Photo – In addition to being the director of business operations for the Cobourg Cougars, Erika Seggie and her family have enjoyed being involved as billets as well. Pictured along with Erika during a recent pre-game ceremony honouring billets are her husband Paul Seggie and children George and Jack with Cougars player Parker Hendsbee.
By Jeff Gard/Today’s Northumberland
Playing their way into the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s conference finals and in front of big crowds at the Cobourg Community Centre, including more than 1,500 spectators last home game, there’s no doubt it’s been a successful season on the ice for the Cobourg Cougars.
It’s more than just the on-ice hockey product, though, says Cougars director of business operations Erika Seggie. The players love their fans that show up to support them and in turn want to be present in the Cobourg community. The same can be said for the Cougars affiliate Port Hope Panthers in their neighbouring community.
“At the end of the day we’re not just a hockey team. We want to be a fixture within the community, we want to be a partner, we want to be a collaborator, we want to be a contributor,” Seggie remarked. “That’s our goal. We want to give back and we want people to be proud of us and come out and support our guys and in turn our guys will be entrenched in the community and giving back.”
That’s been evident through reading programs at local schools, entering the Santa Claus Parade, or doing yard work for seniors and participating in charitable initiatives.
“We want to be involved,” Seggie said. “When people are thinking about putting on initiatives, we want them to think about the Cougars or the Panthers and having us be a part. Our players feel the same way, too. They’re coming in, a lot of them aren’t from here, they’re living with billet families and they want to be part of the community. They want to see the fans, they want to see the people that come to games and give back and be doing things.”
The Cougars will host Game 2 of the OJHL South-East Conference final against the Toronto Jr. Canadiens Monday night at 7 p.m. at the CCC. The Jr. Canadiens lead the best-of-five series 1-0 following a 4-2 victory Saturday night in Toronto.
Certainly it’s been a work-in-progress for Seggie and the organization since she came on board in September just as the Cougars were heading into the 2021-22 OJHL campaign following a cancelled season the previous year.
Really it goes back further, though, to when Bob Breckles was hired as senior vice-president of hockey operations in January 2020 to oversee a change in direction moving forward.
Sure the Cougars had won the junior A national championship in 2017, but Breckles felt in the years that followed the organization was growing stagnant. He appreciates the work of the previous regimes, but believed a new approach was needed along with instituting a top-notch culture around the organization.
His biggest joy in hockey has been working as a scout and finding the right players. In addition to doing that for the Cougars, Breckles is also a U18 free agent scout for the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs.
“What I really wanted to do was give players the ultimate hockey experience,” Breckles said, noting some players who joined the Cougars earlier this season have commented they wish they had played here their entire junior careers.
Players benefit from a great fan base, facility, dressing room, apparel they wear and even a new bus that was purchased and painted thanks to sponsorship.
“We’re very blessed as an organization with the owner willing to allow me to do all these things so from where we were three years ago to where we are today I think we’ve done a complete 360,” Breckles said.
Family, including his wife, children and dogs, is everything to Breckles and he wanted a family culture in Cobourg. That includes helping players behind the scenes as they are just young men, 16 to 20 years old.
“I wanted to bring that family atmosphere here and the proof is in the pudding,” Breckles said, noting players were embracing him following the East Division deciding game in Minden on Wednesday night saying “thank you for being here and always having our back.
“Behind the scenes there’s always things that go on, it’s like family. It’s human nature when you’re dealing with players, there’s things that happen that you have to help them with.”
Breckles said the players also benefit from a strong staff of head coach Wes Wolfe, assistants Connor Cadaret and Josh Maguire, trainer Joe Aiello, equipment manager Bill Murray, physiotherapist Jeff Crowley and chiropractors Hillary Allen and Kevin McCrae.
Of course, there’s a strong group of volunteers with the club as well that Breckles couldn’t be more thankful for and voices his appreciation to them as they have been a key part of the Cougars success this season.
Hiring Wolfe last year was an important piece to the puzzle. There were 15 candidates and Breckles wanted a young, innovative coach, not a retread. The Cougars were able to lure Wolfe from his assistant coaching job with the OHL’s Erie Otters to gain head coaching experience in Cobourg.
“Wes coming in was huge for us, I can’t say it any other way,” Breckles said. “I wanted an OHL coach, which I knew was going to be difficult to find. He came in and had an over three-hour interview with us. I was blown away by his presentation and everything he wanted to do.”
