Giants hope Riddle answer on defence
Veteran stay-at-home blue-liner brings playoff experience and poise to Vancouver
Brennan Riddle’s story with the Vancouver Giants can be summed up in two parts.
Riddle, a rangy overage defenceman, went into Vancouver’s home encounter with the Spokane Chiefs on Wednesday with just five goals in 221 career WHL regular season games.
Yet the player picked up by the Giants in a swap just before the Jan. 10 trade deadline likely led the Giants in ice time in overtime in Vancouver’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Victoria Royals Friday at the Langley Events Centre. So, what are we getting at? Giants bench boss Jason McKee and associate coach Dean Chynoweth were keen on adding a veteran presence to bring more calm and poise to the Vancouver squad for the stretch drive and playoffs, and that led to acquiring steady hand Riddle from the Lethbridge Hurricanes for overage forward Brad Morrison.
And Chynoweth, who oversees the defenders, isn’t going to be shy about utilizing Riddle.
“There’s definitely more to the game than points. The right people know that,” said Riddle, a 6-2, 197-pound left-handed shot from Balgonie, Sask. “I’ve had pretty much the same role throughout my time in the Western League.
“I just need to play simple and be hard to play against. I need to be in the right spot defensively. Usually, that leads to good chances for the rest of our group.”
As for his deployment against Victoria, Riddle explained it this way: “The more ice time you get, the more your confidence grows.”
Riddle has been paired with Matt Barberis and Vancouver has tried to use the combination as a shutdown tandem. They saw frequent duty against Victoria’s high-scoring trio of Matthew Phillips, Tyler Soy and Dante Hannoun.
“We’ve embraced that role, playing against the more skilled forwards,” Riddle said.
Riddle gives Vancouver a second stay-at-home rearguard, along with fellow overage Darian Skeoch. Veterans Barberis and Dylan Plouffe and rookies Bowen Byram, Alex Kannok Leipert and Kaleb Bulych are all offensive-minded, puck-moving types.
Riddle also gives Vancouver some much-needed playoff experience. Vancouver’s roster has played 76 post-season games combined. Twenty-two of that comes from Riddle, who got into 20 games last spring with Lethbridge, thanks to the Hurricanes winning two rounds in seven games before falling in six to the Regina Pats in the Eastern Conference Final.
He was paired mostly with puck mover Brennan Menell, the former Giant who moved east last fall in the Skeoch trade.
“It’s a grind,” Riddle said of the post-season, something the Giants have failed to qualify for the past three springs. “You have to treat it a little bit differently. You can’t get too high on a win or too low on a loss. You have to try to look at the bigger picture.”
As for next season, Riddle is quick to say university is an option, but he didn’t rule out taking a shot at the pro ranks. He realizes a playoff run by the Giants would be helpful.
“The more exposure you get playing in big games the better,” he said.
Riddle was a Calgary Hitmen firstround pick in the 2012 WHL bantam draft, going 17th, two slots after the Giants took right-winger Ty Ronning. He was traded by Calgary to the Prince Albert Raiders on Jan. 7, 2014, along with a 2015 third-round pick, in exchange for a 2014 second-rounder and a 2015 fourth-rounder. Prince Albert moved him to Lethbridge on Oct. 1, 2016, in return for a 2018 sixth-rounder.