The Prince George Cougars are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Prince George, British Columbia. Founded in 1971 as the Victoria Cougars, the team was relocated to Prince George in 1994, where it became the northernmost team in the Canadian Hockey League. The Cougars are members of the B.C. Division of the Western Conference in the Western Hockey League (WHL) and hosts games at the CN Centre.

History The Cougars were a long-running junior club based in Victoria when the team joined the Western Canada Hockey League in 1971, one of three teams based in British Columbia added to the WCHL that year to give the league a presence in all four Western Canadian provinces. The Cougars won one league title, in 1981, but in 1994, struggling with attendance and travel costs, were abruptly sold and moved to Prince George. The move made the Cougars the most remote team in the entire Canadian Hockey League (CHL), requiring drives of more than seven hours to play road games. The Prince George Cougars debuted in the 1994–95 season at the Prince George Coliseum until the construction of the team's own arena, the Multiplex, was completed in time for their second season.

The Cougars missed the playoffs in their first two seasons, but made two runs to the Division finals over the following four seasons, first finding success under coach Stan Butler. However, the Cougars missed the playoffs altogether seven times between 2003 and 2014, and sagging attendance led to the team being put up for sale, threatening relocation. In late 2013, owner Rick Brodsky initiated the sale process; local investor Greg Pocock sought the team, and partnered with former Cougars Dan Hamhuis and Eric Brewer to form an investors group committed to keeping the team in Prince George. The sale was approved by the WHL on April 30, 2014. The new ownership immediately sought to revitalize the team, renovating team facilities and seeking community partnerships. On the ice, the team won its first B.C. Division regular season title in 2016–17.

The team's most successful season came in 2023–24, with the Cougars setting franchise records with 49 wins and 102 points and entering the playoffs as the top-ranked team in the CHL, topping the WHL's Western Conference standings for the first time. Forwards Zac Funk and Riley Heidt both surpassed the previous scoring record for the team, with Funk setting a new mark with 123 points, along with a record 67 goals, and Heidt posting a record 80 assists. In the playoffs, the team advanced to the Western Conference final for the first time since 2007, where they faced the Portland Winterhawks. The Cougars lost the series in six games, with the sixth game ending in the second overtime period—the longest game in Cougars history. After the season, coach and manager Mark Lamb was named the WHL's coach and executive of the year.

Uniforms and logos The Cougars colours have traditionally been red, white, and black, and the logo has featured a variation on designs of a cougar. After the team was sold in 2014, the team unveiled a new logo featuring a cougar in the negative space of the letter C, and uniforms that introduced gold into the colour scheme.

Like many junior teams, the Cougars have often adopted special-event or limited-edition jerseys. In 2024, they released an Indigenous-inspired jersey designed by local partners.

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against Season GP W L T OTL GF GA Points Finish Playoffs 1994–95 72 14 55 3 - 229 392 31 7th West Did not qualify 1995–96 72 17 53 2 - 219 340 36 7th West Did not qualify 1996–97 72 28 39 5 - 238 287 61 6th West Lost West Division final 1997–98 72 43 24 5 - 311 236 91 3rd West Lost West Division semifinal 1998–99 72 34 32 6 - 255 264 74 4th West Lost West Division quarterfinal 1999–2000 72 43 20 4 5 279 228 95 2nd West Lost West Division final 2000–01 72 31 33 4 4 242 266 70 5th West Lost West Division quarterfinal 2001–02 72 34 27 9 2 244 215 79 3rd B.C. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2002–03 72 26 41 3 2 257 317 57 5th B.C. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2003–04 72 30 34 7 1 214 236 68 5th B.C. Did not qualify 2004–05 72 26 41 3 2 158 223 57 5th B.C. Did not qualify Season GP W L OTL SOL GF GA Points Finish Playoffs 2005–06 72 35 31 2 4 195 195 76 4th B.C. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2006–07 72 33 31 3 5 221 217 74 3rd B.C. Lost Western Conference final 2007–08 72 20 48 1 3 172 304 44 5th B.C. Did not qualify 2008–09 72 25 44 0 3 188 298 53 4th B.C. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2009–10 72 12 56 1 3 172 327 28 5th B.C. Did not qualify 2010–11 72 33 35 2 2 258 265 70 4th B.C. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2011–12 72 24 46 0 2 166 357 50 5th B.C. Did not qualify 2012–13 72 21 43 2 6 177 273 50 4th B.C. Did not qualify 2013–14 72 27 35 3 5 238 305 62 4th B.C. Did not qualify 2014–15 72 31 36 2 3 222 295 67 3rd B.C. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2015–16 72 36 31 3 2 240 225 77 4th B.C. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2016–17 72 45 21 3 3 253 201 96 1st B.C. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2017–18 72 24 38 5 5 217 295 58 5th B.C. Did not qualify 2018–19 68 19 41 5 3 152 237 46 5th B.C. Did not qualify 2019–20 62 20 34 4 4 144 205 48 5th B.C. Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2020–21 22 9 10 2 1 57 62 21 4th B.C. No playoffs held due to COVID-19 pandemic 2021–22 68 24 39 4 1 177 240 53 3rd B.C. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2022–23 68 37 24 6 1 290 241 81 2nd B.C. Lost Western Conference semifinal 2023–24 68 49 15 1 3 316 187 102 1st B.C. Lost Western Conference final 2024–25 68 41 21 4 2 251 222 88 2nd B.C. Lost Western Conference quarterfinal 2025–26 68 44 22 2 0 245 188 90 2nd B.C. Lost Western Conference semifinal

WHL Championship history Regular season division titles (2): 2016-17, 2023-24

NHL alumni The following alumni of the Prince George Cougars have played in the National Hockey League.

Team records + Team records for a single seasonStatisticTotalSeasonMost points1022023–24Most wins492023–24Longest point streak192023–24Most goals for3162023–24Fewest goals for1582004–05Fewest goals against1872023–24Most goals against3921994–95

+ Individual player records for a single seasonStatisticPlayerTotalSeasonMost goalsZac Funk672023–24Most assistsRiley Heidt802023–24Most pointsZac Funk1232023–24Most points, rookieTerik Parascak1052023–24Most points, defencemanHudson Thornton742023–24Most shutouts (goalie)Josh Ravensbergen62023–24 Goalies = minimum 1500 minutes played +Career recordsStatisticPlayerTotalCareerMost goalsChase Witala1202011–2014Most assistsRiley Heidt1952020–2024Most pointsRiley Heidt2802020–2024Most points, defencemanHudson Thornton1962020–2024Most games playedGreg Gardner3382003–2008

Awards

Four Broncos Memorial Trophy (WHL player of the year) Dan Hamhuis: 2001–02 Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy (WHL rookie of the year) Brett Connolly: 2008–09 Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy (WHL top defenceman) Christian Chartier: 2000–01 Dan Hamhuis: 2001–02

Brad Hornung Trophy (WHL most sportsmanship) Trent Hunter: 1999–00 Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy (WHL coach of the year) Mark Lamb: 2023–24

See also List of ice hockey teams in British Columbia

References

External links Official website Western Hockey League website