Hopeful Hosts: Vancouver Vies for the Memorial Cup

Originally published in Prospects Hockey in 2006

By Lucas Aykroyd

There’s an old joke about the pianist who asks how to get to New York’s Carnegie Hall. The answer is: “Practice.” It’s similar with the Vancouver Giants.

Sure, they may already be the defending WHL champions and guaranteed a 2007 MasterCard Memorial Cup berth as the host team. But if you really want to find out what keeps them successful, attend a Giants practice. It’s an atmosphere of non-stop hard work. Whether working on defensive zone coverage or breakout patterns, legendary coach Don Hay just barks an order and every helmeted head out there turns his way.

“We really take pride in the way we practice,” said Hay. “In games, we have a lot of structure and discipline and a good work ethic, and that all starts in practice.”

That’ll be a recurring theme for the Giants as they prepare for the 89th Memorial Cup at Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum (May 18-27). Due to the graduation bug, this group can’t simply show up and expect to win on talent alone.

Key players who have moved on include blueliners like slick puck-mover Paul Albers and hard-hitting captain Mark Fistric, and forwards such as leading scorer Mitch Bartley and WHL playoff MVP Gilbert Brule.

“Definitely they’re a big loss,” Hay acknowledged. “But that’s the fun thing about junior hockey. Players graduate and move on, and they’re replaced with other players who become leaders within the group. The task now is to develop some of the secondary leaders into primary leaders for this year’s team.

A good candidate is forward Tim Kraus, the skillful California native who led the G-Men in scoring through February before suffering a broken jaw. He came back to post 11 points in 16 playoff games, but the 19-year-old knows he and two other draft-eligible young guns who had about 50 points apiece in 2005-06 need to elevate their games.

“Michal Repik’s a great player, an unbelievable skater, and it’s just his second year,” said Kraus. “Spencer Machacek will score more goals, because he’s willing to go to the dirty areas. We have guys who just work their tails off, and that’ll take the place of the skill we may have lost.”

On the blueline, the Giants could have the WHL’s closest answer to the one-two punch of Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer with the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. Cody Franson brings great size and offensive instincts (55 points last year), while Mikkelson’s arguably the league’s best skater when healthy. Both 19-year-old D-men could earn invites to join Canada’s 2007 World Junior team, and that would provide more valuable experience heading into the Memorial Cup.

“We try not to think about it too much,” said Franson of Memorial Cup expectations. “We’re focused on taking the right steps to go into that tournament through the front door. It would be something else to win the WHL two years in a row, and that’s what we want to accomplish.”

Solid goaltending will be a huge key, and Dustin Slade will likely carry the load for the second straight year. Known as much for his hot temper as his puck-stopping prowess in previous stints with Kamloops, Brandon, and Regina, the Penticton-born overager calmed down and posted a record 17 shutouts last year (including six in the playoffs). He’s poised to eclipse the all-time WHL mark of 21 set by Seattle’s Bryan Bridges, but Slade has other goals in mind.

“The Memorial Cup’s on top of the list,” said Slade. “Besides that, I want to get at least 40 wins. That’s the big thing for me, wins. The other stats don’t mean a lot.”

Slade has bought into Don Hay’s team-first philosophy: “I think last year’s playoff run showed our character. We went 16-2, and we never lost two games in a row. That was a big theme for us all year: we never wanted to lose two games in a row. It showed how committed guys were and how much we believed in one another.”

Of course, they didn’t get the happy ending they wanted. Earning a regular season record of 47-16-0-6 and blitzing past Prince George, Portland, Everett, and Moose Jaw in the ’06 post-season was the franchise’s finest WHL hour. But the Giants never quite found their game at the Memorial Cup, winning two games and losing three, including a 3-1 semi-finals loss to the Moncton Wildcats.

“All the guys that were there last year have the last game in the back of our minds,” said Franson. “When it’s time for the Memorial Cup, it’s going to be there still, and that’s what’s going to drive us.”

The Giants will benefit from the experience of Don Hay, who won back-to-back Memorial Cups with Kamloops in 1994 and 1995. They’ll also enjoy playing before capacity Coliseum crowds, with more than 10,000 tournament packages already sold as of October. It’ll be like the festive ambience at last year’s World Junior Championship in Vancouver.

“The World Juniors played a big role in preparing us for the Memorial Cup,” said Giants owner Ron Toigo. “There were a lot of things we learned that we rolled over into this one. As a result, we’re really well prepared.”

“Junior hockey is on a big upswing right now,” added Memorial Cup GM Stuart Ballantyne. “The growth the Giants have seen at the box office through their last three seasons has just been incredible.”

Ballantyne, who attended the ’04 tournament in Kelowna and ’06 in Moncton to pick up ideas, promises an even bigger and bolder event this year. There’ll be a huge Fan Zone open to all game ticket holders, alumni appearances from hockey heroes like Gordie Howe and Stan Smyl, and a gala concert, in addition to traditional Memorial Cup activities like the opening night celebration and golf tournament. Also watch for a merchandising campaign featuring the new Memorial Cup logo, plus special efforts to honor Canadian military veterans.

For some valuable outside hockey perspective, the Giants could turn to the likes of Trevor Linden or Corey Perry. Linden, a revered Vancouver Canucks veteran, is an honorary co-chair of the Memorial Cup Committee, and won two Cups with the Medicine Hat Tigers.

“It’s a tournament where one game can make or break you, so hopefully you peak at the right time,” said Linden. “Your second time is different because you have different players. Heading in, you have a better sense of what the hype is going to be like.”

Perry, meanwhile, won 2005 tournament MVP honors with the champion London Knights, arguably the most dominant team in CHL history. Now with Anaheim, the 21-year-old recalls the value of team togetherness during the Memorial Cup: “They put us up in a hotel and we stayed right downtown. We walked to the rink together every day and we walked back together after practice. We got to see our families after games, but that was it. You’ve got to take it game by game. You can’t look too far ahead, because if you do, you’re going to let some people down.”

At the annual IIHF World Championships, there’s a “home ice curse”: no national team has won the title in front of its own fans since 1986. Happily for the Giants, there’s no equivalent CHL jinx. Two out of the last three Memorial Cups have gone to the host team. That should be another confidence boost for this hard-working bunch.

And they’ve still got plenty of time to practice.