There is little doubt that Brendan Gallagher will be headed back to the WHL’s Vancouver Giants at some point during training camp. But on the second day of the Canadiens’ on-ice sessions, the diminutive winger sent a message that he’d like it to be later rather than sooner.
The 19-year-old scored once, assisted on the winner and wowed the crowd with his skills and determination in Team C’s 5-4 scrimmage win over Team A on Sunday.
He knows the odds aren’t on his side. Not only is it rare that a junior-aged player cracks a Canadiens roster but open forward spots on the 2011-12 squad are limited to begin with, and he’s battling against AHL prospects also looking to make the jump.
“Every time you’re here you just try to play your way on to the team. I know that it’s a long shot for me to make it this year but you just try to stay as long as possible and impress enough people upstairs to earn a contract,” noted the unsigned Gallagher, who led the Giants with 44 goals, 47 assists and 91 points in 66 games last season.
He certainly left a mark on the main man behind the Canadiens’ bench.
“Gallagher has shown the organization that (while) he’s not a big player, he has a big heart. He goes to the net, not afraid, and has good hands,” Jacques Martin said. “He had an outstanding season last year with the Vancouver Giants in the Western Hockey League. He had a very good camp this summer with Team Canada’s World Junior team. I think he’s shown over the year and a half that he’s been part of our organization that he has a lot of character and determination.
“He reminds me a little bit of Brian Gionta.”
Although 13 years separate them in age, their statures are nearly identical. Gallagher is listed at 5-foot-8 and 174 pounds on the team’s camp roster. Gionta is listed as an inch shorter at 5-foot-7 while also tipping the scales at 174 pounds.
Gallagher is in just his second NHL training camp. Gionta is preparing for his 10th NHL season.
“That’s a really high compliment,” he said of the comparison. “He’s a very good player and obviously being around him this week is something that’s really cool for me because I get the chance to learn from him and see the things he does off the ice and on the ice, so to hear that from [Jacques Martin] is obviously very exciting.”
Gallagher has been soaking up all he can in camp, just as he did as a year ago. He relishes the opportunity to learn, both from his size role models and the veteran talent on the Canadiens roster. The team boasts a strong leadership core, and it has been in full effect in training camp.
“Every time [the veterans] are around you, they’re always good, helping you out, especially in the practices,” he said. “That’s one of the things that I’m really excited about every time I come here because it’s a chance to get better. When you can hear advice from guys like that who have been in the league for so long, it’s only going to help you get better.”
One person who has done just that for Gallagher is Giants head coach Don Hay. A 26-year veteran behind the bench, both as an assistant and boss, Hay is helping mould and prepare the winger for life as a professional hockey player.
“You go there your first year in junior, you don’t really understand how to play the game and the little things it takes to become a pro,” Gallagher pointed out. “For me to be able to play for him and learn under him for three years now – I’ll be going in my fourth year – he’s helped me every year. Each year I learn so I feel like he’s shown me what I need to do and what it takes to become a professional player one day.”
And at least this training camp, he hopes those lessons under Hay are delayed just a little bit longer.
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