New team

[puckmam]

http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/i...025&Itemid=564

Three go out, two come in (0)
(Sports) Thursday, 10 January 2008, 21:33 PST
JIM SWANSON, Citizen Sports Editor
You wanted youth? You got it.

The Prince George Cougars are now among the youngest teams in the WHL following a sweeping set of transactions at Thursday’s WHL trade deadline.

To start it off, veteran defenceman Jesse Dudas, a 19-year-old who was injured for most of his three seasons with the team, was packaged with forward prospect Catlin Foley for 17-year-old goaltender Ian Curtis. Dudas will join the Swift Current Broncos while Foley, a 15-year-old drafted in the sixth round of the 2007 bantam draft, will be in position to play closer to his hometown of Coronach, Sask.

Curtis, who checks in at six-foot-five and 214 pounds, was the first goaltender selected in the 2005 draft, going 23rd overall.

Not done there, the Cougars sent a late-round bantam pick to Chilliwack for 18-year-old defenceman Cody Hobbs.

General manager Dallas Thompson completed a purge of 19-year-olds by releasing goaltender Tommy Tartaglione and winger Morgan MacLean. Tartaglione will join Surrey of the BCHL, while MacLean was due to return to the Grande Prairie Storm, a team led by former Cougars coach Mike Vandekamp, until a development later Thursday that saw the Prince George Spruce Kings secure his services (see story on page 9).

The new Cougars roster gets its first test tonight with the Kelowna Rockets in town to start a doubleheader. The Cougars are 13 points back of Kamloops for the last Western Conference playoff spot, and the Blazers dumped three key veterans before the deadline. Kamloops has just one overager on its roster, leaving the Cougars hopeful of a rebound to give this young crew a valuable taste of post-season hockey.

“We certainly did get younger,” said Thompson.

“We’ve gone young, but our goal is still to make the playoffs and I still think we can do that. What’s important now is to get better every day.

“The sole reason for having our 20-year-olds (Real Cyr, Kalvin Sagert and captain Greg Gardner) is that they’re good people and they can help the young guys get better.”

Indeed, this is now Dana Tyrell’s team, the roster built around the 18-year-old forward.

“Dana was a guy who certainly wasn’t going anywhere,” said Thompson.

“He’s a big part of our team and he plays hard every night, which is the identity we always want to have here.”

Curtis started for the Broncos on Oct. 6 in a game at CN Centre, stopping 20 of 21 shots as Swift Current soundly defeated the Cats 6-1. Curtis also started in the Oct. 20 game between the teams in Swift Current, but was pulled in the third period after allowing four goals on 24 shots. The Cougars went on to win that game 5-4 in come-from-behind fashion as Ty Wishart, since traded to Moose Jaw, had the lone goal in the shootout.

On the season, Curtis has a 3.37 goals-against average, an .862 save percentage and a 4-2-0 record in 11 games played. His last start was a long time ago, Dec. 12, a 25-save victory as the Broncos won 3-1 on the road in Everett. Thompson was in attendance at that game.

Curtis, a left-handed goaltender (catches with his right hand), is the 14th-rated North American goalie for the upcoming NHL draft, that according to Central Scouting rankings unveiled Wednesday. Curtis is a strong puck-handler, and played some of his minor hockey on the same team as current Cougars rookie Ryan Kowalski, 16.

“We didn’t want to have to go into next year needing to keep a 20-year-old goalie, and bringing Ian in is a good move in the long run,” said Thompson.

“Real’s going to play some games, he’s not just here to open a gate and be a mentor, but we closed a gap that we had.”

Foley, a right-winger, is currently playing midget hockey at Notre Dame, in Wilcox, Sask.

Dudas played in just 67 regular season games for the Cougars and no playoff games. In those 67 games, the native of St. Albert, AB, was productive with four goals and 54 points.

“Jesse wasn’t surprised at all, he knew it might come down to that,” said Thompson.

