G-men hunting for the cup

(Vancouver Giants/Website)

The NHL Playoffs are now upon us!

Every team has aspirations of hoisting Lord Stanley’s Cup, but only 16 teams get the chance to play for it. With the competition cut in half and the facial hair starting to appear, the spotlight and glory are back up for grabs. 

Over 60 former WHL players are participating in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Each of the 16 NHL Clubs participating in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs will be represented by at least one former WHL player.

Four former Vancouver Giants are competing in this year’s postseason. Jordan Martinook with the Carolina Hurricanes, Evander Kane and Brett Kulak with the Edmonton Oilers, and last year’s Stanley Cup champion, Bowen Byram, with the Colorado Avalanche.
​
Jordan Martinook (Carolina Hurricanes)

(Vancouver Giants/Twitter)

It’s not uncommon for players in the WHL to finish a season with very few points one season and to go on to put up a significant number of points the following year. Jordan Martinook’s two-year stint with the Vancouver Giants is an excellent example. Martinook will be widely remembered for his massive statistical bump in his second season with the Giants. The product of Brandon, Manitoba, recorded 11 goals as a rookie in 2010-11. A season later, he scored 40 and was eventually drafted by the Arizona Coyotes in the second round of the NHL Draft. This postseason run is Martinook’s fifth in his career with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Martinook, 30, recorded 34 points in 82 games with Carolina this season. He was the Carolina PHWA nominee for the NHL’s Masterton Trophy, which is given annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey. The forward was also one of six Hurricanes to play all 82 games, albeit while often playing with bumps and bruises during the year.

On top of the Masterton Trophy nomination, Martinook also set new career highs in assists, even-strength points (32), and plus/minus (+7). The left-shot forward also recorded his second career hat trick against the St. Louis Blues on December 1. He reached the 30-point plateau for the first time in his NHL career, becoming one of just five players in franchise history to post their first-ever 30-point season after age 30. Martinook has 165 points in 559 career games with Arizona and Carolina since 2014.

Carolina (52-21-9) will play the New York Islanders (42-31-9).

Evander Kane and Brett Kulak (Edmonton Oilers)
​
The Edmonton Oilers are the only NHL team featuring two former G-men, making them a popular choice to cheer for amongst Giants fans. 

(Evander Kane/Twitter)

One of the most popular players to ever play with the Vancouver Giants is Evander Kane.

​The left-shot forward totalled 134 games with the Giants allowing him to put up 138 points since making his WHL debut on December 13, 2006, against the Seattle Thunderbirds. Kane’s talent has allowed him to put up 302 goals and 271 assists for 573 points in 853 games. Evander Kane finished the year two points shy of a 30-point campaign, despite only playing half the season due to injury. The 2022-23 season is Kane’s 15th in the NHL and this season’s playoffs are just his fourth of his career. The BC boy had a solid playoff push last year picking up 17 points in 15 games aiding the Oilers to the third round of the playoffs.

​Edmonton would end up losing to Bowen Byram and the Colorado Avalanche who would eventually win the Stanley Cup.

(Vancouver Giants/Twitter)

Brett Kulak is in his second season with his hometown NHL team and is now gearing up for his fourth stint in the postseason.

​Kulak made the playoffs twice as a Hab and has now matched his postseason campaigns as an Oiler. Kulak played three full seasons with the Giants from 2011-2014, and for his efforts, he was selected by the Calgary Flames in Round 4 of the 2012 draft. The left-shot defenceman was one of five players that played in all 82 games this season which is the first time he has done that in his career. Kulak also set a career-high in points with 3 goals and 17 assists for 20 points.

Edmonton (50-23-9) will play the Los Angeles Kings (47-25-10).
​
Bowen Byram (Colorado Avalanche)

(Photo credit: Vancouver Giants)

The two-time reigning MVP of the Vancouver Giants is hunting for a second spot on the cup after earning the Stanley Cup in his first-ever postseason.

​Since joining the Giants full-time in 2017-18, the Cranbrook, BC, native re-wrote the team’s history books in the years to come. Byram became the first-ever defenceman to lead the WHL playoffs in scoring (2019). He also set a new single-season WHL record for most overtime goals in a season (6 – 2019), to go along with a new single-season record for goals by a Giants d-man (26) which also occurred that same season. 

Byram made his NHL debut on January 21 during the 2020-2021 season and was instrumental for the Avalanche in their cup run last year. In 91 NHL appearances he has managed 43 points in 91 games. Byram was only able to suit up in 42 games this season, but will be heavily relied on in the playoffs.

Colorado (51-24-7) will play the Seattle Kraken (46-28-8).