PDA

View Full Version : Cougars’ GM likes his team’s strengths



Barclay
08-15-2006, 05:57 PM
Tuesday, August 15, 2006



Cougars’ GM likes his team’s strengths


by JIM SWANSON, Citizen Sports Editor

Dallas Thompson doesn’t want it to come back to haunt him, or to become bulletin board fodder for Western Hockey League foes.

But, cross fingers and toes, the general manager of the Prince George Cougars is quietly banking on this year’s version being the strongest team CN Centre crowds have critiqued in years.

“I’m excited to get it going,” said Thompson, with training camp registration day looming eight days hence — prospects will begin filling out forms on Wednesday, Aug. 23, with ice sessions the following day.

“This is a fun time of year. This team has some potential — I don’t want anyone looking in the newspaper and reading any quotes, but I’m happy with what we have coming back. With a little tinkering, I think we could have a solid team. We lost players like Devin Featherstone and Myles Zimmer, great leaders, but we’re developing people who can step in for them. That’s what we’re trying to create.”

The likelihood is there will be just six new faces on a high-return roster, one in which the defence corps is projected to be as strong and deep as any in the watered-down 21-team WHL. Thompson is riding high because, for the first time in anyone’s memory, there was no notable changeover of any kind in the key positions in the organization.

Head coach Mike Vandekamp is preparing for his second season — only this time Vandekamp was blessed with months, and not hours, to devise the program.

“Last year at this time we were hiring a coach, and it wasn’t a good time to be doing that,” said Thompson, recalling the dismissal of head coach Lane Lambert last August. Lambert is unemployed once again, cut loose by the top farm team of the New York Islanders, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, where he was an assistant last winter.

“Everyone on the hockey side has their contract, we did that at the end of last season,” said Thompson, referring to contract extensions given assistant coach Stew Malgunas and trainer Travis Friesen.

“All our guys did a great job last year and are deserving of being back. Mike got thrown into the fire last year, and we’ve had many talks this year to toss things around. It’s good dialogue, and we’re all excited to get going. We’ve been toying with different things with the lineup.”

Thompson sees the group of forwards as the area that could see the most change.

“We have some room to move with guys up front, and our defence should be very familar,” he said.

For training camp, Thompson said the team will divide prospects into four squads for scrimmages, with no real rookie camp. The total player count should be around 60.

“It’s like it was last year, where we’re going to give everyone one practice and then drop the puck and end up with about 30 for Sunday (for the intrasquad game),” said Thompson, who is working on a contract extension of his own with owner Rick Brodsky.

The Cougars will play six exhibition games — five of those on the road including three at the annual Saskatoon tournament, and just one at home, Wednesday, Sept. 13 against Kamloops — before opening the regular season with two CN Centre dates against the Seattle Thunderbirds, Sept. 22-23.

“It’s not a great exhibition schedule, with just one at home, but that’s how it worked out,” said Thompson.

“We’re busy enough with a lot of games in a short period of time. It’s more than enough games to evaluate players.”