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Vancouver Giants

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Vancouver Giants
CityVancouver, British Columbia
LeagueWestern Hockey League
ConferenceWestern
DivisionB.C.
Founded2001 (2001)–02
Home arenaPacific Coliseum
ColoursBlack, red and silver
     
General managerCanada Scott Bonner
Head coachCanada Don Hay
Websitevancouvergiants.com
Championships
Playoff championships2006 (WHL), 2007 (CHL)

The Vancouver Giants are a major junior ice hockey team playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL). Inaugurated in 2001–02, the Giants have won one President's Cup (now known as the Ed Chynoweth Cup) in 2006 and one Memorial Cup in 2007 in their ten-season history. Their home rink is the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia, which was previously used by the NHL's Vancouver Canucks.

In the 2010-2011 season, the Giants celebrated their 10th anniversary. It was known as the Giant Decade.

The ownership group consists of British Columbia-based businessmen Ron Toigo and Sultan Thiara, Hockey Hall of Fame member Gordie Howe, Pat Quinn, and Canadian big band singer and actor Michael Bublé.[1]

History

Led by majority owner and British Columbia-based businessman Ron Toigo, the city of Vancouver was granted a WHL franchise for the 2001–02 season. In their inaugural campaign, the Giants compiled 13 wins, 49 losses, and 6 ties. The first goal in franchise history was scored by Tyson Mulock in a loss to the Kamloops Blazers.

The following season, the Giants went 26-37-5-4 (fourth in the B.C. Division) and made their first playoff appearance, but lost in the first round to the eventual President's Cup champions, the Kelowna Rockets, in four games. Second-year forward Adam Courchaine led the team in scoring with 85 points. His 43 goals stood as a single-season franchise record for six years until second-year forward Evander Kane broke it in 2008–09.[2]

In the 2003–04 season, the Giants continued to improve, posting a 33-24-9-6, which marked their first winning season. After defeating the Kamloops Blazers in the first round, the Giants lost in the second round to the expansion team Everett Silvertips in six games. Adam Courchaine led the team again in scoring, finishing ninth overall in the league. Hometown rookie Gilbert Brulé, the first overall pick in the 2002 WHL Bantam Draft, scored 60 points and earned the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as the league's best first-year player.

In the 2004–05 season, the Giants went 34-30-4-4 and Brulé emerged as a WHL star, finishing third in league scoring with 87 points, which remained a franchise record until overager Casey Pierro-Zabotel snapped it in 2008–09.[3] Courchaine tallied 78 points and finished seventh in league scoring, marking the first and only time thus far that the top ten league scorers would feature two Giants players. In the playoffs, the Giants lost in the first round to Kelowna. Despite the early exit, the Giants drew many fans to the Coliseum that year due to the NHL lockout; game six against the Rockets drew 16,183 fans.[citation needed]

The 2005–06 season featured the Giants' most significant improvement in the standings, becoming one of the WHL's top teams. They finished the season 47-19-0-6, first in the B.C. Division and third in the league overall. In the first round of the playoffs, the Giants beat the Prince George Cougars in five games, then the Portland Winterhawks in the second round, also in five games. In the third and final round, they won eight straight, sweeping both the Everett Silvertips and Moose Jaw Warriors en route to their first ever President's Cup. Gilbert Brulé had returned to the team midway through the season after starting 2005-06 with the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets and earned the airBC Trophy as the playoff MVP after scoring 16 goals and 30 points in 18 post-season games, including 5 goals and 12 points in the finals.

By winning the WHL league title, the Giants earned their first Memorial Cup appearance in Moncton, New Brunswick. The Giants finished the round-robin tied for third, then defeated the Peterborough Petes in a tie-breaker in order to move on to the playoffs, but lost to the Moncton Wildcats in the semifinal. Brule scored 12 points in 5 games, earning the Ed Chynoweth Trophy, as tournament leading scorer. He was also named to the Memorial Cup All-Star team with Giants defenceman Paul Albers.

The Giants celebrating with the Memorial Cup, May 27, 2007.

The Giants were chosen by the CHL prior to the 2006 Memorial Cup, to host the 2007 Memorial Cup. They finished the season, once again, atop their division, fourth in the league. The season featured a goaltending controversy, in which starter Dustin Slade would begin the season splitting time with emerging goalie Tyson Sexsmith. Slade, frustrated with having to give up his starts, would leave the team in November to pursue a pro-hockey career.[4] With Sexsmith (who finished first in the league in GAA) as their starting goalie, and a balanced offence that included Milan Lucic, Michal Repik and mid-season acquisitions Wacey Rabbit and Kenndal McArdle, the Giants made their way once again to the WHL final. The series went the distance against the Medicine Hat Tigers, but the Giants lost the seventh game in double overtime, failing to win their second consecutive league title. However, because of their automatic bye into the Memorial Cup as hosts, the Giants avenged their seventh game loss against the Tigers, defeating Medicine Hat 3-1 in the final, capturing their first Memorial Cup title. Lucic earned the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as tournament MVP, while linemate Michal Repik led the tournament in scoring (edging Lucic by one goal) to capture the Ed Chynoweth Trophy. Defenceman Cody Franson also joined Lucic and Repik on the tournament All-star team.