“Tommy was a tough situation. He came here and played OK, but when we had the opportunity to get Ian Curtis, one guy had to be expendable. I hold Real in high regard even with the tough stretch he’s had, but if you look at what happened to him last year, I think he’s a guy who will rebound in the second half. He’ll be able to mentor Curtis, too.”

Thompson wouldn’t comment on the release of MacLean, who had missed multiple games due to team rule violations.

Experienced defencemen fetched a steep price around the league -- Dudas to Swift Current, Jeff May from Prince Albert to Lethbridge, and Trevor Glass from Medicine Hat to Spokane being just a few examples.

“When the season opens, everyone needs another defenceman, and when the trade deadline comes, same thing,” said Thompson.

“Both Jesse and (Ty Wishart) had good value and we had to jump on that for our future.”

The Cougars gave up a seventh-round bantam choice in 2008 to get Hobbs, who has eight assists in 32 games this season. The six-foot-one, 195-pounder joined the Bruins mid-way through last season from the Prince Albert Mintos program, playing 22 WHL games as a rookie.

Thursday’s moves leave the Cougars with the three overagers and but one roster option for a 20-year-old for next season. That player is Swedish rookie defenceman Patrik Magnusson, and it’s rare WHL teams use an import as what’s called a ‘two-spotter,’ occupying both an overage and import placement. That leaves Thompson looking for candidates to fill those roles.

“That doesn’t bother me, and we’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” said Thompson, who has been in the other position the last few years -- auctioning off surplus overagers during training camp.

“What I liked (Thursday) is that every one of the players seemed excited about the changes and taking this direction. All we ask is for their best effort every night.”


THE NEW-LOOK COUGARS

Current players and top prospects of the Prince George Cougars, broken down by age, to show how the team is built for coming years:

20s -- G Real Cyr, D Kalvin Sagert, C Greg Gardner

19s -- D Patrik Magnusson

18s -- LW Dana Tyrell, C Alex Poulter, D Cody Hobbs, D Garrett Thiessen, RW Colin Haas, RW Brad Riege, LW Jordie Deagle, C Marcus Watson

17s -- RW Dale Hunt, G Ian Curtis, D Trevor Bauer, C Jan Kupec, RW Corey Tyrell, RW Parker Stanfield, G Joel Danyluk

16s -- C Justin Maylan, RW Ryan Kowalski, D Art Bidlevskii, D Matt Cumming, LW Kenny Tanaka, D Matt Hutchinson, G Sean Reilly

15s (top prospects) -- C Brett Connolly, C Nick Buonassisi, D Bruin McDonald, LW Brock Hirsche, D Tyler Kizuik, LW Bobby Asham, C Logan Sceviour



GAMEDAY -- COUGARS vs. ROCKETS


PRINCE GEORGE -- This is the first game for the Cougars since all the wheeling and dealing that saw 19-year-olds Evan Fuller and Ty Wishart sent to Moose Jaw, along with Jesse Dudas going to Swift Current and Tommy Tartaglione and Morgan MacLean being released. Former Warriors C Justin Maylan and RW Brad Riege, and ex-Chilliwack Bruins D Cody Hobbs make their Prince George debuts, and G Ian Curtis, acquired for Dudas, dresses for the first time in a Prince George uniform. If the team website is an indication, Curtis will wear Tartaglione’s former No. 1, and Hobbs will don No. 15. No numbers are listed for Maylan and Riege... Cougars head coach Drew Schoneck has a good sense of humour --†he’s promising to start veteran D Kalvin Sagert, 20, and the new defenceman so this sportswriter can confirm hockey’s first Kalvin and Hobbs blueline pairing... The Cougars have won but four of their last 23 games and are on a four-game losing streak. The last setback was to the league’s worst team, Portland, by a 3-1 score on Sunday... Dana Tyrell (16-19-35 in 37 games), who has slumped since hurting his knee in Calgary in early December, is the team’s leading scorer again with Wishart gone, closely pursued by captain Greg Gardner (16-17-33, 41 games)... D Garrett Thiessen tops the club in penalty minutes with 72.

