Prince George, BC – Prince George Cougars General Manager Dallas Thompson has  announced  the Cougars have hired 35-year old Jason Becker to be an Assistant Coach with the club.

 

Jason, originally from Saskatoon, SK, is a former defenceman who spent five seasons as a player in the Western Hockey League with Saskatoon, Red Deer, Kamloops and Swift Current. Jason was named Captain of the Broncos in his final junior year in 1994-95. Jason played 221 regular season games in the WHL, with 28 goals and 55 assists for 83 points, while totaling 82 penalty minutes. Jason spent five seasons with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Hockey team, where he won the CIS Rookie of the Year award in 1996. In 2000, Jason began playing pro hockey in Europe, with stops in Germany and Great Britain. Jason helped the Bremerhaven Penguins to back-to-back German Championships in 2001 and 2002. He also played the 2006-07 season with the Reading Royals of the ECHL before returning to Germany to finish his playing career the past two seasons.

 

“I’m excited about the opportunity to coach in Prince George,” said Becker. “I know, through talking with Dean Clark and Dallas Thompson, that we have a great group of kids. We just got to create a program for them to buy into and we look to make some noise in the next year or two.”

 

Jason will join the Cougars December 26^th in Kelowna and will be behind the Cougars bench for the first time when the Cougars face the Kamloops Blazers December 27^th in Kamloops.

 

“We look forward to adding a quality individual who will help our team learn and develop both on and off the ice,” said Thompson.

 

“Jason brings a wealth of knowledge to our players because of the time he spent as a player himself in the WHL, at the University of Saskatchewan and playing professionally,” added Head Coach Dean Clark. “I’m looking forward to working with Jason and I strongly believe he’ll help with our player’s development.”

 

Terms of Jason’s contract are not disclosed.