The Prince George Cougars are a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

major junior Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team currently members of the B.C. Division of the Western Conference in the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

(WHL). The team is based in Prince George,

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, and plays its home games at the

CN Centre The CN Centre is a 5,971-seat multi-purpose arena, in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. It was designed by PBK Architects, opened in 1995 and is owned by the City of Prince George. There are 14 luxury suites. In 2005, Canadian National ...

, formally known as the Prince George Multiplex. The Cougars were founded in 1971 as the

Victoria Cougars The Victoria Cougars were a major league professional ice hockey team that played in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) from 1911 to 1924 under various names, and (after the PCHA's merger with the Western Canada Hockey League) in the W ...

, but later moved to Prince George in 1994, becoming the northernmost franchise in the

Canadian Hockey League The Canadian Hockey League (CHL; french: Ligue canadienne de hockey ‒ LCH) is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canada-based major junior ice hockey leagues. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey L ...

. On March 19, 2014, after months of rumours, a team of local investors led by Greg Pocock, along with NHLers

Dan Hamhuis Daniel Hamhuis (born December 13, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in 2001 by the Nashville Predators. Hamhuis played major junior hockey with the Prince ...

and Eric Brewer, agreed in principle to purchase the Prince George Cougars. The deal was approved by the WHL Board of Governors on April 30 the same year.

History

The Prince George Cougars played the 1994–95 season at the Prince George Coliseum, along the Tier II

Prince George Spruce Kings The Prince George Spruce Kings are a junior "A" ice hockey team based in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Mainland Division of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). They play their home games at Kopar Memo ...

, until the construction of the team's own arena was complete. The Cougars' logo for their first season in Prince George closely resembled that of the Victoria Cougars'. For the 1995–96 season, the Cougars moved into their new home, the Prince George Multiplex, since renamed the

. A new logo was also unveiled the same season. The Cougars first made the playoffs in the

1996–97 WHL season The 1996–97 WHL season was the 31st season for the Western Hockey League. Eighteen teams completed a 72-game season. The Lethbridge Hurricanes won the President's Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team repres ...

under coach Stan Butler. The Cougars' most successful playoff run came during the 2006–07 season. Prince George achieved their first sweep of the

Kamloops Blazers The Kamloops Blazers are a junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL). The team plays in the B.C. Division of the Western Conference, is based out of Kamloops, British Columbia, and play home games at Sandman Centre. The Blazers o ...

in a best-of-seven-game series, proceeded to defeat the top-ranked

Everett Silvertips The Everett Silvertips are an American major junior ice hockey team currently members of the U.S. Division in the Western Conference of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The team is based in Everett, Washington, and joined the WHL as an expansion ...

in six games and reached the Western Conference finals for the third time, which they ultimately they lost in five games to the eventual

2007 Memorial Cup The 2007 MasterCard Memorial Cup was played in May 2007 in Vancouver, British Columbia, at the Pacific Coliseum. It was the 89th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (CH ...

champions, the

Vancouver Giants The Vancouver Giants are a major junior ice hockey team playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL). Inaugurated in 2001–02, the Giants have won one President's Cup (now known as the Ed Chynoweth Cup) in 2006 and one Memorial Cup in 2007 in th ...

2014 sale

After months of rumours, it was announced on March 19 that a team of local investors led by Greg Pocock, along with current NHLers and former Cougars

and Eric Brewer, had agreed in principle to purchase the Prince George Cougars. The price of the sale was undisclosed, and the official confirmation of the sale occurred on April 30 after approval from the WHL Board of Governors. Cougars owner Rick Brodsky and vice president Brandi Brodsky declined to comment at the time of the sale.

Season-by-season record

''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against''

Team records

Current roster

Updated December 8, 2022.

NHL alumni

The following alumni of the Prince George Cougars have played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

Uniforms and logos

The Cougars colours are

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

and

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

. Home jerseys have a white upper portion, with a burgundy lower portion, separated by a diagonal black stripe. Away jerseys have a black upper portion, with a burgundy lower portion, separated by a diagonal white stripe. Prince George's third jersey features a redesigned logo (inset), on a burgundy jersey, with black, grey and white trim on the lower portion. On August 20, 2008, the Cougars unveiled a new logo, resembling closer to the third logo than the second, and was designed by Mike Doran of Splash Media.

References

External links

Prince George Cougars websiteWestern Hockey League website
{{British Columbia Sports Ice hockey clubs established in 1994 Western Hockey League teams Ice hockey teams in British Columbia Sport in Prince George, British Columbia 1994 establishments in British Columbia