Brendan Gallagher\u00a0has built his reputation over 14 NHL seasons\u00a0as much for his leadership\u00a0as\u00a0his relentless style of play.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now,\u00a0as\u00a0he begins the next chapter of his career\u00a0in Vancouver,\u00a0the newest member of\u00a0the Canucks organization is\u00a0excited\u00a0that things have worked out this way.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was maybe the worst-kept secret, but this was kind of what I had hoped for both myself as a professional, but also my family,\u201d\u00a0Gallagher said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m\u00a0extremely excited to be a Canuck, and to embrace everything about it, and to get going with the guys.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0going to be a lot of fun.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Canucks General Manager Ryan Johnson\u00a0says\u00a0Gallagher\u2019s enthusiasm\u00a0in coming\u00a0to Vancouver played a role in his acquisition.\u00a0Johnson believes Gallagher\u2019s\u00a0experience, competitiveness, and professionalism\u00a0make him an ideal fit for where the Canucks are heading.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnytime somebody really wants to be in your organization, it’s hard not to love the idea of it,\u201d Johnson said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are over the moon to have him. He’s talking about doing anything he can to help where we are at and help us grow, and I think the common word he kept using was\u00a0\u2018build\u2019\u00a0and that’s what we’re doing here is trying to build something; an environment that is strong and that is sustainable, and he’s going to be a massive piece of that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
While Johnson likes\u00a0his team\u00a0to play an\u00a0up-tempo game, he also discussed wanting to make the game tougher on opponents,\u00a0something\u00a0that Gallagher is known for.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI do\u00a0want\u00a0to be harder to play against.\u00a0I think with the addition today, obviously, Brendan is extremely difficult to play against – he plays an inside game,\u201d\u00a0Johnson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gallagher spent his 14-year career with the Montreal Canadiens after being drafted in the fifth round\u00a0of the 2010 NHL Draft.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He wanted to start a new chapter in Vancouver, looking for an opportunity to make an impact.\u00a0Gallagher\u2019s focus is\u00a0getting\u00a0to know\u00a0his new teammates and finding ways to contribute both on and off the ice.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m really excited to just get around the guys, see what’s been going on around there, and I looked around they have a lot of talent, they have good youth, there’s going to be excitement,\u201d\u00a0he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPlaying\u00a0as long as\u00a0I\u00a0have and\u00a0seeing things,\u00a0different\u00a0teammates\u00a0and coaches,\u00a0I’ve\u00a0had different experiences.\u00a0I hope\u00a0there’s\u00a0some young players I can\u00a0help out,\u00a0help\u00a0expedite\u00a0their development\u00a0[like] certain areas of what being a pro is all about, that\u00a0I’ll\u00a0be able to hopefully bring to the group.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The 34-year-old has experienced playoff runs, rebuilding years, and played\u00a0a big role\u00a0in the Canadiens leadership, wearing a letter for 11 of the 14 year he spent there.\u00a0He\u2019s\u00a0learned a lot about being on a rebuilding team from veterans when he was in Montreal,\u00a0and he wants to help pass that on in\u00a0Vancouver.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s a new opportunity,\u00a0new\u00a0experience for me as a hockey player, and that’s an exciting challenge,\u201d\u00a0Gallagher said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cI think one of the most important things we did\u00a0[in Montreal], that sometimes gets overlooked, obviously, you add good players, but in terms of culture, I think we created a really good culture here, and that comes from your darkest days, and having guys that want to be around and are committed to the process, believe in the process, and I think that’s really important.\u00a0Any organization, whether\u00a0it’s\u00a0sport or anything, I think is nothing without culture, and I think\u00a0first and foremost\u00a0that’ll\u00a0be the focus, and I think\u00a0that’s\u00a0something I can\u00a0help out\u00a0with.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He says his focus\u00a0of taking it one season at a time\u00a0hasn\u2019t\u00a0wavered since his first season in the league,\u00a0and\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0already got\u00a0a good\u00a0summer of\u00a0offseason training\u00a0underway.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gallagher\u00a0also reflected on the type of veteran leader\u00a0Canucks Head Coach Manny\u00a0Malhotra was when they\u00a0were teammates during the 2014-15 season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI was a young player, and he was eager to share his knowledge, whether it be face-offs, which he was as good as anyone with young players, and grabbing guys, or just on the road if he saw a\u00a0guy was\u00a0struggling.\u00a0He’d\u00a0just pull you\u00a0aside and\u00a0have a chat. Manny was a great teammate,\u201d Gallagher said.\u00a0\u201cIt was a pleasure to play with him, and I’m very looking forward to playing for him, and a guy that I’m sure everyone will be excited to go to battle for.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gallagher sees a talented young roster, an opportunity to make\u00a0an\u00a0impact, and\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0bringing a belief in the habits, accountability, and culture to help a young team move forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brendan Gallagher\u00a0has built his reputation over 14 NHL seasons\u00a0as much for his leadership\u00a0as\u00a0his relentless style of play.\u00a0 Now,\u00a0as\u00a0he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":769272,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,575,85],"class_list":["post-769271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=769271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769271\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/769272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=769271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=769271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=769271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}