As defending Memorial Cup champions the following season, the Giants won the B.C. Division for the third consecutive year and posted a franchise record 106 points (49-15-2-6), third in the league. Third-year forward Spencer Machacek, named team captain after expected captain Lucic would stick with the Boston Bruins of the NHL, led the team in scoring with 78 points, fourteenth in the league. On defence, Jonathon Blum, also a returnee from the Memorial Cup winning team, finished second among league defencemen in scoring, tallying 63 points, a single-season franchise-record among defenceman. In goal, Sexsmith once again led the league with a stellar 1.89 goals against average. The Giants' run for a third consecutive Memorial Cup appearance was cut short; after sweeping the Chilliwack Bruins in the first round, the Giants were stopped by the Spokane Chiefs in six games.

A dominant 2008–09 season has established several records for the Giants. The club set a WHL record by clinching a playoff berth just 46 games into the season. The mark was previously set by the Everett Silvertips, who clinched a berth after 48 games in 2006–07.[5] Individually, overager Casey Pierro-Zabotel broke the team marks for single-season assists and points, surpassing Darren Lynch and Gilbert Brule respectively,[3][6] while second-year forward Evander Kane bettered Adam Courchaine's single-season goals total.[2] Team captain Jonathon Blum also surpassed Courchaine to become the franchise's all-time assists leader.[7] Finishing the season with a franchise-high 57 wins and 119 points, the Giants came within 3 points of their first Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as the top regular season team, behind the Calgary Hitmen.

Awards and trophies

Championships

Memorial Cup

Canadian Hockey League champion

Ed Chynoweth Cup

Western Hockey League playoff champion

Western Conference Champions
B.C. Division Champions

First place in regular season

Individual

WHL

Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy

Rookie of the year

Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy

Defenceman of the year
WHL Plus-Minus Award

Regular season plus-minus leader
Bob Clarke Trophy

Regular season scoring champion

Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy

Coach of the Year

CHL

Ed Chynoweth Trophy

Memorial Cup scoring leader
Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy

Memorial Cup MVP
CHL Defenceman of the Year

Players

NHL alumni

NHL draftees

Note that these are the players who were drafted into the NHL while playing for the Vancouver Giants

Ring of Honour

Franchise scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history as of 2010–11.[8]

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; * = current Giants player

Player Pos GP G A Pts P/G
Adam Courchaine C 241 126 147 273 1.13
Craig Cunningham LW 295 86 136 222 0.75
Mitch Bartley LW 280 107 107 214 0.76
Jonathon Blum D 248 49 155 204 0.82
Brendan Gallagher* RW 190 95 108 203 1.07
Darren Lynch RW 213 81 121 202 0.95
Gilbert Brule C 165 87 98 185 1.12
Spencer Machacek RW 203 77 91 168 0.83
Michal Repik LW 176 75 93 168 0.96
Tim Kraus C 244 60 107 167 0.68

Current roster

Updated September 26, 2011.[9]

