By Dhiren Mahiban /
The Vancouver Giants trio of James Wright, Craig Cunningham and Lance Bouma all share a special bond.
The three broke into the WHL with the Giants at roughly the same time, enjoyed success early in their Junior hockey careers winning a Memorial Cup in 2007 and now the group could be playing their final months of Junior hockey together as the Giants gear up for
the playoffs.
Wright, a native of Saskatoon, Sask., is having a season to remember – the Tampa Bay Lightning prospect shocked many and started the 2009/10 season with the NHL club.
After 48 games with the Lightning, he was returned to the Giants just in time for another playoff push with his old buddies.
“All three of us broke into the league as 16-year-olds, all three of us are forwards and we all played together on the same line last year in the playoffs,” said Wright. “Those two have been here the entire time I have – I’ve played all my games with them so it’s really neat.”
Cunningham, who attended New York Rangers training camp in the summer has been enjoying a career-year spending, much of the season at or near the top of the WHL scoring race.
With 37 goals and 97 points through 69 games, he’s all but assured to finish in the Top 10 in league scoring.
“I’ve had my best year so far, better than I would’ve expected,” said the Trail, B.C.-native. “This is my fourth year now – it’s about time for me to step up and really take the bull by the horn, and really start contributing.”
Lance Bouma, a Calgary Flames-prospect, is having a season to remember as well; the Vancouver Giants named him the team’s captain at the start of the season and if that wasn’t enough of a confidence boost, the Flames signed the Provost, Alta.-native to an entry-level contract this past fall.
The rugged centre is also having a career-year numbers-wise, picking up 14 goals and 43 points in 57 games. Bouma has been out of the G-Men line-up since Feb. 13, nursing a knee injury, but the club hopes to have him back in time for the post-season.
“Anytime you come into the league with guys your age, you get a special bond together – it’s been great really getting to know those guys,” said Cunningham.
“We’re really close now and every year we’ve been here we’ve had a good team and we’ve been successful so hopefully we can continue the tradition.
The Final Stretch
The Vancouver Giants closeout the regular season this weekend back at the Coliseum for a pair of B.C. Division tilts against the Kelowna Rockets (Mar 12) and the Kamloops Blazers (Mar 13) before wrapping up the season on Sunday in Seattle.
The final three games won’t have any affect on where the Giants finish in the standings, but it could have an impact on who they play in the first round. |