Source : o.canada.com
National Hockey League rookie of the year candidate Brendan Gallagher made many fans in Vancouver with his tenacious and fearless play for the Giants during his four seasons in the Western Hockey League.
Now he is likely going to pick up a few more admirers with his declaration of which team he favours, or doesn’t favour, in this year’s Stanley Cup Final. So who’s it going to be? Chicago Blackhawks or Boston Bruins? Western Conference versus Eastern Conference?
“I don’t want to see Boston win,” stated Gallagher, the Montreal Canadiens’ dynamic right-winger and Calder Trophy finalist along with Florida’s Jonathan Huberdeau and the Blackhawks’ Brandon Saad. The winner will be announced Saturday before Game 2 of the Cup Final.
Gallagher’s reason to oppose the Bruins, he explained, is based solely on the bitter Boston-Montreal rivalry. It’s nothing personal against former Giant and current Bruins star Milan Lucic, an off-season workout partner. In fact, Gallagher wishes “Lootch” all the best in everything but winning another Cup.
“I mean, I’m happy for Lootch and I’m glad he’s doing well,” Gallagher said. “But I just don’t want to see Boston win.”
Imagine how hockey fans in Vancouver feel. They dislike the Blackhawks because of the indignities that Dave Bolland and Duncan Keith have inflicted upon the Canucks in general, and Daniel Sedin in particular. But they seem to dislike the Bruins even more for swiping the Cup from under Canuck noses two years ago.
“Well, choosing between Boston and Chicago, that’s a tough one for people in Vancouver,” chuckled Gallagher, an Edmonton native who moved to Delta at age 12 when his father Ian was hired by the Giants to be their strength and conditioning coach.
Now 21, Gallagher became a darling in Montreal during the lockout-shortened season. He scored 15 goals in 44 games, just one behind Habs team leader Max Pacioretty. He scored twice more in five playoff games.
As a rookie, Gallagher was second in the league in shots (117), second in goals (tied), fourth in points (28) and fifth in plus-minus (plus-10). But it was his go-to-the-net style, one honed with the Giants, that endeared him to Hab fans and others around the league.
Former Canuck coach Alain Vigneault even made reference to Gallagher’s courage during one of his sessions with Vancouver reporters, sending an obvious message to his own players that if Gallagher, at 5-foot-8 and 180 pounds, could go to the net — and stay there — anybody could. It was just a matter of will.
“Yeah, I heard about that,” Gallagher said.
“Obviously it’s cool to hear it from another coach in the league, a coach who I have a lot of respect for. What he did in Vancouver with that team was very impressive. So it was definitely cool. Going to the net is the way I have to play and I was able to find ways to do that regardless of who I was playing against.”
Gallagher’s season with the Habs began inauspiciously. He was a healthy scratch for the season opener despite spending the lockout playing for the American Hockey League‘s Hamilton Bulldogs. He then dressed for Game 2 and became an immediate regular. He did miss another three games because of concussion-like symptoms (Luke Schenn hit) but never again sat out when healthy.
“When I didn’t play the first game, I understood why,” he said. “I understood the coach’s decision and that you just have to wait your turn. This is the National Hockey League. There are only so many jobs and so many opportunities. I just told myself that when I got my chance to go in the lineup, I was going to play my best hockey.
“I was able to find ways to contribute some nights and other nights were tougher, for sure. But you learn a lot, you learn every game and, as the season went on, I continued to find out different things about my opponent and it helped.”
Unlike some Calder Trophy candidates, Gallagher was never a can’t-miss guy. The Giants took him in the ninth round of the 2007 WHL bantam draft while the Habs waited until the fifth round, 147th overall, to grab him in the 2010 NHL entry draft. There were obviously a lot of players with a lot more promise.
“After the lockout ended, I didn’t really know what to expect,” Gallagher said. “I just went in there with the attitude I was going to earn every shift I got and try to do what the coaches wanted. I thought if you do enough good things, they’ll keep you around.”
Gallagher is definitely a keeper now. Perhaps even with a Calder Trophy.
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