Goaltenders
# Player Catches Height Weight DOB Place of birth NHL Draft
35 Canada Jackson Whistle L 6'1" 180 June 9, 1995 Kelowna, British Columbia
37 United States Brendan Jensen L 6'1 185 February 6, 1993 El Granada, California Eligible '11
Defencemen
# Player Shoots Height Weight DOB Place of birth NHL Draft
2 Canada Dalton Olsen L 6'1 186 July 6, 1993 Calgary, Alberta
3 Canada Brett Kulak L 6'1 175 January 6, 1994 Stony Plain, Alberta
4 Canada Luke Fenske L 6'1 204 May 23, 1993 Penticton, British Columbia Eligible '11
5 Canada Wes Vannieuwenhuizen L 6'2 202 April 20, 1992 Chilliwack, British Columbia Eligible '11
6 Canada David Musil L 6'3 200 April 9, 1993 Delta, British Columbia Eligible '11
8 Canada Neil Manning L 5'11 179 May 12, 1991 Nanaimo, British Columbia Eligible '11
26 Canada Tyler Hart L 6'1 184 October 22, 1992 Spruce Grove, Alberta Eligible '11
29 Canada Blake Orban R 6'1 197 January 28, 1994 Calgary, Alberta
32 Canada Kiefer McNaughton R 6'3 212 August 25, 1993 Delta, British Columbia
Forwards
# Player Shoots Height Weight DOB Place of birth NHL Draft
7 Canada Matt Bellerive R 5'10 180 December 7, 1994 North Vancouver, British Columbia Eligible '13
9 Canada Dalton Sward R 6'0 168 January 10, 1994 Abbotsford, British Columbia Eligible '12
10 Canada Scott Cooke R 6'2 175 March 15, 1994 Surrey, British Columbia
11 Canada Brendan Gallagher R 5'8 170 May 6, 1992 Delta, British Columbia MON 2010
12 Canada Cain Franson L 6' 160 March 25, 1993 Sicamous, British Columbia Eligible '11
14 Slovakia Marek Tvrdon L 6'2 217 January 31, 1993 Nitra, Slovakia
16 Canada Michael Burns R 6'1 192 May 3, 1991 Edmonton, Alberta Eligible '11
17 Canada Greg Lamoureux R 6'0 175 March 10, 1992 Calgary, Alberta Eligible '11
18 Canada Anthony Ast R 5'8 170 February 11, 1995 Richmond, British Columbia
19 Canada Nathan Burns L 6' 165 July 15, 1993 Edmonton, Alberta Eligible '11
20 Canada Teal Burns R 5'11 198 October 10, 1992 Victoria, British Columbia Eligible '11
21 Canada Connor Redmond L 6'1 180 May 3, 1992 Maple Ridge, British Columbia Eligible '11
22 Canada James Henry L 5'9 171 March 11, 1991 Winnipeg, Manitoba Eligible '11
23 Canada Logan Harland L 5'9 170 April 7, 1995 Frenchman Butte, Saskatchewan
24 Canada Austin Vetterl R 5'11 1171 February 2, 1994 Surrey, British Columbia
25 Canada Jordan Martinook L 6'0 209 July 25, 1992 Leduc, Alberta Eligible '11
27 Canada Jackson Houck R 6'0 184 February 27, 1995 North Vancouver, British Columbia

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties OTL = Overtime losses Pts, SOL = Shootout losses Pts, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Season GP W L T OTL GF GA Points Finish Playoffs
2001–02 72 13 49 6 4 198 365 36 5th B.C. Out of playoffs
2002–03 72 26 37 5 4 217 292 61 4th B.C. Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2003–04 72 33 24 9 6 215 196 81 2nd B.C. Lost Western Conference semi-final
2004–05 72 34 30 4 4 212 205 76 3rd B.C. Lost Western Conference quarter-final
2005–06 72 47 19 0 6 252 156 100 1st B.C. Won WHL Championship; Lost Memorial Cup
2006–07 72 45 17 3 7 245 143 100 1st B.C. Lost final; Won Memorial Cup
2007–08 72 49 15 2 6 250 155 106 1st B.C. Lost Western Conference semi-final
2008–09 72 57 10 2 3 319 151 119 1st B.C. Lost Western Conference final
2009–10 72 41 25 3 3 267 211 88 1st B.C. Lost Western Conference final
2010–11 72 35 32 1 4 236 251 75 2nd B.C. Lost Western Conference Quarter-final

Team records

Team Records for a single season
Statistic Total Season
Most points 119 2008–09
Least points 36 2001–02
Most wins 57 2008–09
Least wins 13 2001–02
Most goals for 319 2008–09
Least goals for 198 2001–02
Least goals against 143 2006–07
Most goals against 365 2001–02
Individual player records for a single season
Statistic Player Total Season
Most goals Evander Kane 48 2008–09
Most assists Casey Pierro-Zabotel 79 2008–09
Most points Casey Pierro-Zabotel 115 2008–09
Most points, rookie Kevin Connauton 72 2009–10
Most points, defenceman Kevin Connauton 72 2009–10
Best GAA, goalie Tyson Sexsmith 1.79 2006–07
Goalies = minimum 1500 minutes played

See also

References

  1. ^ "Michael Bublé Joins Vancouver Giants Ownership Grou". Vancouver Giants.
  2. ^ a b Walker, Ian (2009-03-05). "WHL: Kane shines in Giants' 6-2 win over Americans". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 2009-03-05. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help) [dead link]
  3. ^ a b "WHL:Vancouver Giants defeat Medicine Hat in come-from-behind win". Vancouver Sun. 2009-01-28. Retrieved 2009-01-29. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ Mackin, Bob (2006). "Four Giants face off against Russia's best". CANOE Inc. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  5. ^ "Giants Clinch Playoff Spot After Just 46 Games". OurSports Central. 2009-01-24. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
  6. ^ "Mighty Casey smashes record". Vancouver Sun. 2009-01-18. Retrieved 2009-01-18. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help) [dead link]
  7. ^ "Blum adds to glowing resumé". The Province. 2009-02-10. Retrieved 2009-02-10. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ "Giants Alumni". Vancouver Giants. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
  9. ^ "Team Roster". Vancouver Giants. [dead link]
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