ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: IAN WALTERSON
*Cougars broadcaster Dan O’Connor spoke with former Cougars defenceman Ian Walterson on Thursday, April 21st Here are some excerpts from that conversation.
EXCEL PAINTING ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Ian Walterson
– Played in Prince George from 1995-1999
– Was an Alternate Captain
– 295 games played (fifth most all-time)
– Is now 38 years old, living just outside of Atlantic City, NJ with his wife Karen and his two daughters. He owns a sports performance training centre and also works as a corrections officer.
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DO: What are some of your fond memories from your time in Prince George?
IW: I think about Prince George every day. It’s part of my life and part of who I am. It was fun to start with a program that was rebuilding, and going from one of the worst teams in the league to one of the best. I remember the fans how passionate they were about the team and how excited they were because we were new. We had playoff runs where fans would meet us at the airport. It was like being a mini celebrity in a sense, people knowing who you, kids pretending to be you when they’re playing hockey in their driveway. It was a very surreal experience.
DO: Is there an on-ice highlight from your time with Prince George?
IW: I don’t think there is one particular one. There were just so many: Playing with Joel Kwiatkowski, Sheldon Souray, Eric Brewer, Dan Hamhuis. The playoff run comes to mind when we went to the conference finals. Also having two iron man seasons (playing all 72 games) was big for me. Also Quinn Hancock being on Hockey Night Canada when he got crushed by “The Hit” and then getting up and scoring a goal. Those are some of the things that I still think about and things that come up when I talk to some of the other guys.
DO: What about some the guys you played against?
MZ: Jarome Iginla (Kamloops Blazers) is one of those guys that you look back and go “Holy Man, that guy was good.” I played in 1994-95 during the NHL lockout so you had guys playing in our league instead of the NHL. Guys like Jeff Friesen (Regina Pats) and Rob Niedermyer (Medicine Hat Tigers) and also guys like Daymond Langkow (Tri-City Americans), Marty Murray (Brandon Wheat Kings), Wade Redden (Brandon Wheat Kings), it’s pretty cool to look back to say that I got to play against those guys. It was 21 years ago when I started, and some of these guys are just wrapping up long careers in the NHL. It feels like it was just yesterday.
**To listen to the complete interview with Ian Walterson, visit the AUDIO section of the Cougars website HERE: http://www.pgcougars.com/audio
