Gallagher no stranger to hard work
The Giants picked forward in the ninth round and he became their best scorer ever
Chad Scharff saw this Brendan Gallagher thing coming.
Scharff, the former Vancouver Giants defenceman, says that he started to believe that Gallagher had something extra special years ago. A member of that initial Giants’ 2001 bantam draft class, Scharff was part of a group back a decade or so ago that would work out with Vancouver strength and conditioning coach Ian Gallagher in Sherwood Park, Alta., in the off-season.
Gallagher’s 10-year-old son was there, and he would run through the same drills that guys six, seven and even eight years his senior were doing.
“His dad would always say, ‘If you can’t keep up, get out of the way,’” Scharff, 27, said of Brendan, now 21 and one of the go-to players with a Montreal Canadiens crew that visits the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena Saturday. “And, you know, Brendan always kept up.”
There were other things, of course, that twigged for Scharff, who had stints as both an assistant coach and trainer with the Giants before taking on his current gig as an Edmonton Oilers assistant equipment manager. Gallagher, all of 5-foot-7 and 150 pounds as a 16-year-old rookie right-winger on the Giants in 200809, was magnetically driven to the net regardless of how much bigger opposing defenceman were and “would never take no for an answer,” recalled Scharff.
UBC Thunderbirds defenceman Neil Manning, 22, a former Giants teammate of Gallagher and one of his closest friends, says he started to think GallagherhadanNHLcareeraheadof himwhenhedominatedatVancouver training camp as a 17-year-old.
For Vancouver general manager Scott Bonner, it was the end of that 2009-10 season, which was the first of three straight 40-goal campaigns with the Giants for Gallagher.
And for Boston Bruins left-winger Milan Lucic, the former Giant who still works out in the off-season alongside the junior Gallagher and under the watchful eye of the senior Gallagher, it was the 2012 world juniors, when Gallagher nearly sparked a Canadian semifinal comeback against the Russians, picking up a goal and two assists in the final 11 minutes in a 6-5 loss.
If you know a little of his story, Gallagher’s take on when he thought he had a chance to make it to the big time isn’t that surprising.
“I’ve always kind of believed I would play in the NHL from when I was a little boy and that has never changed,” said Gallagher, now 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds. “It was always my dream to play at this level and that motivates you every day to work hard to stay here.”
Gallagher isn’t quite sure how many friends and family he’ll have at Rogers Arena on Saturday, but, in that team-first fashion that Gallagher never seems to waver from, he says, “Hopefully we can win and make it a positive experience.”
Gallagher is the Giants’ career leader in goals (136) and in points (280). He’s in the conversation regarding their best-ever player, along with Lucic, Evander Kane, Gilbert Brule and Jon Blum.
It’s easy to forget that they almost didn’t draft him. Vancouver had picked owner Ron Toigo’s nephew Nolan and vice-president Dale Saip’s nephew Linden in earlier bantam drafts, and both left the team at one point due in part to the pressure that came with those connections. Nolan did return and finish his junior eligibility with the Giants, but it’s easy to guess the apprehension.
In lieu, Vancouver had planned to shy away from Gallagher during the 2007 draft. Because of his size, all teams took to waiting on him.
When he was still available in the ninth round, Bonner said, “this is ridiculous,” and called his name.
It further propelled along a unique dynamic. Ian Gallagher is abruptly honest, and even when honesty isn’t exactly coveted. He pushes players. He isn’t shy about it. You could see there being a backlash against his son from teammates and now workout partners.
It’s never been an issue, maintains Lucic, because Brendan, “works harder than everyone else.” Compliments don’t come much better than that, considering the blood and sweat Lucic has extolled to get to his spot in the NHL.
“It’s not like Brendan didn’t have arguments with Ian,” Scharff explained, laughing. “But he worked hard and was a very good player, which allowed him to have his own identity.
“He was another guy in the dressing room who wanted to be a good player and a good teammate.”