SPORTS GIANT YEAR [ BY JOE LEARY ] [PHOTOS: DAVE HAMILTON] Standing
barely 5’9”, Brendan Gallagher attracted little notice among hockey types for his physical dimensions. But with the inherent skill, scoring
prowess and steely determination that he displayed on the ice, Gallagher clearly outper- formed expectations following a record-setting season to close out his WHL career with the Vancouver Giants. Now, expectations remain high as the team captain looks ahead to the ‘bigs’, having been selected in the fifth round (147th overall) by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2010 NHL draft. After signing a three-year entry deal, the
twenty-year-old right winger will again attend the Canadiens training camp this upcoming season, having previously made a favourable impression—remaining long enough last year to play a handful of pre-season contests. “My goal is to play for the Montreal Cana- diens,” he says. “It’s definitely not going to be easy, because they have a lot of good pros- pects and guys I’ll have to compete with for the job—and I have three years until they have to make another decision on me. Last time I was able to stick around and played five exhibition games. Tey were huge for me in learning the NHL game, learning the
little things
you
need to do to be successful
at that level and playing against NHL talent. Every time you’re
in front of them you want to
impress them.” In his four years with the Giants, ‘im-
press them’ is what Gallagher has done every game—and his legacy as the team’s all-time leading goal scorer and point- getter will be tough to match. Despite the personal highs, Gallagher
remains all about the team. “Te records are pretty special, but I’m fully aware that a lot of people have helped me and I didn’t get those by myself. It’s time to look back at all the people that helped and be thankful. Coach Don Hay has done a really good job since I came here at sixteen years old; so have all the assistant coach- es that I’ve had and the players that I’ve played with—there’s been a lot of
40 VANCOUVER VIEW June 2012
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