Five hundred and nine games is a long career in the Western Hockey League.
In that seven-season span, Ramandeep (Chico) Dhanjal has seen a lot of players come and go as the Prince George Cougars trainer and equipment manager and it's safe to say he has every intention of seeing that revolving door continue to turn with the seasons.
The Cougars announced Wednesday they've signed the 37-year-old Dhanjal to a contract extension.
"I am very excited, and also very grateful to sign this extension with the Prince George Cougars," said Dhanjal. "I want to thank Greg Pocock and the entire Prince George Cougars ownership group, Todd Harkins, Mark Holick and the many others along the way who have made the past seven seasons so enjoyable for me, my wife Amy and my daughter Eesha.
"The City of Prince George has always felt like home for us. We love this community and we're already looking forward to building off of last season's success both on and off the ice. The Cougars have always taken care of my family and the new ownership group has done a great job of making sure our players are taken care of."
Dhanjal graduated from the University of Saskatchewan in 2004 with a degree in kinesiology,minoring in psychology. The Regina native has been with Cougars since the start of the 2008-09 season.
"Chico has been an invaluable part of this organization for the past seven seasons," said Cougars general manager Todd Harkins. "He's often the first to arrive at the rink and the last to leave during the season. His commitment to the Prince George Cougars runs deep and we're very pleased to have Chico and his family remain a part of our Prince George Cougars family moving forward."
Dhanjal served a dual role as trainer and equipment manager for his first six seasons with the Cats before the team hired athletic therapist Craig Hyslop last year. While he'd love to see the Cougars playing for the Memorial Cup, Dhanjal is enjoying the off-season away from the rink.
"It almost seems there's more work to do now because now you're just focused on one thing to make it better, you don't have to cut corners," said Dhanjal. "People say it's great that I get summers off but they don't realize the hours we put in during hockey season. On game days, it's close to 16-hour days and just regular office days it's anywhere from 10 to 12 hours, plus all the travel. We traveled 50,000 kilometres this year and 66 hotel stays. We're away from our families a lot so it's only fair to have summers off to recharge the battery."
Dhanjal still makes regular trips back to the rink during the summer to monitor upgrades to the dressing room and to order and receive shipments of hockey equipment so returning players have the sticks and other personal gear they ordered by the time training camp start in August.
"August is the hardest month to work in hockey," said Dhanjal. "You're missing the nice weather and you want to be out on the golf course but you're riding a bus for 14 hours. You're kind of sad (that summer is just about over) but you're excited about the season."
Prior to joining the Cougars, Dhanjal started his career in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League with the Humboldt Broncos. In his three seasons with the team he helped them win two league titles and the RBC Royal Bank Cup national junior championship in 2008. He also worked as equipment manager with the women's national female hockey under-18 and under-22 teams.
