How lucky are Langley hockey fans?
Consider this — when rumours first began circulating that the Vancouver Giants were considering relocating after 15 years in east Vancouver at the Pacific Coliseum, the folks in Abbotsford naturally saw their empty arena, the Abbotsford Centre, as the perfect fit.
Online comments noted that the 7,000-seat arena would be perfect for the Western Hockey League’s Vancouver Giants, who were struggling with attendance and were playing in a much larger than necessary Coliseum.
Surrey wanted the team as well, but with no rink — and no one willing to step up and fund the construction costs of a venue — the Giants chose Langley and the Langley Events Centre.
Junior A hockey has long been successful in Langley, with the Lords, Thunder, Hornets, Chiefs and Rivermen bringing various degrees of success to town.
And the Rivermen are still in town, now playing out of the newly refurbished George Preston Recreation Centre, which is coincidentally the first home of junior hockey in Langley.
And the BCHL is a fantastic league itself — the league produced three first round National Hockey League draft picks in June, including Langley’s Dennis Cholowski —but players are typically only here for two, maybe three seasons, before they depart for the U.S. and whichever NCAA Division 1 scholarship they have earned.
But the Western Hockey League and the major junior level Giants are another brand of hockey and offer a different route for NHL aspirations.
When the 2015/16 NHL — the top level in the world — season opened, 146 former WHL players were on opening day rosters for the 30 NHL clubs.
That equates to one out of every five NHL players having come this route through the WHL.
Leading the way were the Vancouver Canucks, with nine WHL alum on their 23- person roster.
Another 34 WHL players were selected in the last NHL draft, including two from the Giants: Tyler Benson to the Edmonton Oilers and Ty Ronning to the New York Rangers.
Both players spent this past weekend at their respective NHL teams’ rookie camps.
That brings the number to 27 Giants who have been drafted to the NHL over Vancouver’s first 15 seasons. Several of those are still playing in the NHL, with Milan Lucic (Edmonton), Brendan Gallagher (Montreal), Lance Bouma (Calgary), Evander Kane (Buffalo) and Cody Franson (Buffalo) getting set for their respective training camps.
And now these players are here in Langley and it is time for local hockey fans to step up and show support, and watch potential future NHL players right here in their own backyard.
Ticket prices are reasonable and the action on the ice is undeniable as the player strive to get drafted and make it to the next level.
It is time for Langley to show its support and #BeAGiant. After all, Surrey and Abbotsford would love to be in our position.
Gary Ahuja covers sports for the Langley Times.