For the Northwest Giants hockey team it’s all about getting better. And that’s unwelcome news for the remaining 10 teams in the B.C. Hockey major midget league.
The seven-time regular season champion, eight if you add the results of the 2006/07 season when the Giants finished in a tie with the Cariboo Cougars for top spot, both with 61 points, is preparing for another strong season this year.
“In my view, we’re ahead from where I wanted us to be (at this point in the pre-season),” said Giants head coach Clint Thornton. “It’s nice, we’re already starting to work into systems. It’s a great start for us.”
The Giants are coming off a successful two-game set hosted at Centre Ice in Abbotsford last week, where they came away with a big win over the Northeast Chiefs and a shutout victory over league rival Greater Vancouver Canadians.
Under Thornton’s direction, the Giants have gradually moved toward a more balanced approach to the lineup.
“Each year we evaluate the skill set we have,” Thornton said, adding that this season the Giants have a number of players with the ability to advance the puck up the ice as well as win those all-important battles along the boards.
The Burnaby Winter Club-based team is also going bigger on the blue line than in past seasons, said Thornton.
Seventeen-year-old Keegan Jones, who had 11 goals and 27 points last year, will be called upon to play a more important role this year, said Thornton.
Second-year defenseman Callahan Brebner, 16, will also be expected to step in and help fill the skates of departed backliners Dante Fabbro and Ty Schultz, who carried much of the offence from the back end last season.
They’ll be helped out by last year’s affiliates Carter Stephenson on defence and forward Desi Burgard this season.
With the signing of Burnaby goalie Tavin Grant with the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League, the Giants are plugging the hole with a pair of 15-year-olds.
David Tendeck from the North Shore Winter Club and Burnaby Winter Club’s Beck Warm will share the duties in the Giants’ cage this season.
In fact, Thornton has the luxury of welcoming a number of top affilates into the squad who are already familiar with the practice routine and systems.
“They’ve been with us, they’ve practised with us and played with us,” Thornton added.
But while players come and go, one thing never changes when it comes to the Giants.
“Our focus each and every weekend is not getting ahead of ourselves,” said Thornton. “No team is taken lightly. We prepare the same every time we step on the ice. We want to send a message. (And that message is) that we dictate games.”
Selecting kids with a positive attitude is just as important as the skill they bring to the team when you’re seeking an eighth straight title, said Thornton.
“We have 20 kids who really want to be here for the Giants,” he said.
The Northwest Giants open their regular season in Nanaimo against the North Island Silvertips on Sept. 20 and 21.
The team’s first game at home is not until Oct. 12, when the Giants host the Fraser Valley T-Birds.
