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http://whl.ca/video/index/id/1317572736
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WHL Video Highlights
http://whl.ca/video/index/id/1317572736
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A hockey fan’s divided loyalties
A hockey fan’s divided loyalties
Sacrifices are part of the deal when moving to a new city, even when moving to Victoria from Prince George.
For starters, moving to southern Vancouver Island from the Interior means saying goodbye to affordable housing, four distinct seasons and the eightminute commute. In reality, however, there wasn’t much that Prince George had that Victoria was missing when I moved here almost two years ago.
Major junior hockey was the glaring exception.
Prince George instantly fell in love with the Cougars when owner Rick Brodsky relocated the team and the beloved name to central B.C. in the summer of 1994.
The first season was played in the old, 2,000-seat Coliseum, but what drew Brodsky north was a 6,000seat arena under construction across town.
The city’s legions of hockey fans craved WHL hockey and routinely filled the new rink for the first seven or eight years, giving not a thought to the people of Victoria or that they were understandably bitter that what was once theirs was taken away.
I was a Cougars season ticket holder in Prince George from 1994 until 2009.
What did Victoria fans miss in those years? There were a few high points, such as when the Cougars came close to winning something semi-important, but there were no firstplace finishes and certainly no trips to the Memorial Cup.
Much like their final few years in Victoria, the Cougars’ existence in Prince George has been mostly a mix of unfulfilled expectations and downright futility.
Much has been made of Victorians supposedly holding a grudge against Prince George for “stealing” the Cougars. Truth be told, there were many times in the past decade when Prince George fans would have gladly given them back.
Aside from a few exciting playoff runs that fell short, the highlight for Cougars fans in P.G. has been watching the development of future NHL stars such as the Canucks’ Dan Hamhuis, Boston’s Zdeno Chara, Tampa Bay’s Eric Brewer and Canucks nemesis Dustin Byfuglien, now with Winnipeg.
That’s the beauty of major junior hockey. The players arrive as wideeyed 16-year-olds, away from home for the first time, and leave at 19 or 20 as men — some with an NHL contract in their back pocket and the promise of stardom on hockey’s biggest stage.
You don’t get that with the ECHL.
The WHL is hockey at its purest — a bus league full of hungry young men playing for each other and an opportunity to someday graduate to the NHL.
It’s great for hockey in Victoria if fans are still harbouring that grudge against Prince George, because there is nothing like a bitter rivalry to stir up emotions in a junior hockey rink.
As for me, I’ll have torn allegiances on a few nights now that the WHL is back in Victoria where it belongs. Seventeen years of loyalty to the Cougars doesn’t disappear overnight.
But this is my town now and I have a new batch of junior hockey stars to follow. Long live the Cougars. Long live the Royals.
Dave Paulson is the Times Colonist’s features editor.
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Based on highlights, I guess the Cougars beat us both nights.Originally Posted by CdnSailor
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LOL
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PG Suspension
Inglis got 10 games for the head shot/concussion on Stahl.
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The number I stated that it should be. It was an ugly, vicious hit. It is also nothing to "cheer" about. If Stahl does not make a full recovery 10 games is not enough.
I wish Tyler the best, and hope to see him back on skates next time the Royals are in Prince George
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Hit to head costs Cougars forward 10 games
Hit to head costs Cougars forward 10 games
BY CLEVE DHEENSAW, TIMESCOLONIST.COM OCTOBER 4, 2011 10:27 PM
Prince George Cougars forward Charles Inglis was suspended Tuesday for 10 games by the Western Hockey League for his elbow to the head of Victoria Royals defenceman Tyler Stahl in a game last Saturday at CN Centre.
Stahl suffered a concussion in the incident that occurred in the third period in the corner of the Royals’ end. The 2010 sixth-round draft pick of the Carolina Hurricanes lay on the ice for minutes and had to be helped off by teammates.
“We’ve stated from the outset of the season that we will do everything we can to reduce the number of head injuries,” said WHL commissioner Ron Robison by phone from Calgary. “If any injury occurs from a hit to the head, then a significant suspension will be the result.”
Inglis received a five-minute hit-to-the-head major and a match penalty Saturday. The suspension takes place immediately with Inglis due to return Oct. 26 when the Cougars are in Kelowna. The undrafted 19-year-old from Winnipeg is a key player for the Cougars and has three goals and four points in three games this season, after scoring 32 goals and adding 28 assists last season.
“It was a vicious hit, no doubt about it,” said Royals GM and head coach Marc Habscheid. “We’re trying to take that sort of hit out of the game.”
When asked about Stahl’s condition, Habscheid responded: “He’s not great.”
It is a major loss to the Royals because the 19-year-old is a leader on the blue-line. The team would provide no further details nor give an estimate of how long Stahl is expected to be out of action. Hockey teams normally do not release medical details about concussed players.
“There’s no timeline you can put on a concussion,” Habscheid said. “Who thought Sidney Crosby would be out this long? About the only thing you can say is that when Tyler is cleared to play by the doctors, then he can come back.”
Asked if he thought the suspension matched the act, Habscheid said: “That’s not for me to say. But [the league] has always done a good job of dealing out suspensions.”
It is the second suspension dished out early this season by the WHL for a hit to the head. Moose Jaw forward Cody Beach was suspended seven games for a blow to the head of Brandon forward Bruno Mraz during the league’s season opener Sept. 22.`
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