Tag Archives: Vancouver Giants

Payton Lee shines in back-to-back losses

Vancouver has struggled this season, but 16-year-old Payton Lee has kept them close the last couple of games. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

For the second game in a row, Payton Lee was the best player in a Vancouver Giants uniform. And for the second game in a row, the 16-year-old goaltender from Cranbrook earned a big fat regulation loss for his efforts, as his teammates were unable to put together much of anything at the other end of the ice. Lee stopped 29 of 31 shots, but his Giants left Kamloops on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline.

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Episode 48 – What Lockout?


Chris wears a shirt that is destined for ugly jersey greatness, offers to help cheer your opponents into oblivion, and makes an inappropriate comment about his ancestors. Jason is his usual smug, snickering self, but he scores a few points for adding some of Bruno Mars “Locked Out of Heaven” into the opening of the podcast.

  • Introduction
  • Locked Out of Heaven by Bruno Mars
  • Sofa Surfer Girl by the Orchid Highway
  • Somebody Approved This: Grizzly Adams Halloween Jersey
  • We don’t really miss NHL hockey all that much
  • Taylor Hall on AHL hockey
  • Abbotsford Heat still don’t get attendance love
  • Jason strokes his own photo ego
  • Time for a Change by the Orchid Highway

Brossoit outshines Makarov (or, “Nail who?”)


Everyone wanted to talk about Nail Yakupov. And don’t get me wrong, the #1 overall pick in the 2012 draft was every bit as dangerous as his billing. He’s explosive with the puck, and hungry for it, each and every single time he steps on the ice. There’s little doubt that if the NHL ever decides to play again, the Edmonton Oilers will cash in on this fellow, yet another young gun to add to their Halls and Eberles and Nugent-Hopkinseseses. Eses.

But the show on Wednesday didn’t belong to this superstar in waiting. It belonged to the goaltenders, who backstopped their teams to a scoreless draw after 60 minutes of fast, tough, hard-fought hockey in Vancouver.

So here’s to you, Laurent Brossoit and Andrei Makarov. You made great saves when you had to — Brossoit in the first 35 minutes, and Makarov in the final 25 — and you completely deserved the Player of the Game honours.

All photos are by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head. All rights reserved.

Laurent Brossoit makes a pad save on Mozer in the second period of Game 5 of the Russia-CHL Super Series in Vancouver. The goaltenders were perfect through 60 minutes, with the WHL stars winning in a shootout. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

More pictures after the bump.

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Winterhawks shred Giants

The good news: the offensively-challenged Vancouver Giants scored five times against the stingiest defense in the WHL. The bad news: the Portland Winterhawks scored nine goals themselves, catapulting Vancouver into the league’s worst goals-against position and embarrassing the G-men in front of 7,318 fans who packed the Pacific Coliseum on Friday night.

Portland Winterhawks captain Troy Rutkowski got an assist, but somehow managed to notch a -3 on the night, as his team trounced the Vancouver Giants 9-5 in WHL action November 9. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Portland Winterhawks captain Troy Rutkowski got an assist, but somehow managed to notch a -3 on the night, as his team trounced the Vancouver Giants 9-5 in WHL action November 9. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

It’s not an altogether surprising result: the Winterhawks have lost just three games in regulation this year, and sit tied for second in the W with the Eastern Conference-leading Calgary Hitmen. They came into the game riding a nine-game win streak, where the Giants were considering a 3-3 split in their last six games a moral victory. On paper, then, Portland should win this game.

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Giants trade Musil to Edmonton

After more than three years in Vancouver, David Musil has celebrated his last goal in a Giants uniform. He was traded to the Edmonton Oil Kings on Hallowe’en day. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

Hallowe’en brought tricks and treats to the Vancouver Giants this year. The treat: the G-men finally got some points on the road — a dramatic 4-3 shoot-out win over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. The two points came just days after beating the Victoria Royals for the first time in four tries this season.

The trick: the week also saw them move their top defenseman, David Musil, to the Edmonton Oil Kings for Mason Geertsen and a first-round pick in next year’s bantam draft. Musil has been one of the few consistent performers so far this year, collecting 8 points in 14 games and managing a respectable zero in the +/- department on a team that has far more players in the red than in the black.