KELOWNA -- The Rockets are not expected to have defenceman Luke Schenn, a standout with Team Canada at the world juniors, in the lineup this weekend. He’s been given a week to rest, though he did play in Wednesday’s 3-1 win over Chilliwack. While Schenn was helping Canada to gold -- he wasn’t on the ice for an even-strength goal against all tournament -- the Rockets were an impressive 8-2-0-1... Kyle St. Denis, 16, scored twice in the Chilliwack game, and G Kris Westblom won his 17th game... The Rockets are four seasons removed from their Memorial Cup win on home ice. And they’re one season past a non-playoff result that came with icing a very young roster in 2006-07. Already, Kelowna has 24 wins, two more than a year ago... This club is still young, an average age of 17.8 years, with only six players 19 or older. One of those, overage captain James McEwan, is likely done for the season because of a cut on his arm from a fight with Vancouver’s Garet Hunt... The Rockets have earned points in 11 of their last 14 games (9-3-0-2), including five wins in a row, outscoring the opposition 23-4... Colin Long has bolted to second spot in the scoring race with points in 17 of his last 19 games (12-21-33), while former Victoria Grizzlies LW Jamie Benn has 11 goals in his last 13 games... The Rockets sent forward Matt Brusciano, 18, to Surrey of the BCHL on Tuesday.


TRADE TICKER


Trades made in the WHL from Jan. 1 through Thursday’s deadline (draft picks refer to bantam draft):

Jan. 1

Red Deer trades RW J.D. Watt, 20, RW Scott Doucet, 19, and a 2009 fourth-round draft pick for C Cody Gross, 18, RW Brett Miller, 16, and a 2009 third-round pick.

Jan. 5

Kamloops trades D Ryan Bender, 20, and D Victor Bartley, 19, to Regina for D Nick Ross, 18, D Spencer Fraipoint, 19, and a 2008 fourth-round pick.

Kamloops trades C Brock Nixon, 20, and a 2008 sixth-round pick to Calgary for F Devon Kalinski, 17, and a 2008 second-round pick.

Jan. 6

Regina trades LW Troy Ofukany, 20, D Juraj Valach, 18, and a 2008 fourth-round pick to Red Deer for D Dallas Jackson, 18, and a 2008 third-round pick. (The two picks reverted after being involved in J.D. Watt trade of Jan. 1.)

Jan. 7

Prince George trades D Ty Wishart, 19, C Evan Fuller, 19, and a 2008 third-round pick to Moose Jaw for C Justin Maylan, 16, RW Brad Riege, 18, and a 2008 first-round pick.

Chilliwack trades LW Colby Kulhanek, 18, to Red Deer for D Matt Strong, 17.

Saskatoon trades C Justin McCrae, 19, to Spokane for C Chris Langkow, 18, RW Burke Gallimore, 16, and a conditional 2009 third-round pick.

Jan. 8

Vancouver trades D Nolan Toigo, 18, to Tri-City for a conditional 2009 conditional sixth-round pick.

Jan. 9

Prince Albert trades D Jeff May, 20, to Lethbridge for LW Brent Martin, 15, C Robbie Ciolfi, 16, and a 2008 second-round pick.

Prince Albert trades D Zach Sim, 19, to Kootenay for a 2008 fifth-round pick.

Edmonton trades D Bretton Stamler, 20, to Swift Current for a 2008 third-round pick.

Swift Current trades D R.J. LaRochelle, 20, to Vancouver for a 2009 eighth-round pick.

Prince Albert trades RW Ryan DePape, 19, to Regina for RW Jared Jagow, 19, and a 2008 third-round pick.

Prince Albert trades RW Brent Ottmann, 19, to Kelowna for a conditional 2009 pick (round undisclosed).

Jan. 10

Calgary trades D Eric Frere, 19, to Kootenay for a 2008 fifth-round pick.

Prince George trades D Jesse Dudas, 19, and RW Catlin Foley, 15, to Swift Current for G Ian Curtis, 17.

Chilliwack trades D Cody Hobbs, 18, to Prince George for a 2008 seventh-round pick.

Portland trades G Mark Guggenberger, 18, to Swift Current for a 2009 conditional pick (round undisclosed).

