The Case For Brendan Gallagher: Why He Belongs On Team Canada
Brendan Gallagher has been hailed by some in the hockey world as "the diminutive giant". Gallagher is certainly a spark plug for the storied bleu, blanc, et rouge since he arrived in Montreal during the 2012-2013 season. Gallagher seems to gravitate to the front of the net, sparking a a popular t-shirt from North Legends illustrating "Gally's office". He's a absolute thorn in the side to opposing defensemen who often outweigh the pesky forward by 50-70 pounds. His relentless net-presence is often dreamed about by coaches but rarely does it come to fruition with a player.
His offensive numbers are good. They are by no means outstanding. However, it's the other parts of his game that enhance his value to Team Canada.
Generally speaking in professional sports today there is not enough heart. There's a lot of show-boating, many egomaniacs, and many prima donnas. With said players there's a noticeable trend: Extra effort is magically outputted when a player is in a contract year (vying to a max-salary contract the next year). The lure of a max-contract is motivation enough for athletes to work that much harder for a season. Refreshingly Brendan Gallagher exhibits a level of heart and will to compete on a nightly basis that is seldom seen. His consistent motor continues revving on through goalless spells as well as in times when the bounces seem to go his way. This is the major reason why Canada ought to have #11 on their World Cup roster come September, 2016.
Gallagher's offensive output is pretty darn good. Admittedly, he is no sniper and nor a phenomenal play-maker but he is a solid offensive contributor. His offensive game has improved in each of his four seasons with the Canadiens. This season Gallagher is averaging 0.77 points per game with a shooting percentage of 11.6%.
Playoffs
In Gallagher's four seasons with the Montreal Canadiens he has increased his goal output each year. He is always a plus player. He is also a formidable playoff performer - 18 points in 34 games. Since 2013 Gallagher's shooting percentage continues to rise.
Sure, there are players with insane levels of talent throughout the world of sports who are regulars on the nightly highlight reel. Names like Ovechkin, Malkin, Curry, Westbrook, Newton, Rinaldo and Speith quickly jump to mind. I would never put Gallagher remotely close to any of these names, But let me ask you to think of players that you would want your 14 year old under-sized daughter or son - who is fighting for a spot on their high school varsity team - to emulate. I'd guess that you'd want your teenager to imitate Brendan Gallagher's drive more so than awkwardly attempting a Steven Stamkos slap shot or a Stephen Curry fade away three-pointer.
Brendan Gallagher stands a modest 5 foot 9 inches and weighs in a 184 pounds but, as I've already argued, what he lacks in size he certainly makes up for with will and determination. There are some truly remarkable players on this roster as well as many deserving players omitted. All of this being said, Brendan Gallagher belongs on Team Canada for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey in Toronto.
I'm sure that my colleague Kirk Lougheed will have a rebuttal to this article. I eagerly await his response.
His offensive numbers are good. They are by no means outstanding. However, it's the other parts of his game that enhance his value to Team Canada.
Generally speaking in professional sports today there is not enough heart. There's a lot of show-boating, many egomaniacs, and many prima donnas. With said players there's a noticeable trend: Extra effort is magically outputted when a player is in a contract year (vying to a max-salary contract the next year). The lure of a max-contract is motivation enough for athletes to work that much harder for a season. Refreshingly Brendan Gallagher exhibits a level of heart and will to compete on a nightly basis that is seldom seen. His consistent motor continues revving on through goalless spells as well as in times when the bounces seem to go his way. This is the major reason why Canada ought to have #11 on their World Cup roster come September, 2016.
Gallagher's offensive output is pretty darn good. Admittedly, he is no sniper and nor a phenomenal play-maker but he is a solid offensive contributor. His offensive game has improved in each of his four seasons with the Canadiens. This season Gallagher is averaging 0.77 points per game with a shooting percentage of 11.6%.
Regular Season
| 2012-2013 | CANADIENS | 44 | 15 | 13 | 28 | 10 | 33 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 117 | 12.8 |
| 2012-2013 | HAMILTON BULLDOGS-AHL | 36 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 0 | 61 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 117 | 8.6 |
| 2013-2014 | CANADIENS | 81 | 19 | 22 | 41 | 4 | 73 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 211 | 9.0 |
| 2014-2015 | CANADIENS | 82 | 24 | 23 | 47 | 18 | 31 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 254 | 9.4 |
| 2015-2016 | CANADIENS | 40 | 15 | 16 | 31 | 8 | 20 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 129 | 11.6 |
| NHL TOTALS | 247 | 73 | 74 | 147 | 40 | 157 | 20 | 0 | 9 | 711 | 10.3 |
Playoffs
| 2012-2013 | CANADIENS | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 9.1 |
| 2013-2014 | CANADIENS | 17 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 10.5 |
| 2014-2015 | CANADIENS | 12 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 42 | 7.1 |
| NHL TOTALS | 34 | 9 | 9 | 18 | -2 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 102 | 8.8 |
In Gallagher's four seasons with the Montreal Canadiens he has increased his goal output each year. He is always a plus player. He is also a formidable playoff performer - 18 points in 34 games. Since 2013 Gallagher's shooting percentage continues to rise.
This unique competitive edge was likely aided by Brendan's father Ian Gallagher. He was the strength and conditioning coach for the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League while Gallagher played for the Giants from 2008-2012. Ian Gallagher continues to hold this position for the Giants. He also trains other N.H.L. players, most notably L.A. Kings bruising forward Milan Lucic.
Now to where exactly I would fit this small but mighty forward on the insanely loaded Team Canada roster. It should be pointed out that the only reason why Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon are not on this team is due to the fact that there is a bogus rule for this tournament that will not allow players under 23 to be on teams other than the Under 23 Team North America. I don't think I need to say this again but I will just the same: this rule is moronic and absurd! If a player is good enough to play on the national team he should be able to do so despite his age (i.e. Connor McDavid at 18 years old).
Projected Team Canada World Cup of Hockey Roster
Forwards:
Tyler Seguin - Sidney Crosby - Jamie Benn
Claude Giroux - Jonathan Toews - Steven Stamkos
Brendan Gallagher - Patrice Bergeron - Brad Marchand
John Tavares - Ryan Getzlaf - Corey Perry
Extra: Taylor Hall
Notables left out: Patrick Marleau, Jordan Eberle, Matt Duchene, James Neal, Jason Spezza, Tyler Toffoli, Rick Nash, Ryan O'Reilly, Milan Lucic, Eric Staal, Jeff Carter, Patrick Sharp, Joe Thornton
Defensemen:
Shea Weber - Drew Doughty
Duncan Keith - P.K. Subban
Brent Burns - Mark Giordano
Extra: Kris Letang
Extra: Kris Letang
Notables left out: Alex Pietrangelo, Tyson Barrie, Brent Seabrook, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, T.J. Brodie
Goalies:
Carey Price
Braden Holtby
Corey Crawford
Notables left out: Mike Smith, Marc-Andre Fleury, Roberto Luongo
Brendan Gallagher stands a modest 5 foot 9 inches and weighs in a 184 pounds but, as I've already argued, what he lacks in size he certainly makes up for with will and determination. There are some truly remarkable players on this roster as well as many deserving players omitted. All of this being said, Brendan Gallagher belongs on Team Canada for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey in Toronto.
I'm sure that my colleague Kirk Lougheed will have a rebuttal to this article. I eagerly await his response.
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