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Vancouver anything but giant on the power play

Sixteen-year-old Payton Lee collected his first win of the season in a 4-1 win over the Victoria Royals on October 26. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

After 12 games, the Vancouver Giants are off to what you might call a rough start. At 3-9, the team sits in the cellar of the Western Hockey League standings, and has the league’s second-worst goals for total. Goaltending has troubled the G-men, certainly, with third-year player Liam Liston already doing his best Dan Cloutier impression to earn a spot on the bench behind a couple of 16-year-olds. But it’s another set of stats that is probably to blame for Vancouver’s slow start: special teams.

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Giants snap the streak

Third-year forward Marek Tvrdon finally scored his first goal of the season the other night. With that monkey off his back, he relaxed his way to a four-point night, including a hat trick, to lead the Giants to a 4-1 win over the visiting Victoria Royals. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

Coming into Friday night’s hockey game, a lot of people were talking about #17 on the Victoria Royals roster. And deservedly so. With 18 points in 14 games, Alex Gogolev is one of the top scorers in the WHL. His fluid skating style and flashy puckhandling make him a threat every time he steps on the ice.

But it was the Vancouver Giants #17 who stole the show this night. Marek Tvrdon quadrupled his goal total for the season, notching a hat trick and adding an assist to help the Giants to just their third win of the season.

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Giants tame Tigers

Yeah, yeah, I know: my headline is weak. Fine. YOU write the next one.

by Jason Kurylo

When you watch the Vancouver Giants from afar — or any other junior hockey team, for that matter — it’s hard to remember that a lot of these players are still teenagers. They play a fast game, they skate relentlessly, and more often than not, WHL teams pound the bejesus out of each other out there. It’s only when you sit close to the glass and see the peach fuzz and acne up close that it hits home.

Third-year forward Marek Tvrdon (#17, right) is still looking for his first goal of the campaign, but don’t let the baby face fool you. This 19-year-old is 6’2″ and 217 pounds, and skates faster than an appropriate metaphor for quickness. He was good for 74 points in 60 games last year, and this night he collected two assists as his Giants shellacked the Medicine Hat Tigers 6-1. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head (yeah, I know it’s not perfect, but Tvrdon’s in focus — do you have any idea how hard it is to shoot action photos of hockey?).

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Vancouver Giants record first win of the season

Tyler Fuhr took over the third period against the woeful Everett Silvertips when Liam Liston allowed four goals on just 13 shots. Photo shamelessly stolen from The Province newspaper online.

The Vancouver Giants got their first two points of the season Sunday, a 3-2 victory over the visiting Spokane Chiefs, thanks in large part to rookie netminder Tyler Fuhr.He allowed two goals on 15 shots — both inside-out dekes on the PK that he can hardly be faulted for — but stopped every puck he should have. Tonight, Fuhr even made a save or two he probably shouldn’t have, including a dramatic pad stop with seconds left to preserve the win. That’s something the Giants haven’t seen early this season, as Liam Liston has posted a disappointing .774 save percentage in his three starts thus far.

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Victoria Royals 2012-13 home opener

At the Victoria Royals home opener Adrian Charlie met a real estate agent by the name of Mark Donnelly. One can only assume he doesn’t wear the cummerbund during open houses. Anyway, this Donnelly fella apparently sings anthems for a hockey team or two in his spare time. Photo courtesy of Adrian Charlie.

Well, I was wrong. After letting in 5 goals on 17 shots in Friday’s opening night loss at the Pacific Coliseum, Giants goaltender Liam Liston did not ride the bench in the next day’s rematch. He performed better, but got the same result: a loss to the Victoria Royals. Pucked in the Head’s new friend Adrian Charlie (@Adrian_Charlie on the Twitter) was in the building, and offers this game recap:

Victoria Royals 3, Vancouver Giants 2 – September 22, 2012

by Adrian Charlie

The Victoria Royals played host to the Vancouver Giants on Saturday in the team’s home opener. The Royals carried momentum going into their second game of the season after defeating those same Giants 6-4 the night before.