Ownership Group & Hockey Operations
Taylor Dakers
Director of Business
OWNERSHIP GROUP
President/Member of Ownership – John Pateman
Member of Ownership – Eric Brewer
Member of Ownership – Dan Hamhuis
Member of Ownership – Ernest Ouellette
Member of Ownership – Raymond Fortier
Member of Ownership/Governor – Greg Pocock
HOCKEY OPERATIONS
Mark Lamb- General Manager & Head Coach
On July 4th, 2019 Mark Lamb was named the 13th Head Coach in Prince George Cougars franchise history. He was appointed as the General Manager one year earlier.
Lamb comes to Prince George with a hockey resume, that includes a Stanley Cup, and has spent 17 years in coaching and management. Lamb spent seven seasons as the General Manager & Head Coach of the Swift Current Broncos from 2009 to 2016. In 2015-16, the Broncos roster featured five players, including Glenn Gawdin and Tyler Steenbergen, that went on to win the Ed Chynoweth Cup in 2018.
Lamb started his coaching career as an Assistant Coach with the Edmonton Oilers in 2001-2002. He then moved onto the Dallas Stars, spending six years (2002-2009) behind the bench as an Assistant Coach.
As a player, Lamb was known as a creative playmaker with a tenacious work ethic and those traits afforded him a lengthy playing career at the professional level. He played 13 seasons and over 400 career regular season games in the NHL between Calgary, Detroit, Edmonton, Ottawa, Philadelphia and Montreal. Lamb won the 1990 Stanley Cup with the Oilers.
Mark and his wife Tanya live in Prince George.
Jim Playfair – Associate Coach
Jim Playfair joins the Cougars after being in a part-time role with the club in 2022-2023. Playfair, from Fort St. James, BC, brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the team, having spent 15 years coaching in the NHL as both an Associate Coach and Head Coach. His coaching journey includes stints with various teams in the NHL, including the Calgary Flames, Arizona Coyotes, and Edmonton Oilers. In the American Hockey League (AHL), Playfair coached with the Calgary Flames Organization in Saint John and Abbotsford. Before reaching the professional level, he also coached with the Michigan K-Wings in the International Hockey League (IHL) and the Dayton Bombers in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL).
As a player, Playfair was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers as the 20th overall pick in the 1982 NHL Draft. He played a total of 21 NHL games, split between the Edmonton Oilers and the Chicago Blackhawks. During his pro career, he spent significant time in the AHL with the Nova Scotia Oilers, recording 40 points in 174 games. Before his professional career, Playfair played for the Portland Winterhawks and the Calgary Wranglers in the Western Hockey League (WHL). He achieved great success during his WHL days, winning both the WHL Championship in 1982 and the Memorial Cup Championship in 1983, both with the Portland Winterhawks. Throughout his WHL career, he tallied 23 goals and 55 assists.
Carter Rigby – Assistant Coach
Carter Rigby joins the Cougars coaching staff after spending the past three seasons with the Osoyoos Coyotes of the KIJHL. Prior to his coaching days, Rigby spent five seasons in the WHL, playing for the Cougars, Kelowna Rockets, and the Swift Current Broncos. Rigby was a Cougars WHL Prospect’s Draft Pick back in 2009. The 28 year old from Penticton spent his 20 year old season with Swift Current and played under Mark Lamb.
Taylor Dakers- Goaltending Coach
Taylor Dakers comes to Prince George with plenty of experience, as he spent the past five seasons with the Red Deer Rebels and one season with the Everett Silvertips prior to that.
The Langley, BC, product played four seasons in the WHL with the Kootenay ICE from 2003-2007. Dakers was drafted by the San Jose Sharks in the fifth round, 140th overall, in the 2005 NHL Draft. He went on to play two seasons in the Sharks organization, splitting his time in the AHL with the Worcester Sharks and with their ECHL affiliate, the Phoenix Roadrunners.
Taylor lives in Prince George with his wife and their two kids.
