Mark MacMillan and Brendan Gallagher
photo: John Mahoney/THE GAZETTE
Brendan Gallagher says the first thing people mention when they talk about his hockey game is that he's small.
But the Canadiens' prospect, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 169 pounds, said his size -or rather the lack of same -hasn't been a problem.
"I've heard the questions about my size my entire life, but I've always played the same way," Gallagher said during a break in the Canadiens' development camp in Brossard yesterday. "I don't shy away from the bigger players and that's not going to change any time soon. The questions about my size aren't going to stop, but I just have to push them to the side and use them as motivation."
The Canadiens selected Gallagher in the fifth round of last month's entry and the consensus was that they had acquired a skilled offensive player with a huge upside.
Gallagher put up some impressive numbers last season with the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League. He had 41 goals and 40 assists in 72 games to rank 16th in league scoring. Only seven players scored more goals. And he showed that he was a money player when he added 21 points in 16 playoff games.
But the number that may have swayed the Canadiens may have been his penalty minutes. He spent 111 minutes in the penalty box and that included three majors for fighting.
"I score a lot of my goals around the net," he explained. "I try to get to the net and, every once in a while, I kind of bug some players and they come after me. I'm not going to back down. I don't shy away from the rough stuff."
It's no surprise that Gallagher is in good shape -his father is the Giants' strength and conditioning coach -and he says that his quickness gives him an advantage over bigger players. He said his role model is Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis.
"He's another small guy and people used to put him down, but he's a Stanley Cup champion and he's still scoring goals," Gallagher said.
But even Gallagher admits he was surprised to be drafted. In fact, he passed on the opportunity to attend the draft in Los Angeles and followed the action from his home in Vancouver.
"Going into the draft, there were a lot of questions about me because of my size and all that, so I wasn't sure if I was going to be drafted," Gallagher said. "So me and my mom watched the draft on television and when I was drafted, it was obviously a very exciting time for my family and me to share. I'm really happy to be coming to Montreal with all the history and tradition and it's been great to be in the dressing room."
Gallagher isn't the only Canadiens' draft pick with offensive potential. In the fourth round, they selected Mark MacMillan, a Penticton native who plays Tier Two hockey with Alberni Valley in the British Columbia Hockey League.
MacMillan has a different size problem. He stands 6-foot-1 but weighs only 150 pounds.
"That's obviously one of the things I have to work on," said MacMillan, who had 26 goals and 54 assists in 59 games last season and shared rookie of the year honours in the BCHL.
MacMillan said the need to bulk up is one of the reasons why he has elected to go the U.S. college route. He has committed to the University of North Dakota.
"I'll spend one more year in the BCHL and then go to school," he said. "That will give me three or four more years to get bigger and stronger."
But the Canadiens' prospect, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 169 pounds, said his size -or rather the lack of same -hasn't been a problem.
"I've heard the questions about my size my entire life, but I've always played the same way," Gallagher said during a break in the Canadiens' development camp in Brossard yesterday. "I don't shy away from the bigger players and that's not going to change any time soon. The questions about my size aren't going to stop, but I just have to push them to the side and use them as motivation."
The Canadiens selected Gallagher in the fifth round of last month's entry and the consensus was that they had acquired a skilled offensive player with a huge upside.
Gallagher put up some impressive numbers last season with the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League. He had 41 goals and 40 assists in 72 games to rank 16th in league scoring. Only seven players scored more goals. And he showed that he was a money player when he added 21 points in 16 playoff games.
But the number that may have swayed the Canadiens may have been his penalty minutes. He spent 111 minutes in the penalty box and that included three majors for fighting.
"I score a lot of my goals around the net," he explained. "I try to get to the net and, every once in a while, I kind of bug some players and they come after me. I'm not going to back down. I don't shy away from the rough stuff."
It's no surprise that Gallagher is in good shape -his father is the Giants' strength and conditioning coach -and he says that his quickness gives him an advantage over bigger players. He said his role model is Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis.
"He's another small guy and people used to put him down, but he's a Stanley Cup champion and he's still scoring goals," Gallagher said.
But even Gallagher admits he was surprised to be drafted. In fact, he passed on the opportunity to attend the draft in Los Angeles and followed the action from his home in Vancouver.
"Going into the draft, there were a lot of questions about me because of my size and all that, so I wasn't sure if I was going to be drafted," Gallagher said. "So me and my mom watched the draft on television and when I was drafted, it was obviously a very exciting time for my family and me to share. I'm really happy to be coming to Montreal with all the history and tradition and it's been great to be in the dressing room."
Gallagher isn't the only Canadiens' draft pick with offensive potential. In the fourth round, they selected Mark MacMillan, a Penticton native who plays Tier Two hockey with Alberni Valley in the British Columbia Hockey League.
MacMillan has a different size problem. He stands 6-foot-1 but weighs only 150 pounds.
"That's obviously one of the things I have to work on," said MacMillan, who had 26 goals and 54 assists in 59 games last season and shared rookie of the year honours in the BCHL.
MacMillan said the need to bulk up is one of the reasons why he has elected to go the U.S. college route. He has committed to the University of North Dakota.
"I'll spend one more year in the BCHL and then go to school," he said. "That will give me three or four more years to get bigger and stronger."
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