The Vancouver Giants are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Langley, British Columbia, and playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL). Founded in 2001, the Giants won the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions in 2006 and the Memorial Cup as Canadian junior champions in 2007. The team was based in the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, the former arena of the National Hockey League's Vancouver Canucks, until moving to the Langley Events Centre in 2016.
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History
British Columbia-based businessman Ron Toigo was granted a WHL expansion franchise for the city of Vancouver ahead of the 2001–02 season. In the following years, the club's ownership group would grow to include Sultan Thiara, former Vancouver Canucks head coach Pat Quinn, the estate of Hockey Hall of Fame member Gordie Howe, and singer Michael Bublé. The team was first based out of Pacific Coliseum, the former Canucks arena in east Vancouver; in 2016, after 15 seasons, the team moved to the Langley Events Centre.
After a dismal inaugural season, typical for an expansion team, that saw the Giants win only 13 games, the team rapidly improved. In 2002, the Giants selected Gilbert Brule first overall in the WHL Bantam Draft—Brule would go on to become the team's first major star player, beginning with winning the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as the WHL's rookie of the year in 2004. That season, the team won its first playoff round, defeating the Kamloops Blazers before losing to the Everett Silvertips in the second round. Along with the Giants' improving play, the 2004–05 NHL lockout led to a boost in attendance for the club—nearly 9,000 fans attended the team's season-opener, and the team averaged 8,400 spectators that season; Toigo later stated that the lockout was a definite factor in "putting us on the map". The Giants capitalized by putting together a string of successful seasons that saw the team capture five consecutive B.C. Division titles between 2005 and 2010.
The run of success began with the hiring of former NHL coach Don Hay as head coach, replacing Dean Evason. Then, in 2005, general manager Scott Bonner acquired a number of key players including Kenndal McArdle, Wacey Rabbit, and goaltender Dustin Slade, who, along with Brule, would lead the team to its first championship. In 2006, the Giants captured their first league championship, defeating the Moose Jaw Warriors in the league final in four games, with Brule earning most valuable player honours. The win advanced the Giants to their first Memorial Cup tournament, in which they were eliminated in the semifinal by the host Moncton Wildcats. Despite the loss, Brule recorded 12 points in the tournament, the highest total in the tournament since 1997 and enough to secure the Ed Chynoweth Trophy as the leading scorer.
With the breakthrough of second-year forward Milan Lucic helping to make up for the off-season loss of Brule, the Giants returned to the WHL championship series in 2007 in a playoff run that also featured the debut of future star Evander Kane. In the final, they faced the Medicine Hat Tigers, narrowly losing the series in the second overtime period of game seven. However, the Giants were selected to host the 2007 Memorial Cup, which secured them a berth in the tournament despite their championship series defeat. The Giants secured a spot in the tournament final with an 8–1 semifinal win over the Plymouth Whalers, setting up a rematch with the Tigers. In the final, the Giants avenged their WHL title defeat with a 3–1 victory over the Tigers to secure the team's first Memorial Cup championship. Lucic was named tournament MVP. In 2023, the 2007 Giants team was inducted into the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame.
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
Championship history
WHL Championship series
2005–06: Win, 4–0 vs Moose Jaw Warriors
2006–07: Loss, 3–4 vs Medicine Hat Tigers
2018–19: Loss, 3–4 vs Prince Albert Raiders
Memorial Cup finals
2007: Win, 3–1 vs Medicine Hat Tigers
Players
NHL alumni
List of National Hockey League (NHL) alumni:
Ring of Honour
List of players on the team's Ring of Honour:
Brett Festerling (inducted on December 7, 2010)
Andrej Meszaros (inducted on December 27, 2010)
Mark Fistric (inducted on January 23, 2011)
Gilbert Brule (inducted on January 28, 2011)
Milan Lucic (inducted on February 25, 2011)
Cody Franson (inducted on February 17, 2012)
Evander Kane (inducted on March 7, 2012)
Brendan Gallagher (inducted on February 15, 2014)
Lance Bouma (inducted on November 20, 2015)
Craig Cunningham (inducted on December 2, 2018)
NHL first round draft picks
List of first round selections in the NHL entry draft:
Team records
Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; * = current Giants player
Awards
Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy
Coach of the Year
Don Hay – 2008–09