A trivia answer with the 2018 Vancouver Giants, Will Gurski points to a key role with this year’s WHL team

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Will Gurski first dressed for the Vancouver Giants long before officially joining the team.

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The Giants acquired Gurski, a 19-year-old netminder from Duncan, in a September trade with Winnipeg Ice. Gurski had actually donned the Giants team initially during the 2018 Western Hockey League playoffs, receiving the call as a 15-year emergency backup on loan from then-Kootenay Ice for the first two games of the Vancouver first round. against the Victoria Royals. .

Vancouver starter David Tendeck (concussion) was out of the game and the Giants did not have a goalie in their system available to back Trent Miner when the series opened on Vancouver Island. Gurski was playing that season with the Shawnigan Lake U-18 academy league team, so he was very close.

Tendeck returned to the Giants lineup for Game 3. Vancouver lost the series in seven games.

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“I was selected by Ice, but Vancouver was the first time I had worn a real WHL jersey,” said Gurski, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound angler. “It’s funny how things work sometimes. It was a bit of a complete circle for me. “

Kootenay selected Gurski in the fourth round of the 2017 WHL draft. The franchise was sold and relocated from Cranbrook to Winnipeg for the 2019-20 season and Gurski made his regular season debut with the Ice that season. He ended up playing a couple of games that year.

That was the only action he saw for them. He was considered a third stringer by Ice and it looked like he was destined for that role again this season, providing insurance for Winnipeg while playing for the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals.

Early in training camp this season, Vancouver general manager Barclay Parneta decided he wanted to join the team’s internal goalkeeping competition, and Gurski was among the players the Giants bosses considered for a trade. Parneta finally got Gurski from Winnipeg in exchange for a 2021 ninth-round pick on September 13.

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On October 13, the Giants sent 18-year-old starting backup goalie Drew Sim to the Regina Pats for a 2024 fourth round, and Gurski had the No. 2 spot in Vancouver to himself, providing cover for starter Jesper Vikman. , 19, a Swede who was a fifth-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft of the Vegas Golden Knights.

“Jesper is a professional through and through. He comes to the track with a professional mindset every day, ”said Gurski. “I think we have established a great relationship as goalkeeper partners. As the year progresses, we will really help each other. “

As much as Vikman is the key guy in the Vancouver network, that duty could well pass abruptly to Gurski. Vikman could be part of Team Sweden’s roster for the youth world tournament to be held from December 26 to January 5 in Edmonton and Red Deer (Parneta admits that he has already heard from Team Sweden bosses about the possibility) and that could make Vikman unavailable to the Giants for more than a month depending on Sweden’s training camp.

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Vikman could get lost somewhere in Vancouver’s 10-game neighborhood, pushing Gurski into the starting role for a considerable chunk of the Giants’ 68-game season.

“We will all be excited if Jesper makes the Swedish team, and if I am going to be trusted more, I will make sure I am ready,” said Gurski. “I try to come to the track every day with the same mentality. I’m committed to getting the job done, trying to add another brick to the wall, trying to improve a little bit each day. “

Gurski allowed six goals on 27 shots in a 7-4 loss to the Kamloops Blazers in his first start in Vancouver on October 22; but in his next two starts he was named second star after making 25 saves in a 3-1 win over the Prince George Cougars on Nov. 5, and third star after a 23-save outing in a 1-0 loss to the Cougars on Tuesday.

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When he was young, Gurski was a fan of Cory Schneider, who was with the Vancouver Canucks at the time. Like most goalkeepers his age today, he has enjoyed studying Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens – “he’s almost a perfect goalie,” says Gurski – and has also been taking a deep dive into Thatcher Demko of the Canucks recently.

“Watching games is important. Every goalkeeper has something to offer, ”he said.

Gurski’s name never appeared on the game sheets for those emergency backup stints with Vancouver, but that tends to be standard operating practice for the WHL. Says he signed with Ice before dressing for the Giants.

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