince George do not want to attend the home games and support this team, then why should we keep it here??

The franchise needs approx 3000 fans per game to break even, and substaintially more to make a dollar. The average for the past few years is around 2000 fans per game.

The answer to the problem is simple. Get more people to attend home games. The problem is they dont want to. A lot of the initial fans have lost interest in Hockey and in the Cougars, and have gone on to something else.

Soooo. How long do we subsidize a private business. Is it fair to taxpayers to be subsidizing hockey. Maybe we could subsidize the local theatre with tax dollars, so that people could attend shows on the cheap.

“The problem is there are not enough fans in Prince George to make this a viable business, so the taxpayers have to compensate the owners to keep the franchise in Prince George. In other words we are subsidizing a private business. Why??? “

You doctor is a private business that we subsidize. Where do we stop? We spend a lot more money providing health care for people who refuse to look after themselves then we do on the Cougars.

I think the Cougars provide a great service to the youth of this community. They encourage a lot of kids to take up and play hockey. And that is a winning situation for everyone.

How many coaches have they had now since coming here? How many GMs? But it’s the coaches’ fault. Right.
You can’t run a hockey team if your knowledge of how to do so is limited, just like you can’t run a city or a province if you don’t have the ability.

I can’t comment on that. Does the city subsidize the cougars? I think an empty CN centre would be far worse. They must make money on concession. The negative attitude toward the team doesn’t help even if some of it was warranted by the owners prior comments. I hope the team never leaves.

Brutal ! 2nd worst team in the WHL again! The goal they have, every year, is ‘make the playoffs’, which equates to not being last as only the last place team is out! Do the owners and management even know about the Memorial Cup ? Destroyed Victoria fans, destroyed PG fans and want to move again ! The WHL should fire the owners ! It is a wonder any players want to play here……they are the ones loosing out !

How much is the franchise worth?

Brodsky is the slum landlord of the WHL and does not care how the franchise does as long as a few bucks comes in. Even a well run organization has it’s ups and downs that is just the nature of Junior Hockey but this team has dropped down and stayed down.

The GM and senior scouting staff should be given the boot regardless of their relationship to Rick!

I agree 100% with JohnnyBelt… the GM needs to go too!

Like Krusty said near the top… 8 of the past 10 seasons with a losing record.

Here’s how the Cougars have placed In a five team division the Cougars over the past 10 seasons:

5th
4th
5th
4th
5th
3rd
4th
5th
5th
5th

There are definitely enough fans in this town to support the Cougars. But until things change at the top, there will not be enough of them who will actually buy tickets.

Move the team and the Brodsky out of here. Victoria got rid the Cougars and once again they have an WHL team. Pull the spruce kings from BCJHL and create a new franchise.

What I know of this organization from before it even came to this city is enough to keep me from ever spending 5 cents in its support.

The problem is, that I am not alone, and this business will never have our support.

Or have the owner actually care about this team.. spend time and money to get what you need to put a winning team on the ice. The kids have talent..that why they are in the WHL.. they need direction.. so give them some. Once we have a winning team the seats will be filled and the profits will increase. We all remember the first few years where you couldnt get a ticket to a game.. now the place is so empty its embarrasing.. has been for way to long.. I used to be a season ticket holder along with numerous friends. Now go to a few games a year.. We have tickets at work and the guy has trouble finding people who want to go some times..

Come on Brodsky.. show some class.. get off your A$$ and make an effort to get this team back in the win column..

I think Brodsky cares about the team. I just think he cares about his family situation more.

He’s in an awkward position, no doubt. He probably has hoped for the last 20 years that the problem would go away and the team would win some games and maybe a championship, but it hasn’t.

Brodsky out! Get him out. Bring in someone who cares about the team.

Axman. Not too many Doctors would agree that they are subsidized. In fact they are not.

We have Universal Medicare, and everyone in BC except those in the lower income groups pay a MSP Premium. In addition the Federal and Provincial provide funding for hospitals, etc; So the system is paid for by individual payments and tax dollars. Doctors negotiate a fee schedule with the Province, and that is what they charge for services. They are independent business’s with staff, and all the attendent headaches that come with owning a business.

The Cougar franchise on the other hand is a private business. It is part of the WHL and has an agreement with the City to rent the ice for 36 Home games plus practice, and some sort of arrangement on concessions etc;.

The problem is, is that the Cougars home games do not generate enough money to cover the Citys cost of renting them the facility. The City takes a percentage of the gross ticket sales on a sliding scale, so that the less people who attend the less money the City gets. The original agreement was that the City would get 12% of the gross up to $150,000.00 then 15%, but because of the serious reduction in attendence the contract was changed.

So at the end of the day the City does not get enough money from this franchise to cover their (our) costs. I would guess that this franchise costs us a minimum of $60,000.00 per year.

