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Vancouver Giants Wiki Information
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 seven-season history. Their home rink is the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The ownership group consists of British Columbia-based businessmen Ron Toigo and Sultan Thiara, Hockey Hall of Fame member Gordie Howe, Edmonton Oilers coach Pat Quinn, and Canadian big band singer and actor Michael Bublé. [1]
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VANCOUVER GIANTS TICKETS
| EVENT | DATE | AVAILABILITY |
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| Kamloops Blazers vs. Vancouver Giants Tickets 12/27 | Dec 27, 2024
Fri, 7:00 PM |  | | Vancouver Giants vs. Kelowna Rockets Tickets 12/29 | Dec 29, 2024
Sun, 4:00 PM | | | Victoria Royals vs. Vancouver Giants Tickets 12/31 | Dec 31, 2024
Tue, 4:05 PM | | | Vancouver Giants vs. Victoria Royals Tickets 1/1 | Jan 01, 2025
Wed, 2:00 PM | | | Vancouver Giants vs. Wenatchee Wild Tickets 1/3 | Jan 03, 2025
Fri, 7:00 PM | |
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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. [
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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.[ 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.
]
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 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. [2] 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 by 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. [3] Individually, overager Casey Pierro-Zabotel broke the team marks for single-season assists and points, surpassing Darren Lynch and Gilbert Brule respectively, [4] [5] while second-year forward Evander Kane bettered Adam Courchaine's single-season goals total. [6] 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
- 2007 – Champions
- 2006 – 3rd place
;Ed Chynoweth Cup
Western Hockey League playoff champion
- 2007 – Finalists
- 2006 – Champions
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;Western Conference Champions
;B.C. Division Champions
First place in regular season
- 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09
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Individual
WHL
;Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy
Rookie of the year
;Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy
Defenceman of the year
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;WHL Plus-Minus Award
Regular season plus-minus leader
- Paul Albers - 2005–06
- Jonathon Blum - 2006–07
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;Bob Clarke Trophy
Regular season scoring champion
- Casey Pierro-Zabotel - 2008–09
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CHL
;Ed Chynoweth Trophy
Memorial Cup scoring leader
- Gilbert Brule - 2006
- Michal Repik - 2007
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;Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy
Memorial Cup MVP
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;CHL Defenceman of the Year
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Players
NHL alumni
- Gilbert Brulé
- Triston Grant
- Brett Festerling
- Mark Fistric
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- Andrew Ladd
- Milan Lucic
- Spencer Machacek
- Kenndal McArdle
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- Andrej Meszaros
- Brendan Mikkelson
- Marek Schwarz
- Michal Repik
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NHL draftees
Note that these are the players who were drafted into the NHL while playing for the Vancouver Giants
- Marian Havel (Drafted by Washington Capitals in 2002; sixth round, 179th overall)
- Robin Kovar (Drafted by Edmonton Oilers in 2002; fourth round, 123rd overall
- Adam Courchaine (Drafted by Minnesota Wild in 2003; seventh round, 219th overall)
- Triston Grant (Drafted by Philadelphia Flyers in 2004; ninth round, 286th overall)
- Mark Fistric (Drafted by Dallas Stars in 2004; first round, 28th overall)
- Gilbert Brule (Drafted by Columbus Blue Jackets in 2005; first round, 6th overall)
- Cody Franson (Drafted by Nashville Predators in 2005; third round, 79th overall)
- J. D. Watt (Drafted by Calgary Flames in 2005; fourth round, 111nd overall)
- Milan Lucic (Drafted by Boston Bruins in 2006; second round, 50th overall)
- Jonathon Blum (Drafted by Nashville Predators in 2007; first round, 23rd overall)
- Michal Repik (Drafted by Florida Panthers in 2007; second round, 40th overall)
- Spencer Machacek (Drafted by Atlanta Thrashers in 2007; third round, 67th overall)
- Tyson Sexsmith (Drafted by San Jose Sharks in 2007; third round, 91st overall)
- Lance Bouma (Drafted by Calgary Flames in 2008; third round, 78th overall)
