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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

(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, for ...

, and plays its home games at the CN Centre, formally known as the Prince George Multiplex. The Cougars were founded in 1971 as the Victoria Cougars, 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 ...

. 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 Kopar Memorial Arena is an indoor arena located in Prince George, British Columbia, that was built in 1958. Originally called the Prince George Coliseum, it is located next to the Prince George Civic Centre on Dominion Street. It seats 2,112 (inc ...

, 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 Memor ...

, 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 CN Centre. A new logo was also unveiled the same season. The Cougars first made the playoffs in the 1996–97 WHL season under coach

Stan Butler Stan Butler (born February 2, 1956) is a Canadian former ice hockey coach and general manager. Butler served as the only head coach and general manager in the Brampton Battalion and North Bay Battalion franchise history from 1998 to 2019. He ...

. 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 ...

in a best-of-seven-game series, proceeded to defeat the top-ranked Everett Silvertips 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 (CHL ...

champions, the Vancouver Giants.

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 sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

Uniforms and logos

The Cougars colours are red,

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 ...

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 ha ...

. 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