Vancouver trades F Phil Gervais, 17, to Portland for a 2009 fifth-round pick.

Medicine Hat trades D Trevor Glass, 19, to Spokane for a 2008 third-round pick and a 2010 second-round pick.

Red Deer trades C Brett Sonne, 20, to Edmonton for a 2009 seventh-round pick.

Chilliwack trades D Matt McCue, 19, to Brandon for a 2009 fourth-round pick.

[WestLEAFfan]

http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/i...024&Itemid=564

Massive changes also address discipline issue

(Sports) Thursday, 10 January 2008, 21:30 PST
JIM SWANSON, Citizen Sports Editor -- LINEUP CARD COLUMN
For years, people wanted the Prince George Cougars to take a risk and go for it.

That was the case last year with a cutting-edge move to acquire Devin Setoguchi, completing a roster with nine NHL draft choices -- including three first-rounders.

The result fell short of a championship, or the coveted banner, but the Cougars did shock the CHL’s top team in the second round, advancing to the final four for the third time in 13 seasons.

On the flip side, fans have also wanted the Cougars to make a full-scale commitment to rebuilding.

That time is here now. Undeniably.

General manager Dallas Thompson, toss some credit his way, managed to liquidate the aging commodities for present and future assets.

Few around the league expected Thompson, the general manager of the Prince George Cougars, to be able to unload Ty Wishart for a first-round pick and a warm body, yet he went one better. By adding a third-round pick and winger Evan Fuller, who needed a change of scenery after he seemed to forget what got him drafted by the Vancouver Canucks, Thompson made this team younger and grittier. Wishart wouldn’t lay a body on anyone, ever, and Fuller needed to rediscover the bite that made him valuable.

Neither improvement was going to take place here.

Unloading the oft-injured Jesse Dudas and prospect Catlin Foley to Swift Current for 17-year-old goaltender Ian Curtis was a surprising finish to the flurry. Add in the releases given to Morgan MacLean and Tommy Tartaglione, and it’s not hard to surmise this was also a purge of older players who did not accept the challenge of positive leadership.

What’s next? Well, as he pointed out on Tuesday, Thompson will have to find worthy 20-year-olds for next season. After lopping so many veterans this week, the in-house option is down to import defenceman Patrik Magnusson. That, folks, isn’t likely to be the base for a Kwiatkowski-Luciuk-Hancock-type of veteran group.

Broken down, Thompson faced some challenges, three major hurdles.

The first is that Prince George, for many reasons that have been harped on before, is not the most-desired destination for players. Travel, the lack of a winning tradition and simple things, like word-of-mouth whispers between players, has hurt the franchise’s ability to lure players.

What’s become crystal clear is that, for the Cougars, the focus of scouting, drafting, listing free agents and making trades has to be to find character people who are hungry, players who love to be players and thirst to skate in the league.

Second, the Cougars had a discipline issue to quell before the trade deadline arrived. Five older players -- Wishart, Dudas, Kalvin Sagert, MacLean and, uncharacteristically, captain Greg Gardner -- blew off curfew in rather spectacular fashion to go partying on Dec. 29, which resulted in the entire team being held to a 7 p.m. curfew for the next week. That included New Year’s Eve, leaving billet families scrambling to rearrange celebration plans.

“I think that message has been sent clearly,” said Thompson. “We have rules, you have to follow them. I like our group now.”

The reputation of the Cougars around the league has been one of lax discipline, at least compared to other more-structured programs -- there are definitely differing ends of the scale. It’s an oft-overused phrase, but many of the moves made the last two years, and yes that includes the recent major trades, had as much to do with changing the culture, swapping out players who weren’t committed to the team dynamic, as it did with exchanging talent. The GM and coaches have to hold the line on relatively small things like curfew violations or they lose the ability to keep the lid on larger problems.

“We’ve done better on that than where it’s been, like at the start of last season,” said Thompson.

“That slipped. A coach can set the curfew time, but you still have to be home for it (to make calls).”