- James Wright (Drafted by Tampa Bay Lightning in 2008; fourth round, 117th overall)
- Brent Regner (Drafted by Columbus Blue Jackets in 2008; fifth round, 137th overall)
- Evander Kane (Drafted by Atlanta Thrashers in 2009; first round, 4th overall)
Franchise scoring leaders
These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history as of 2008–09. [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
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| Mitch Bartley
| LW
| 280
| 107
| 107
| 214
| 0.76
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| Jonathon Blum*
| D
| 248
| 49
| 155
| 204
| 0.82
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| Darren Lynch
| RW
| 213
| 81
| 121
| 202
| 0.95
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| Gilbert Brule
| C
| 165
| 87
| 98
| 185
| 1.12
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| Spencer Machacek
| RW
| 203
| 77
| 91
| 168
| 0.83
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| Michal Repik
| LW
| 176
| 75
| 93
| 168
| 0.96
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| Tim Kraus
| C
| 244
| 60
| 107
| 167
| 0.68
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| Casey Pierro-Zabotel*
| C
| 121
| 55
| 108
| 163
| 1.35
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| Evander Kane*
| C
| 134
| 73
| 65
| 138
| 1.03
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Current roster
Updated March 23,2009. [9]
| Goaltenders
|
| #
|
| align=left
| Player
| Catches
| Height
| Weight
| DOB
| Place of birth
|
| 29
|
| Tyson Sexsmith
| L
| 6'0
| 204
| March 19, 1989
| Priddis, Alberta
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| 33
|
| Jamie Tucker
| L
| 5'11
| 160
| April 18, 1991
| Trail, British Columbia
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| Defencemen
|
| #
|
| align=left
| Player
| Shoots
| Height
| Weight
| DOB
| Place of birth
|
| 4
|
| Mike Berube
| L
| 6'0
| 200
| May 20, 1988
| Edmonton, Alberta
|
| 5
|
| Craig Schira
| R
| 6'0
| 196
| April 21, 1988
| Spiritwood, Saskatchewan
|
| 7
|
| Jonathon Blum
| R
| 6'1
| 170
| January 30, 1989
| Rancho Santa Margarita, California
|
| 8
|
| Neil Manning
| L
| 5'11
| 170
| May 12, 1991
| Nanaimo, British Columbia
|
| 25
|
| Nick Ross
| L
| 6'1
| 194
| February 10, 1989
| Lethbridge, Alberta
|
| 28
|
| Brent Regner
| R
| 5'10
| 182
| May 17, 1989
| Newbrook, Alberta
|
| 38
|
| Bronson Maschmeyer
| R
| 5'9
| 170
| April 29, 1991
| Bruderheim, Alberta
|
| Forwards
|
| #
|
| align=left
| Player
| Shoots
| Height
| Weight
| DOB
| Place of birth
|
| 9
|
| Evander Kane
| L
| 6'1
| 185
| August 2, 1991
| Vancouver, British Columbia
|
| 10
|
| Lance Bouma
| L
| 6'1
| 212
| March 25, 1990
| Provost, Alberta
|
| 11
|
| Brendan Gallagher
| R
| 5'6
| 150
| June 5, 1992
| Delta, British Columbia
|
| 12
|
| Alex Rodgers
| L
| 5'11
| 175
| July 21, 1989
| Salmon Arm, British Columbia
|
| 14
|
| Craig Cunningham
| L
| 5'10
| 184
| September 3, 1990
| Trail, British Columbia
|
| 16
|
| Mike Piluso
| L
| 5'10
| 176
| October 9, 1990
| Maple Ridge, British Columbia
|
| 17
|
| Casey Pierro-Zabotel
| L
| 6'2
| 206
| November 8, 1988
| Kamloops, British Columbia
|
| 18
|
| Mikhail Fisenko
| L
| 6'1
| 191
| June 1, 1990
| Magnitogorsk, Russia
|
| 19
|
| James Wright
| L
| 6'3
| 188
| March 24, 1990
| Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
|
| 20
|
| Adam Basford
| L
| 6'2
| 160
| March 6, 1989
| Richmond, British Columbia
|
| 21
|
| Gary Nunn
| R
| 5'8
| 175
| November 10, 1989
| Victoria, British Columbia
|
| 22
|
| James Henry
| R
| 5'9
| 170
| March 11, 1991
| Winnipeg, Manitoba
|
| 23
|
| Andrej Kudrna
| L
| 6'2
| 195
| May 11, 1991
| Nove Zamky, Slovakia
|
| 26
|
| J. T. Barnett
| L
| 5'11
| 180
| August 21, 1992
| Scottsdale, Arizona
|
| 27
|
| Todd Kennedy
| R
| 6'3
| 215
| July 4, 1990
| Kamloops, British Columbia
|
| 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
|
| Team Records for a single season
|
| Statistic
| Total
| Season
|
| Most points
| 119
| 2008–09
|
| Most wins
| 57
| 2008–09
|
| Most goals for
| 319
| 2008–09
|
| Least goals for
| 198
| 2001–02
|
| Least goals against
| 143
| 2006–07
|
| Most goals against
| 365
| 2001–02
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| 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
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| Most points, rookie
| Gilbert Brule
| 60
| 2003–04
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| Most points, defenceman
| Brent Regner
| 67
| 2008–09
|
| Best GAA, goalie
| Tyson Sexsmith
| 1.79
| 2006–07
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| Goalies = minimum 1500 minutes played
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