The kid from Tsawwassen who had a leading role the last time a South Delta Bantam AAA rep team reached the provincial championships will be wearing Team Canada colours over the holiday season.
Vancouver Giants forward Brendan Gallagher was named to Canada's 22-player roster for the upcoming 2012 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships in Calgary and Edmonton. The 19year-old becomes just the third ever South Delta Minor Hockey alumni to play in the tournament - joining Brent Seabrook (20042005) and Brandon McMillan (2010).
The 5-foot-8 dynamo's selection hardly came as a surprise since he was among the final cuts a year ago and was given a long look by the Montreal Canadians before returning to the Giants for his fourth season in the WHL. He is among the league's top scorers with 46 points in 28 games. Now he will try and win gold for a Canadian team being guided by Giants head coach Don Hay.
"Every kid growing up kind of dreams of this moment," said Gallagher. "For all of us to get the opportunity to represent our country and go for the gold medal with our own fans behind us is going to be really special. We're really looking forward to it."
The tournament will be somewhat of a homecoming for Gallagher who grew up in Edmonton before moving to the Lower Mainland at the age of 12 when his father Ian accepted a position with the Giants as their strength and conditioning coach as well as oversee the Hockey Academy at South Delta secondary school. Brendan also enrolled in the SDSS Academy in Grade 8.
