Cobourg Cougars start pre-season strong with 2 wins against Dukes

Cobourg Cougars’ head coach Derek Smith delves into pre-season schedule and expectations for regular season play. /Alan Rivett photo

By sports correspondent Alan Rivett

Entering the four-game pre-season schedule, Cobourg Cougars’ head coach Derek Smith says he was looking to get a good look at the rookies vying for a job on the roster. 

That, and a high level of effort throughout the lineup.

“To play here, you have to have effort. You gotta compete. And that’s No. 1 – they’re non-negotiables.”

“And we want to see our guys compete – but a big thing is we want to see how some of the younger guys transition to the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL),” continued Smith. 

“I know it’s just exhibition, but it’s big for them to see the pace (of the game),” explained Smith, who made his pre-season debut behind the Cougars’ bench Saturday in the first game of a home-and-home series with the Dukes.

“It is a good opportunity for our younger guys to see what junior hockey’s all about and get their first couple of games under the belt, for sure.”

Beginning his eighth season as a head coach in the Ontario Junior Hockey League, Smith said it was the chance to work alongside Cougars’ president and general manager Ryan Ramsay that drew him to sign on with the Cougars. 

The two had been rival coaches for several seasons – Ramsay with the Haliburton County Huskies and Smith when he was at the helm of the Trenton Golden Hawks and Wellington Dukes.

“We’ve coached against each other and competed against each other for the last seven years in this league. That’s part of the reasoning. Obviously, it was tough to leave Minden in Haliburton, but to bring it down here was (the way) to hopefully restore this franchise to glory,” said Smith. 

“So it was just a great opportunity for me to come here and work with Ryan and hopefully have a championship-calibre team.”

Smith said the nucleus of the team this year will include several former Haliburton County Huskies players who followed Ramsay to the Cougars. Coming over from the Huskies are goaltender Carter Nadon, and forwards Isaac Larmand, Carter Petrie, Chase Del Colombo, Liam Oravsky, and Lewis Hergaarden.

These players, said Smith, will be counted on to set the tone for the season.

“I think it starts with Isaac Larmand. He was in Haliburton the last couple years and he’s going to be our leader here. He’s going to be a big part of us in the community and on the ice,” said Smith.

“There’s a good nucleus of guys coming back (who) have had success in this league before that we’re going to rely upon. We’re going to give some of the younger guys an opportunity to get their feet wet in the league and have some success.”

The Cobourg juniors have also brought aboard several players through off-season trades, including defenceman Jaden VanWalleghem (Powell River Kings, B.C.), forward Colton Bain (Lindsay Muskies), forward Cayden Smith (Aurora Tigers), forward Jonny Brooks (Oakville Blades) and defenceman Alexis Boily (Collingwood Blues).

Smith said Ramsay brought the team to Cobourg with a league championship and perhaps a national title as long-term goals. That starts with developing a winning program this season.

“The big thing is they moved this team (to Cobourg) for championship aspirations, and our goal is to win the OJHL championship, the Buckland Cup, and hopefully compete at the Centennial Cup. That’s a long way away and a lot can happen, but our goal is to start the season and bring some fun hockey here, get some fans excited, the community excited, and win hockey games while we’re doing it,” said Smith.

The Cougars will play a home-and-home series against the Pickering Panthers to finish out their pre-season schedule. The Cougars are at Pickering’s Chestnut Hill Developments Recreation Complex on Sunday, Aug. 30 at 3:30 p.m. The teams are back in action at the Cobourg Community Centre on Monday, Aug. 31 at 7:30 p.m. 

Cobourg was on the winning end of both its pre-season games against the Wellington Dukes last weekend, topping the Dukes 4-2 in Wellington on Saturday. They then defeated Wellington 8-5 at the CCC Sunday.

Martin Clarke, Hergaarden and Isaac Tracze, with two, scored for the Cougars in Saturday’s win.

Larmand and Oravsky each scored twice in Sunday’s home-ice win. Alexis Boily, Karter Brideau, Petrie and Jesse Bruce added one apiece.

The Cougars start OJHL regular-season play against the Aurora Tigers at the Aurora Community Centre on Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. The Cougars’ home opener is against the Lindsay Muskies at the CCC on Sept. 14 at 7 p.m.