Prince George, B.C. – The Prince George Cougars have unveiled a new logo and a new strategy for the season.

 

The new logo and slogan, “This Is Our Territory, was designed to look darker and meaner. It will be worn on opening night, however it will not be on the jerseys permanently until next season. Brandi Brodsky says there is a lot of work that goes into the process, “We have the artwork but the ordering process for the jerseys can take up to one year. We will incorporate the new logo on some items this year such as our pocket schedule, our website banner and hope to bring some merchandise into the store.” The jerseys worn on open night will be auctioned off with proceeds going to the Spirit of The North.

 

The big question this year is, what will be different than previous years. Owner, Rick Brodsky says they are trying to address some of the problems, “The main thing is that we have stabilized our staff, we have had some turnover in previous years with coaching changes. We have also revamped our scouting system, it is far superior than two years ago. We want to give the Prince George what they want in order to get the fans back.”

 

Dallas Thompson says there is no doubt about it, the Cougars must make the playoffs. “I think we achieved what we wanted from last year, we needed to rebuild the team with young players. This year is the second phase of that plan.”

 

Ramandeep “Chico” Dhanjal is the new trainer from Humboldt Saskatchewan. Chico trained players with the Humboldt Broncos for three years and the University of Saskatchewan for one year. Chico says his main goal is to assist the physiotherapists and doctor with individual plans for the players and get them back on the ice as soon as possible after injuries, however fitness is also a concern that was raised last year, “The players have been given goals for conditioning and strength training over the summer. They have sent in their results each week and fitness testing will be this Saturday. Their fitness has to be better than it was last year. Just because we are a travelling team we cannot use that as an excuse. 

 

David Michaud, Corporate Sales, Corporate Relations is also new and is taking a different approach for the team, “We need to get people in the seats this year. We are thankful to our sponsors who already assist us, however we also recognize those are the people we want in CN Centre watching the games. We have developed employee purchase plans that allow companies to take advantage of packages for a lower cost than regular tickets.”  Michaud is also the new colour commentator for the Cougars.

 

Players are arriving in Prince George this week and will hit the ice this weekend for the annual Cougar training camp. Approximately 100 to 120 kids are expected to attend camp this year.