From a strictly on-ice perspective, this Cougars team had a major gap between players who thought they were ready for NHL duty, and were putting in time, and players who were eager to improve. That dynamic appears different now -- the energy on the ice will provide the answer.

The other thing about this ultra-young roster? The Cougars shouldn’t have too many players getting in trouble in bars -- right now, only six players are old enough to legally enter a drinking establishment.

The third issue is one the league is trying to get a handle on. It may be too late, and may have gone too far already.

You may have read on these pages Wednesday that Justin Maylan, at the ripe old age of 16, had to waive a no-trade agreement he had with the Moose Jaw Warriors to be sent here in the Fuller-Wishart deal. There are many players in the league now who sign sweetened education contracts with their draft team, a recruiting tool more and more teams are being forced to use with the top-end guys.

Very few of the WHL’s education contracts, the document teams refer to when they secure a commitment from 15- and 16-year-olds, come without an addendum. Some of those mean players are guaranteed up to three or four years of school money just for arriving at camp, paid out regardless of how long they stick with the club.

In other words, in WHL trade talks it truly has come to this -- general managers are trading contracts as much as they’re trading players.

I guess the WHL really is the mini-version of the NHL.

“We encourage the no-trade for younger players, that they must be agreed to by the parents,” said commissioner Ron Robison.

“It can get complicated when a player prefers to move (to a new team). Most trades are cases where a player prefers to be moved, instead of looking at it from a team-needs standpoint. It’s rare that any of the conditions of the contract would restrict the ability to trade a player.”

Onwards and hopefully upwards COUGARS! I'm so glad to see that Mr. Thompson and Mr. Schoneck still have confidence in CYR. I truly believe the COUGARS still have an outside shot at the play-offs. Look out BLAZERS!

[WestLEAFfan]

How many points are we out? Will we need much outside help?

[Scout]

Well of all the trades The Swift Current Broncos made, this trade scares us the most. Ian is a great goaltender who never had a chance really to show his potential in Swift. He could have made the team as a 16 year-old but we were to deep at that postition. He stands 6'5" and is 214 lbs. so he covers alot of net. If you think his size hinders his speed, your wrong. He has a great glove hand and when he is on his game he makes high lite reel saves. He is ranked 14th by Central Scouting and 6th in the WHL for the upcoming draft. If he gets his confidence up and plays some games you may have one of the best up and coming goalies in the league. Good like and enjoy Ian. I just hope he isn't traded back to our division down the road as he will burn us i'm sure.

Scout

[puckmam]

COUGS are 13 points behind Kamloops to make playoffs. It's time to support the young players for next year unless a miracle

[TwoBits]

Out of curiousity I took a look at both the PG and Kamloops schedules.

Games Left To Play:

PG - 31
KAM - 29

Of Those that are AWAY:

PG - 14
KAM - 14

Games left against each other : 6 (equal home and away)


And........

Kamloops still has to make their East road swing.

PG won 4 of the 6 games on their East trip.

Kamloops plays the 2 weaker teams PA and Saskatoon on their last 2 games when they are going to be tired.

Also.........

The next 2 games after KAM returns from the East are against each other in a home and home series, with PG playing 5 home games before the contest.

Don't count the COUGARS out yet....it could be a nail biter to the end. Their very last game is against each other is in Kamloops, wouldn't it be cool if that were the deciding game to see who got the last playoff spot?

[WestLEAFfan]

Geez TwoBits, you've done your homework! You'll be hired on fulltime if you are not careful. I'd love for it all to come down to the last week/days of the season. Winner takes all.

[puckmam]

WestLeafFan do you have some nerve pills to send me? Decided at the last game does sound like a COUG comeback. Kamloops still has a trip East to go through so chances are good.

Anyone else going tonight?

[TwoBits]

I've got some blood pressure medication you could borrow.

We'll be cheering and keeping our fingers crossed out here in "Victoire-Ville". Do you think it's too late for me to learn voodoo?

[PGFlyfisher]

No disrespect to the Blazers, but I' m glad the Cougars did their Eastern swing before that whole division got even scarier!