Prince George, B.C. – Ahead of the 2016-17 season the Cougars have made two significant additions to their staff. General Manager Todd Harkins has announced that the team has hired Sean Murray (Vancouver, BC) as the Goaltending Coach and Scott Blakeney (Vancouver, BC) as the team’s Lower Mainland scout.

Sean Murray has been instructing goalies for 20 years. Some of his career accomplishments include: Serving as the Master goaltending instructor for legendary Russian Vladislav Tretiak, winning a Memorial Cup Championship as the Goaltending Coach with the Vancouver Giants (2007) and creating the Pro-Formance Goalie School and Development Centre which is based in the Greater Vancouver Area. He spent five years as the Goaltending Coach of the Vancouver Giants (2006-2011) and previously worked for three-and-a-half years with the Portland Winterhawks starting in 2002. Some of his notable cliental include: Martin Jones (2014 Stanley Cup Champion, Los Angeles Kings and now the starting goaltender for the San Jose Sharks) and Tyson Sexsmith (2007 Draft Pick of the San Jose Sharks). He’s also served as a coach in the BCHL, the CIS and has served as a consultant to various hockey associations throughout B.C. and California.

“I’m very familiar with Ty Edmonds, Nick McBride and many of the prospects in our system. That made it easy for me to transition into this role. I know what I have to work with and I think it could be an amazing year,” said Sean Murray who has always focused heavily on the technical, tactical and mental approach to the game.

Scott Blakeney comes to the Cougars after spending the past eight seasons as a Lower Mainland Scout for the Portland Winterhawks. During Blakeney’s tenure with Portland, the Winterhawks won the Western Conference championship in four straight seasons starting in 2011 and won the Ed Chynoweth Cup in 2013. The Winterhawks roster featured several key contributors from the Lower Mainland including: Nic Petan (2011-12 – 2014-15, Winnipeg Jets), Tyler Wotherspoon (2008-09 – 2012-13, Calgary Flames) and Ryan Johansen (2009-10 – 2010-11, Nashville Predators).

“Both Sean and Scott bring a proven track-record of winning to our organization,” comments Prince George Cougars General Manager, Todd Harkins. “Sean is an excellent teacher, a tireless worker and he’s always been able to get the very best out of his goaltenders. And in Scott’s case, he’s done a great job at identifying talent and recruiting players to the Western Hockey League from the Lower Mainland. His experience and his familiarity with the Western Hockey League makes him a major asset to our franchise moving forward.”