Breckles doesn’t expect Wolfe to have a long tenure with the Cougars, but “he won’t be leaving on my accord.” Just like the Cougars focus on moving players to higher levels of hockey – 12 have either moved on already during the season or earned commitments for next season and beyond – and don’t hold anyone back, Breckles expects the same will happen for Wolfe.
They are in steadfast agreement about the core values of what the Cougars organization is about – development, winning and never holding anyone back.
Cobourg’s junior A hockey organization aims to continue its growth while also supporting local organizations within the community. Sponsorship has grown exponentially and the Cougars greatly appreciate that support.
Seggie can be reached at erikaseggie1@gmail.com for Cougars involvement in local events as well as for businesses to discuss sponsorship opportunities with the club.
In partnership with the Town of Cobourg, the Cougars and Ganaraska Brewing Company are presenting Blue Rodeo at the CCC on Thursday, June 16 at 7:30 p.m. The concert will benefit the Cougars and Panthers as well as Northumberland Minor Hockey, the West Northumberland Girls Hockey Association, Northumberland Youth Unlimited and the club is finalizing the involvement of the Cobourg Lions Club and Rotary Club of Cobourg as well.
Limited tickets remain and are $75 plus HST, available in person at The Concert Hall at Victoria Hall (55 King Street West), telephone 1-855-372-2210 and online at experiencecobourg.ca.
“We wanted to revive the community, bring some excitement, get people together,” Seggie said. “We’ve been working with a lot of our sponsors in terms of getting them involved at the show and also before the show.
“It’s a true collaboration. It’s about reviving our hockey clubs and giving back to Northumberland hockey in totality, partnering with the Town of Cobourg and really giving back to the community, having that two-way partnership.”
Another key partnership for the Cougars is billet families that house non-local players during the season.
Seggie knows that through firsthand experience as she and her family have been billets for three years now after meeting players at a community event and was impressed by their demeanour off the ice.
“We got talking to them and we have two young kids and we thought they would be a great influence to have around, got in touch with the billet coordinator, decided to take a chance and thought life’s too short, we might as well do it,” she said. “We have never had a bad experience with someone who’s lived in our house. We’ve had six different players over the years.
“They’re such good guys, highly-motivated guys and they want to be part of your family. At the end of the day they’re big kids, they just want to be part of the family, be doing things, playing with the kids and be part of what’s going on.”
Bolstering the billet program was a big focus for the club this year.
“We’ve had really great results in terms of getting some new families on board and we’re so blessed and happy that we have them,” Seggie said. “A lot of young families, hockey families and the support they’ve been showing the players and coming to games (home and away) and cheering them on…the feedback we’ve been getting from the players and families is awesome. The hardest thing about billeting is you getting attached to the guys and then they might get traded or they graduate and move on, but you always have a lasting friendship that you still get texts on birthdays and Christmas, so it’s definitely a great experience.”
Anyone interested in becoming a billet family or learning more can check out the tab on the club’s website at www.cobourgcougars.com, which includes a form to fill out. Billet families receive financial compensation towards groceries and receive tickets for home games.
Anyone attending games at the CCC has likely noticed the cheering section from none other than the Cheer Crew.
Organized through Tony Posthumus and Northumberland Youth Unlimited, the young members make signs, cheer loud and are always nearby to give the players a lift.
“It’s gotten so busy that Tony, who’s our director of player wellness, had to set up stanchions by the dressing room because all the kids run down at each period intermission and want to high-five and fist-pump the players so we’ve had to put a barrier there to control it,” Seggie said.
In addition, lately the Cougars have been offering free admission to kids 12-and-under if accompanied by an adult and are wearing a hockey jersey, whether their own minor hockey sweater or favourite team.
“Our goal is to get young fans out and families out,” Seggie said. “We want to be a destination. We’ve got things going on at all times.”
The Cougars have welcomed cheerleaders from Jennifer’s Jazz It Up and intermissions have featured scrimmages with the Northumberland Nighthawks or West Northumberland Wild teams, chuck-a-puck (which has been selling out), large 50/50 draws in conjunction with the Lions Club.
“We’ve got lots going on and that’s our goal to continue to do that,” Seggie said. “We want it to be not just a hockey game, but a total experience.”
