A GIANT INDUCTION

(Chris Relke/Vancouver Giants)

​It has been 5,758 days since the Vancouver Giants won their first Memorial Cup championship in franchise history. The team set records and has now earned further recognition.

On Tuesday, the BC Hockey Hall of Fame announced that the 2006-07 Vancouver Giants would be the newest team inducted in its hall of fame.
On May 27, 2007 the Vancouver Giants and the Medicine Hat Tigers met in the final of the 2007 Memorial Cup tournament. The event was held at the rink on Renfrew, the Pacific Coliseum, in front of 16,000 fans. 
The Giants and Tigers had built up a heated rivalry weeks before their final meeting of the season. The Giants defeated the Chilliwack Bruins, Everett Silvertips, and Prince George Cougars on their way to the WHL Final against the Medicine Hat Tigers.
Medicine Hat won the series in seven games but as the Memorial Cup Host, the Giants still had a berth into the Memorial Cup Tournament. An unforgettable chapter of that rivalry would be written 13 days later.

Vancouver finished the year with a regular season record of 45-17-10-0. The team was run by Scott Bonner who is part of the team’s Wall of Honour and legendary WHL coach Don Hay. The G-men were led offensively by Milan Lucic with 68 points and that alternate captain also came up big for his team in the Memorial Cup game.
Giants fans have fond memories of the events that began with 16:03 remaining in the tournament’s championship game. Now hockey fans from around the province will get the chance to relive moments like ‘the shift’ from Milan Lucic. 

The Giants had a 2-1 record in the tournament before meeting up for a rematch in the finals with the Tigers. Vancouver won 3-1 and Lucic won tournament MVP. 
Milan Lucic became a full-time NHL regular with the Boston Bruins the following year as a 19-year-old. Although Lucic gets his fair share of attention from that championship he isn’t the only player who had their hockey success continue after hoisting the cup.

Ron Toigo was able to move 14 of his players onto the NHL which included an 18-year-old Evander Kane in 2009-10 with the Atlanta Thrashers and Amercian defenceman Jonathan Blum during the 2010-11 season with the Nashville Predators. A common goal of junior hockey owners and staff is to win championships and move players on to the next level. The Giants got to do both.
To this day, the 2007 Memorial Cup remains one of the most dramatic and entertaining games in the history of the event. It certainly was one of the greatest hockey celebrations that Vancouver has ever seen.
Giants Player Development Coach Brent Seabrook is also set to be inducted into the BC Hockey Hall of Fame as a player. Seabrook was a big reason why the Chicago Black Hawks were able to capture three Stanley Cups from 2010-2015. The Giants are very fortunate to have Seabrook on their team now.

The ceremony is set for July 21 at the Hall, which is at the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton. Tickets are available on the BC Hockey Hall of Fame website on March 1st.