(photo credit to Brett Cullen and the Prince George Cougars)

By Jeromy Corrigan

Bowie

Bowie excited for challenges of new role next season

Jun 12, 2020 | 3:59 PM

One of the most improved players on the Prince George Cougars this past season was 18-year-old Connor Bowie.

After a successful 2nd year in the Western Hockey League, he is hoping to take an even bigger jump in his game as a 19-year-old.

The 19/20 season was a campaign of new challenges and new roles for the Fort St.John product, but a season that saw plenty of improvement.

“That first season I think it is just tough for everyone coming in right away. It’s a big adjustment,” explained Bowie to CKPG.

“That 2nd season you have a lot more confidence, the coaching staff trusts you a bit more, and yeah, I took a big jump and excelled and really enjoyed last season.”

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Bowie went from 5 points in his rookie season to 23 this past year.

It was a year of learning for Bowie, who was elevated into many new roles, but he feels a lot of learning was done by the entire team.

“A lot of learning. A lot of learning. I was put in situations where I had never been in before. Everything like that. I think it was like that for everybody. However, by the end of the year, that was the most fun I had ever had playing hockey in my whole career. It was so fun.”

Bowie is referring to the last couple of weeks of the campaign prior to the shutdown of the season where the Cougars were arguably playing their best hockey. This included an undefeated final homestand that saw them beat Lethbridge and Vancouver twice. A positive for a young group which he thinks can build some positive momentum going into next season.

“Our team will be pretty similar. Coming into the new year here we shouldn’t really be missing a beat. We kind of got things figured out at the end there and we should come in being prepared. We know what it is like. We know how hard it is to win, we have learned that. I think we should really excel at the beginning of the year,” added Bowie.

The off-season training is well underway for the Cougars forward as he continues to become stronger and more explosive ahead of his 19-year-old year. But it will also be a year which Bowie will be elevated once again with the departure of former Cougars Captain Josh Maser.

“It gets me really excited,” stated Bowie.

“I really look up to Josh. He was kind of a guy I wanted to see myself progress into as a player. I feel like I can come into that role that he once had. Play that big body. Be in front of the net and get those rebounds. I kind of want to bring what Josh did bring next year and just keep that coming because I feel like that really helped us. Try and just amplify what he did.”