For a second time this off-season, the Prince George Cougars put its staff in the hot seat in talking about the immediate future of the organization.
The team’s Hockey Hot Stove was released online this week after taking questions from fans and local residents about the on- and off-ice strategies for the Cats going into the 2020-21 season.
General Manager and Head Coach Mark Lamb, Associate Coach Jason Smith, Co-Owner Eric Brewer and Scouting Director Bob Simmonds explained their views and thoughts on various topics brought forward by the public in a Zoom conference as COVID-19 continues to encourage physical distancing.
A key consensus from the panelists was the importance of hearing concerns and ideas from fans to fully understand what they can do to improve the franchise.
“For my job and what I do is, I got to be a really good listener,” said Coach Lamb when asked about the hockey operations department’s tasks.
“I got to listen to everyone in the organization whether they have concerns or have good ideas. I have some people I really trust in the hockey world and I think it’s important that we all have that. For me, it’s all of the above; being better, being a better listener, taking advice from a lot of people in what we’re doing with the Prince George Cougars moving forward.”
Other topics covered by the four guests include:
- Relationships between ownership, hockey operations and community
- The process in trying to create a winning culture
- Team rebuilding in hopes of a deep playoff run
- How to develop better players on the ice
- Finding future leaders off-ice and in the organization
The full 90-minute video can be seen below.
