‘There’s a lot of buzz in the community’: Big plans for Cobourg Cougars this season
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‘Obviously, we want to be recognized in the community as good people in a good organization again’
By sports correspondent Alan Rivett
Surveying the scene from a vantage point above the rink, Cobourg Cougars president and general manager Ryan Ramsay is buoyed by what he saw unfolding on the ice below as training camp opened at the Cobourg Community Centre (CCC) on Aug. 20.
Ramsay, who’s also a part owner of the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) club with his father-in-law Paul Wilson, said the excitement is palpable, especially among a new group of players who’ve arrived via trades in the off-season.
“The guys that we’ve traded for are pretty excited … and you could tell there’s a little hop in their stride today,” said Ramsay. “Obviously, the facilities are, you know, one of the best in the league, if not the best, so the players were really excited and same with the coaching staff.
“So it’s just a really good first day,” continued Ramsay, as he watched Cobourg’s new head coach Derek Smith put the players through their paces.
The Cougars, he said, currently have 21 players (none of which are returning players from last year’s club) who the team has committed to for the season. The new-look Cougars expect to carry 24 players to start the season, with the maximum number allowed per team being 25.
The remaining players to fill out the roster will come through trades or from players made available following Ontario Hockey League training camps, added Ramsay.
Ramsay is also happy with the level of commitment displayed by the players thus far, pointing out every signed player came to the camp’s opening day in top physical form.
“We like that everyone came in shape. We just did a fitness test, and all the numbers were great,” he said. “Judging from the test results that we just saw, there’s no one that sticks out – so that’s a real positive as a GM – you can get going quickly.”
There’s a renewed excitement among players and staff for the new season to hopefully pave the way for a Cougars’ renaissance after a disappointing 2025-26 campaign with a dismal mark of 9-45-0-2, which likely served as the catalyst for the club’s previous ownership to move the franchise to Toronto.
All facets of the Cougars’ organization – ownership, management, players and coaches — have undergone a metamorphosis coming into this season after a major off-season switch was approved by the league it termed as “simultaneous relocations.”
Former Cougars’ owner Max Wang moved the franchise to Toronto to become the Toronto Warriors. Meanwhile, Ramsay and his Haliburton County Huskies relocated to Cobourg to take up tenancy at the CCC. Ramsay served as the owner, GM and head coach of the Huskies for the previous five years.
Ramsay said when the opportunity arose to relocate to Cobourg, he immediately saw the value in proceeding with relocating the Huskies.
“The situation in Haliburton was good but, obviously, we wouldn’t have turned down, you know, a potential move (to Cobourg),” explained Ramsay. “This is probably the only team or maybe one or two others in the league that you would even think about (relocating to) with the facility and the history and all that …
“It was kind of a no-brainer for us to do that. It was probably a difficult month of negotiating and, you know, lawyer stuff and stuff like that, but when all was said and done, I was kind of relieved and we were really excited to relocate here.”
Ramsay says job one for the new Cougars’ management team is to regain the trust of the community and to put a solid hockey team on the ice for a fan base that outside of last year’s disappointing season, has been extremely loyal to the team and players over the years.
“Obviously, we want to be recognized in the community as good people in a good organization again. I think that’s No. 1 for us. (As for) the product on the ice, if you look at our history with me and Derek Smith, we’ve always been Top 3 …Top 4 in the league for the last eight years.
“So I think building (the organization) from the outside in (is important) and we really feel that that’s kind of thing that good organizations do.”
For his part, Smith is eager to get the upcoming season underway. He’s pleased with what he’s witnessed so far.
“A lot of excitement, obviously, with Ryan and Paul moving the team here. There’s a lot of buzz in the community,” said Smith, who noted there were some fans taking in the first day of training camp.
“It’s just such a beautiful facility, great, great area, (and a) great town, and we’re excited to be part of it. We’re excited to hopefully have some success this year and make it a really fun place for people to come enjoy some good hockey.”
Smith, a former NHL defenceman with stops in Ottawa and Calgary, is no stranger to coaching success in the junior hockey ranks having guided the Trenton Golden Hawks to three regular-season Eastern Conference titles, two playoff East Division championships and a Buckland Cup national championship for the 2024-25 season. The Belleville native is joined on the bench by assistants Darryl Lloyd and Chris Atanas.
The Cougars’ pre-season continues a home-and-home series with the Pickering Panthers.
The Cougars head to Pickering’s Chestnut Hill Developments Recreation Complex on Sunday, Aug. 30 at 3:30 p.m. The teams are back in action at the CCC on Monday, Aug. 31 at 7:30 p.m.
The team previously played a home-and-home series against the Wellington Dukes Aug. 22 (in Wellington) and Aug. 23 (in Cobourg) to begin pre-season play.
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.
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