Sourdif’s return means Giants will finally be at full strength
Offence to get stiff test against strong Silvertips defensive squad on Friday
It’s going to be interesting to see what a Vancouver Giants offence with both Justin Sourdif and Cole Shepard looks like.
Giants coach Michael Dyck made it sound Wednesday like right-winger Sourdif was going to be in the lineup to face the Everett Silvertips Friday (7:30 p.m., Spice 1200) at the Langley Events Centre after missing two games with a leg injury. Those games happened to be the first two of the season for left-winger Shepard, who had off-season hip surgery and was one of the key summer additions.
Sourdif and Shepard, both 17, are two of the more dynamic forwards on the Giants (7-7-0-0) and Vancouver is a club that has had its problems scoring this season.
As it happens, playing Everett (83-0-0) is as good a gauge for finding out what your attack is capable of as there is in the WHL. Silvertips netminder Dustin Wolf led the 22team loop in goals-against average (1.69) in the 2018-19 regular season and comes into Friday fourth (1.73) in the circuit this season and boasting a 6-3-0-0 record and a .945 save percentage.
“You play against a team like Everett, they’re not going to let you play on the perimeter and score,” Dyck said. “You have to get to the dirty, hard areas and pay a price to score. Does our group understand it? They understand it. But there’s a difference between understanding and doing. Are they willing to do it?
“Everett never changes the way they play. They play a very good team game. They play a heavy game and they make you earn everything you get. There are no gifts.”
Sourdif and Shepard were linemates at times for the Delta Hockey Academy bantam team in 2016-17. Vancouver chose Sourdif with the No. 3 overall pick in the WHL bantam draft that off-season, then selected Shepard with a second-round choice, No. 33 overall.
They also were on the same Canada Red team at the World Under-17
Hockey Challenge in New Brunswick last November.
Dyck could put Sourdif and Shepard together on a forward unit “maybe at some point.”
“We’re going to play with a number of different combinations,” he continued.
Vancouver defenceman Bowen Byram turned in his best game of the season in Saturday’s 4-3 shootout win over the Swift Current Broncos, dominating all over the ice. Shepard was Vancouver’s next best player in what was his season debut. He had scoring chances galore, utilizing his speed to get open, and wound up with a goal in regulation and then another in the shootout.
He wasn’t as noticeable in Sunday’s 3-1 loss to the Victoria Royals, but there were still moments when his skating shone through.
Shepard, who hails from West Vancouver, committed to Harvard University before signing with the Giants last summer. He had seven goals and 24 points in 53 regular-season games last season with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees.
Meanwhile, Sourdif has six goals and 12 points in 12 games this season. He left Vancouver’s 6-0 loss to the Kamloops Blazers on Friday after taking a hit from Blazers forward Zane Franklin. Sourdif put up 23 goals and 46 points in 64 regular-season games last year and is getting buzz as a possible first-round pick in next summer’s NHL draft.
“He’s a dynamic player,” Dyck said of Sourdif. “When he gets opportunities, he can finish them. But he’s going to have to get to those areas against Everett just like everybody else.”
The Giants are also hosting the Prince George Cougars on Sunday as part of a stretch that sees them play six of eight at the Langley Events Centre. That will offer Vancouver the practice time it wasn’t able to get when it was playing 10 of its first 12 games of the season on the road.
“I’m happy to get back into that routine,” Dyck said.
The Giants went 2-2-0-0 against the Silvertips last season, but they’re 4-11-0-1 versus Everett over the last five years.
The Silvertips have won four straight games, including the last three with Cole Fonstad, 19, the left-winger they landed in a trade with the Prince Albert Raiders. The Raiders received a player and three draft picks in the deal. Fonstad has one goal and six points with Everett. He was a 2018 fifthround selection of the Montreal Canadiens.
Vancouver has had an interest in Fonstad. The Giants are looking to add some older forwards.