Cougars News

http://www.northumberlandtoday.com/2012/06/29/cougars-name-jasper-captain-sign-five-new-players

COBOURG - At the Ontario Junior Hockey League trade deadline in January of 2010, then-Bowmanville Eagles coach and general manager Curtis Hodgins didn’t want to trade his 17-year-old rookie Evan Jasper.

Hodgins knew it was a necessary move, however, as his club was stockpiling veterans for a potential championship run. The Eagles were able to acquire the Cougars leading scorer — overage forward Adam Place — and Jasper was a part of the deal going the other way.

Though difficult to trade Jasper at the time, Hodgins — who is the new head coach of the Cougars — has no problem with the move now.

On Wednesday night, coach Hodgins and general manager Perry Bowles named Jasper the new captain of the Cobourg Cougars.

“I had the pleasure of coaching Evan for four months in Bowmanville in the (2009-2010) season and it was probably the toughest move I ever had to make when we traded him to Cobourg,” Hodgins said. “We had a team (in Bowmanville) that was going for it and we had to move him. As it turns out, I’m glad I did now. Even then as a 17-year-old...he was just a team-first player back then and worked tremendously hard on the ice. I’ve watched him from the bench two years in a row now do a lot of abuse to my hockey clubs and I just respect him a lot and how he plays. He’s my type of hockey player; he plays both ends of the ice, works tremendously hard and is a team-first player, and that’s how we want to build this team. It was an easy decision for us to make him captain.”

Jasper said he is “really excited about” becoming the new captain of the Cougars.

“It’s a great honour,” he remarked. “It’s an unreal town to be playing in — we’ve got some of the best fans in the game.”

Jasper said he prides himself on hard work and he hopes that will be reflected in his teammates as well.

“I like to lead by example, on and off the ice,” said Jasper, who is looking forward to working with Hodgins again.

“He was an amazing coach back then so it will be great to rekindle the relationship that we had back in Bowmanville. I’m definitely looking forward to that and can’t wait for the season to start,” Jasper said. “He coaches with a lot of passion. You see it on the bench, he’s always instructing the guys and you play within the system with him. I think once our team comes together and buys into the system...we could have a great season.”

Jasper replaces Jake Flegel as team captain. Bowles said Flegel is moving on and relocating to the Windsor area to work and take college courses. If Flegel does play hockey in that area, a trade would need to be faciliated by the Cougars.

Bowles said Jasper was a natural choice for team captain to fill the vacancy.

“The kid oozes leadership and players gravitate to him both on and off the ice,” he said. “His character is something we’re trying to instill in the Cobourg Cougars family here.”

Bowles and Hodgins also announced the signing of four new players on Wednesday night. They are defencemen Ryan O’Grady and Nick Clark and forwards Mitchell Burghardt and Taylor Gauld. The Cougars held camps in May and June to get a look at young talent.

O’Grady is from Brighton, and a student at St. Mary Secondary School in Cobourg, and has played for the past seven years in the Quinte Red Devils triple-A organization. He also was called up to play in some playoff games for the Campbellford Rebels junior C club this passed season.

“Ryan O’Grady is a skilled defenceman,” Hodgins said. “He’s got more skill than he maybe gives himself credit for. We’ve seen that in our camps and he’s going to be a player that can play a lot of different situations for us and develop into a real, good puck moving defenceman.”

Clark, from Pickering, played last season for the Port Perry Mojacks junior C club.

“Nick Clark is a player who has a year of junior under his belt in junior C and he’s just a big, solid steady defenceman that we’re not going to expect a lot of offence out of, but we expect him to play well in his own end and move the puck well,” Hodgins said.

Burghardt is from Bowmanville and played triple-A hockey last season for the Clarington Toros minor midget team. Hodgins said he was surprised Burghardt wasn’t drafted in the Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection in May, but added the Cougars are lucky to have him.

“Mitchell Burghardt really was one of the top three players in both our camps,” Hodgins said. “He’s just got a ton of skill, sees the ice well and is just a naturally gifted skater and we see big things out of him in the next year or two here.”

Gauld is a right winger who played last season for the Whitby midget team. He is a player Hodgins is familiar with.

“He played (a few) games for me last year in Whitby as an affiliated player and I’ve seen him develop over the last three years,” the coach said. “He’s just a smart, intelligent hockey player, and very versatile. He’s a left shot, but can play right wing, can play centre, can play power play, can play penalty kill. That’s why we picked him, he’s a great kid and very versatile.”

Hodgins said the Cougars have also signed Brodie Myers, a six-foot-three, 185 pound left winger from the Whitby midgets, who has a lot of upside and can score goals.

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The Cobourg Cougars will have a booth set up at the Cobourg Waterfront Festival behind the bandshell. The booth will be open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Players are expected to drop by.

Season tickets will be on sale at that time.

Also, the Cougars are looking for participants for their annual Cougars Alumni Reunion Golf Tournament, Dinner & Dance.

For more information on tickets or the golf tournament, visit www.cobourgcougars.com.

jeff.gard@sunmedia.ca

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