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Sput
09-13-2006, 10:02 AM
Wednesday, September 13, 2006



Pieces there to put lofty expectations on Cats


Column by JIM SWANSON, Citizen Sports Editor

With Tuesday’s news that Eric Hunter is back to run roughshod over opposing defencemen, it’s time to put some lofty expectations on the Prince George Cougars.

Really, we’ve never done that before. All too often, people in jobs like mine, in this mediocrity-stained neck of the woods, have let the Cats off the hook going into the season, buying the sales pitch of rebuilding, retooling, or whatever other ‘re’ word you want to tag it with.

In the recent past, it’s gone something like this. “Third? Yeah, that wouldn’t be bad, because Kelowna’s Kelowna and Kootenay has stud forwards. But Vancouver is young, and Kamloops is a mess. Cougars for third.”

Well, they never got that far that often. Since the end of the 1997-98 season, this club has finished in second once (1999-2000), and third once (2001-02). The rest? Fourth twice, fifth four times. That’s not excellence by any standards.

Well, not this year. Not with this set of circumstances, or with this collection of coaches and players.

Not with an expansion team like Chilliwack in the newly-organized B.C. Division, with Kelowna in a major rebuilding phase, and Kamloops fighting to regain respectability.

Not, either, with Kootenay fleeing back to the Eastern Conference.

And certainly, now, not with Hunter back, presumably wearing the ‘C’, and a serious threat to be the club’s first legitimate candidate to win the league scoring championship.

No way. Number 20, who scored 40 goals last year, should be worth 50 or 60 this season. Hunter’s mere presence, the threat of him jumping over the boards, should equate to career-highs for his teammates, lesser-skilled players who should never, ever have to face the opponent’s top defence pairing or checking line.

This Cougars club has as much scoring now as anyone else, and more than most. The goaltending will be handled by someone who is more than capable, either Scott Bowles or Real Cyr, and Jordan White appears worthy of the caddy role.

The defence is stocked with front-liners and the depth to shut down other teams as they rotate through the lines.

Of course, there is the cop-out that injuries, the schedule, the travel... bunk.

No loopholes this year. No excuses, period.

Boil it down, and it comes down to one thing.

It’s about the buy-in, the dedication to Mike Vandekamp’s system.

Yes, it can be that easy. Can someone point to a previous Prince George Cougars team that showed a complete commitment to the program the coach put in front of them? You know, like when Kelowna would show up here and play Marc Habscheid’s system as though they were robotically programmed? Or when Kevin Constantine’s Everett Silvertips arrived and buzz-sawed around the ice, pressing the Cougars into submission?

I can’t either. It didn’t happen when Stan Butler took arguably the most-talented Cougars team since Victoria was involved and struggled to sixth place, finally getting things going in an improbable playoff run.

It didn’t happen in the six full years of Ed Dempsey, when a lack of depth and undercurrents of unrest always seemed to be pulling the club below water at the wrong times.

It certainly didn’t happen under Lane Lambert, when the needed culture change and Dustin Byfuglien’s laissez-faire attitude were too much to expect mountains to tumble.

It didn’t happen last year, when injuries to the defence and a whole new radical approach — hey, guys, you have to be in shape, keep your noses clean and work your tails off — took time to grab hold.

This may finally be the year. This may finally be the time.

This group must be held to it. This franchise has been held under the surface far too long.

Timing, indeed, is everything. Give it six or seven months, and Cougars fans might be moaning about the club finally having contender pedigree — but in a year the Giants are setting up as host team for the Memorial Cup. Because of the unique aspects that brings into play, seeing Prince George in a dogfight for first is the proper expectation.

Anything less, and the stain of mediocrity can be considered permanent.

Coyote14
09-13-2006, 07:44 PM
Good article. I would love to see the Cougars take first place in the BC division from the Giants and possibly play Chilliwack in the first round. I was a PG fan before the Bruins became a part of the dub and it would be awesome to finally see them make a run at the championship. Go Cougars!