In any event our youth have Junior Hockey, and the Spruce Kings to learn from, and they could also have the Cougars, or another team, but it would require fans to get off their butts and attend games.

Whats the chances??

Well Palopu, I’m hoping that this change will have a positive effect on the players and that the team starts winning some games. A winning team should help bring the fans in.

Still a heck of a lot cheaper then the PAC will be… :)

PG will support the team if and when it’s not run like a circus.

No team in professional sports or in the business world would tolerate this long of losing without making management changes. The team can’t get better because drafted kids are refusing to report, or kids continuely are walking out on the team. Dallas Thompson then trades the kids for 25 cents on a dollar, and the losing continues.

The culture of the team has to change so kids are proud to play on the team. The culture of the team begins with the GM and works it way out from there.

Lastly the development and progress of players from 16 years to 19 years has been horrible. Somehow we are not doing the right things to motivate players to become better hockey players during the off season. In junior hockey you expect that a 16 year old will progressively get better every year they play. For what ever reason gets don’t develop and many 18 year olds seem as scronny as they were when they were 16. Someone needs to motivate these kids to get better, and that starts with your GM and Owner.

Clearly the GM has to go. But in classic Cougar fashion the GM stays.

dumping clark is the easy way out as it has been with the dismisal/firing of most cougar coaches… i thought that butler was our best coach and he quit, even though he was still under contract..our biggest problem is scouting and drafting which is under the gm,s control..even if we had scotty bowman as coach now we DO NOT have the size or talent.

As a prior season ticket holder I am also dissatisfied with the quality of the product on the ice so I also no longer attend games. Have the players really that bad or is it a case of saving a few bucks on providing good coaching. I tend to believe the players are more than capable of 500 hockey given good coaching.
Clark’s coaching record of losing 2/3 of the games is pretty dismal. Removal was long over due.

I was a season ticket holder for the first 8 years. While we watched other teams go places we sat and watched the Cougars go backwards. Do the team a favour and get rid of the GM. I know he is the owners son in law and that is the problem. If he was with any other team, the ownership would have fired him 5 years ago Fire the GM and hire a hockey man and I will go back to the games. As long as there is this nepotism, I will stay away.

I’m with everyone who says they will come to games again if they fire Thompson. Saw him him walk into a local eatery a few years back dressed like a frackin’ hobo! The guy’s got no class, no brains, no balls and it’s time he went. Show the fans that you are at least trying, Brodsky, and maybe we will show up.

When will we read “Dallas Thompson fired”? That’s the key…lots of folks, myself included, don’t believe the management is up to the task of running a capable franchise. The lack of attendance reflects this. The hockey fans in PG want to support these kids but not the current management (the GM).

Brandi

are you listening??

You need to fire the GM

Get it now????

sheesh!

You find firing so easy….you have done it to so many that do their best for your family toy organization!

glad that is finally off my chest!

I think the WHL needs to intervene in the Cougars franchise for the sake of hockey in PG and Northern BC. The nepotism of the Brodski ownership needs to come to a conclusion.

I think the WHL should send a team to talk to Jim Young of the Spruce Kings and see if they would like to buy the Cougars franchise for PG and run it as a community hockey club as the Spruce Kings are run today. I’m sure the Spruce Kings could raise the money through the community or bridge financing.

The BCHL doesn’t work very well for PG anymore with Quesnel gone, so its long over due moving the Spruce Kings into CN Center as PG’s WHL team. The community would show up to support this team and CN Center would be a sell out once again.

Is the WHL about developing young talent from the North, or is it about greedy self serving ownership groups?

Eagleone,

You “think” too much, yet have no grasp on reality.

” is the WHL about developing young talent from the North” – NO. Not even close. It serves as a governing body within the CHL, encompassing 4 Provinces, and the State of Washington. Individual teams develop young talent, regardless of their region.

So you suggest a community owned team should just scare up a cool $5 -7 million, and magically take over an existing, privately owned business?

Awesome! With your brainfarts, you should run for Mayor!

It would sell in short order! Brodsky has had offers!

Everything is for sale. Everyone has their price. But the Brodsky family is under no obligation to sell. This is a private business.

To suggest that attendance will swell if the GM is fired seems far fetched.

Dean did not have a great record here. I applaud management for standing by their man for so long, but this should have happened months ago.

About time there was any interest in the Cougars!

AGAIN, they fired the wrong person. Quit interfering with it if you don’t understand the game. Owning a team is one thing, understanding your team is another.

Palapoo, are you serious???
“The problem is there are not enough fans in Prince George to make this a viable business”

Don’t own a hockey team too soon………….

While BBP your cougars don’t need to develop Northern talent as you are right they are a privately owned team. That was my point.

$5-$7 million for a the most loosing team in the CHL with dismal subsidized attendance… good riddance IMO. Maybe the sooner the Cougars leave town the sooner PG could get a real franchise like Victoria did.