Giants host D-lightful contest Saturday
Moose Jaw’s Woo, a Canucks draftee, lines up against top prospect Byram in blue-line battle
As you’d might expect, a lot of Barclay Parneta’s day is being taken up lately answering questions about Bowen Byram.
“Tons of teams are calling. His stock is rising every game right now. He has an interview (with an NHL team representative) after every game practically,” Parneta, the Vancouver Giants’ general manager, said of the 17-year-old defenceman projected as an early selection in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft at Rogers Arena in June.
Byram extended his current point-scoring streak to seven games on Wednesday night, scoring two goals — including the winner — and setting up another in Vancouver’s 5-4 overtime triumph over the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash.
Byram has 14 points (6-8) in that span and is the reigning CHL player of the week.
Vancouver (27-12-2-0) has won four in a row.
The outburst has pushed Byram to 15 goals and 42 points in 41 games this season. The Cranbrook native is fifth in points among defencemen in the WHL.
As of Thursday morning, he led defenceman across the country in goals. The OHL leaders had 13, the QMJHL had 12.
Another rearguard on a roll in the WHL is Vancouver Canucks prospect Jett Woo, who happens to be coming to town with the Moose Jaw Warriors on Saturday to face the Giants at the Langley Events Centre (7 p.m., Sportsnet 650).
This is Moose Jaw’s lone trip to the LEC this regular season.
Woo, 18, who was a second-round draft pick of the Canucks last June, has eight goals and 37 points in 37 games this season. He has 14 points (3-11) in his past 12 games for Moose Jaw (23-115-2), which has a Friday visit to the Victoria Royals before their stop at the LEC.
Woo and Byram were defensive partners with Team WHL for their two-game portion of November’s CIBC Canada Russia Series, which included a game at the LEC. Hockey Canada says that the set, which also features twogame visits to OHL and QMJHL all-star squads for the Russians, helps them select players for the world junior team selection camp.
Woo had nine goals and 25 points in 44 games with Moose Jaw last season.
Byram and Woo both were left off the Team Canada tryout list. Moose Jaw defenceman Josh Brook did make the squad. He’s second in the WHL in defence scoring, thanks to his 44 points, including nine goals, in 32 games.
The top scoring blueliner in the league is another Team Canada defenceman, Ty Smith of the Spokane Chiefs. He has 48 points, including four goals, in 32 games.
Vancouver visits the Chiefs (24-13-2-2) on Friday.
Smith and Byram have a connection as well, since they were defensive partners with the Canadian Under-18 team that lost out in the quarter-finals of the world championships in Russia last April.
Sam Cosentino at Sportsnet had Byram at No. 8 in his January draft rankings, while Craig Button at TSN had him at No. 10 in his poll for this month.
Kevin Connauton has the Giants’ team records for points in season a defenceman (72) and goals (24), both set in 2009-10.
Byram, a 6-foot-1, 192pound left-handed shot, had six goals and 27 points in 60 regular season games last year as a WHL rookie. He added three goals and four assists in seven playoffs games against the Victoria Royals.