Chris Mast
B.C. Division, Season Previews: 2018-19

2018-19 WHL Season Previews: Vancouver Giants

Written by Ryan Sinclair on

It’s that time of year again! We at the DubNetwork always try to come up with a new order for previews each year and this season we are going with least recent to most recent Ed Chynoweth Cups for our order of previews. They will run 2-to-3 a day until September 20th. Then on September 21st – the day the season opens – we will have our predictions.

Six teams have not won a WHL title, so we went with least recent to most recent trips to the WHL final.

Vancouver Giants (2017-18 season: 36-27-6-3-81 points, lost in the first round to the Victoria Royals)

2017-18 Recap

After a slow start to the season, the young Vancouver team found its footing and became contenders in the B.C. Division, making a return to the WHL playoffs for the first time since 2014. The Giants finished the season with 81 points, an improvement of 35 points from the year before. Offensively they were led by Ty Ronning, who netted an amazing 61 goals on the year, many of them clutch ones for his team. Much of the Giants improvement this past season was linked to the return of Tyler Benson, who after recovering from an injury played in 58 games. Goaltender David Tendeck cemented his grasp on the starting role and back-stopped his team.  Vancouver boasted strong secondary scoring with the likes of James Malm and Davis Koch, as well as import forward Milos Roman who played a nice offensive game for the Giants.

Vancouver lost a hard-fought seven game series to the Victoria Royals in round one, a series that could have gone either way. The series provided valuable experience for the young Giants team and gave them a taste of the postseason after a few years of drought.

David Tendeck stares down the puck
(photo credit: @Fedyck_Fotos)

Offseason departures

  • Ty Ronning- Aged Out: after netting 61 goals in 70 games last season, the young sniper moves on to turn pro with the New York Rangers organization.
  • Darian Skeoch- Aged Out:
  • Brennan Riddle- Aged Out:
  • Tyler Popowich- Retired
  • General Manager Glen Hanlon- left to pursue other opportunities
  • Head Coach Jason McKee- coaching change

2018-19 Vancouver Giants

Along with the losses of their overage players, the Giants made some interesting management moves with a new general manager and head coach.

Newcomers

 

Overage situation

The Giants look settled on their 20-year-old situation, opting to go with two forwards and one defenceman:

  • Davis Koch- Surrey, BC product acquired at the trade deadline last year from the Edmonton Oil Kings in a deal the saw Brendan Semchuk and Todd Scott go the other way. He looked strong in the playoffs, recording five points in seven games.
  • Jared Dmytriw- energy player who often plays against the opposition’s top lines
  • Matt Barberis- savvy veteran defenceman who plays with an edge. Barberis had career highs last season in points (30) and penalty minutes (67).

There is also the potential of Tyler Benson returning for another year, should the Edmonton Oilers decide another year of junior is the best plan for their signed prospect. However, if early indications are anything Benson looks to fully shaken the injury bug that dogged him over a couple of seasons and is impressing at the Oilers camp. His return for a 20-year-old season is unlikely as he take the next step to the pros.

Import situation

Milos Roman (’99) from Slovakia returns for a second season with Giants, after being drafted by the Calgary Flames in the 4th round, 122nd overall.   An ankle injury forced him to miss some time last season but he showed very well in the playoffs versus the Royals with six points in seven playoff games. He also represented his home country in the 2018 World Juniors.

Vancouver’s other import this season is Yannik Valenti (’00), native of Bad Tölz, Germany. Selected in the 2nd round (66th overall) of the 2017 import draft, the forward played 36 games this season with Jungadler Mannheim’s U-19 team, and posted 34 goals and 18 assists for 52 points.

 

Returning scorers

2017-18 Pts rank Player GP G A Pts
56 James Malm 72 19 47 66
79 Davis Koch 68 22 36 58
141 Dylan Plouffe 60 9 31 40

Returning goalies

Player GP GAA Sv % Record
David Tendeck 48 3.02 0.912 25-16-3-2-1
Trent Miner 9 4.20 0.885 3-4-0-0-1

Forwards

With the departure of Ronning and Benson also goes their combined 89 goals of production last season. Ronning was second in the league with 339 shots on goal, while Benson fired 232 shots. James Malm will need to carry a larger load this season and there will be offensive opportunities to be had.

Davis Koch returns for his first full season with the Giants, afters recording 58 points in 68 games last season, splitting time between Edmonton and Vancouver. Top-line minutes are expected for the Surrey, BC native Koch.

Brayden Watts will likely benefit from the added ice-time and had a nice preseason for the G-men.

Owen Hardy was invited by the Vancouver Canucks for the 2018 Young Stars Classic after posting career highs in goals and penalty minutes last season with the Giants. The 2014 2nd round bantam pick for Vancouver looks to take a bigger role this season, giving the opposing team fits.

Defense

All eyes will be on highly-touted Bowen Byram, who has been ranked as high as 5th overall for next year’s NHL draft. Bowen is on everyone’s radar as a top prospect, and the young defender will have the extra pressure of all those scouts and pundit watching his every move.  So far the skilled and quick defender from Cranbrook, British Columbia has hit every note and will be a key part of this Giants team.

Dylan Plouffe is coming off an excellent season, where he was named Defenceman of the Year for the Vancouver Giants in 2017-18 after posting nine goals and 31 assists for 40 points.

Overager Matt Barberis is the type of defencemen that every WHL team would want. Smart with the puck offensively, yet willing to hold his opponents accountable should they try to take liberties with his teammates.

Alex Kannok-Leipert played in 60 games with the team last season and showed he was extremely poised and confident with the puck, posting five goals and 16 assists for 21 points. Kannok-Leipert play caught the eye of the Washington Capitals, as they selected him in the sixth round (161st overall).

Goalies

Last season goaltender David Tendeck went from unproven starter to one of the more impressive goalies in the league, winning six consecutive games in December and finishing the season with a .912 save percentage.  With a seven game playoff series to add to his experience, along with being selected by the Arizona Coyotes in the sixth round (158th overall) in the 2018 NHL Draft, the 18-year-old’s confidence should be high.

Looking to push Tendeck for playing time is Trent Miner (’01).  Miner was selected by the Giants in the first round of the 2016 bantam draft (20th overall), and will be looking to boost his stock in advance of the upcoming NHL draft.

Outlook

After making a series of management moves and a couple of key players moving on, this seasons Giants are an interesting team.  With perennial powerhouse Kelowna looking like it may take a step back, as well as the Victoria Royals not looking exceptionally strong, the Giants are seemingly in a great position to capture the B.C. division title. It is hard to not be excited if you are a Giants fan as this team has a lot to like with a blue-chip prospect in Bowen, exceptional young talent in Sourdif and Sexsmith and key veterans the like of Barberis. Being one of the favourites in the competitve B.C. Division means there will be no easy games, but this young team may have to ability to deal with the high expectation of being the team to beat.