Giants Acquire Rights to Dalton Thrower

[Lucic]

The Vancouver Giants have acquired the rights to defenseman Dalton Thrower from the Saskatoon Blades for a conditional second-round pick in the 2014 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft.

The 6'0" 195lbs North Vancouver native has played 4 seasons with the Blades, registering 108 points (30 goals, 78 assists) and 433 penalty minutes in 243 regular season WHL games.

Thrower, who was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens 51st overall in the 2012 National Hockey League Entry Draft said, "I wasn't expecting to get traded, but when I heard the news, I was happy because there’s no better organization to have my rights traded to. It was very exciting for me and my family to know that if I was going to play junior hockey again, it would be with the Giants."

"Dalton would be a huge asset to our club this season as he has the ability to quarterback a power play. He's a physical presence and would be an asset to our group," said Giants' Executive Vice President and General Manager Scott Bonner, who also added, "Being a local boy, it would be a great way to finish his junior career and he could really help a younger group like ours."

[hockeynut]

Good move picking up thrower he will bring his physical play and leadership to the team having him on the pp is a bonus and coming home playing in front of family and friends would spark him up more another home boy the should bring in is fwd santucci heard he was released by the Prince Albert raiders with to many 19yrs he also plays a physical game a lucic type of player good both ends of the ice players like this brings excitement to the game like a few years back

[Priceisright]

Good to see video footage of this guy. Something we lacked last year IMO was leadership/toughness. And looks like this guy has offensive skills.

Looking forward to a more competitive team this year.

I doubt it be worse. I expect the team to be a bit better :)

[Lucic]

I doubt it be worse. I expect the team to be a bit better :)

You never know but I simply cannot envision another year as bad as last season. I'm sure it will be a little better (at the very least).

[Priceisright]

Really need the goaltending to be better IMO . And defense lol.

Whose is the other goalie besides Lee?

[Lucic]

Really need the goaltending to be better IMO . And defense lol.

Whose is the other goalie besides Lee?

No question about it. The other goalie is Jared Rathjen unless the team decides to bring Tyler Fuhr back into the mix. I never found out if he was officially released or dropped from their protected list.

I haven't lost faith in Lee as he's shown flashes of what could be. Last year was a write off and no goalie would succeed with the defense (or team for that matter) in front of him. That said this is definitely a make or break year for him. He will have to prove he's as good as he's been touted.

[Priceisright]

Hmm that second goalie you mentioned Rathjen? Was that the guy who played for us last year? Yikes, if so.

Our goalies let in way too many soft goals. Bad defense or not.

[Lucic]

Hmm that second goalie you mentioned Rathjen? Was that the guy who played for us last year? Yikes, if so.

Our goalies let in way too many soft goals. Bad defense or not.

Yes that was him. He essentially replaced Fuhr. Not sure if he was any better but regardless the team made that decision.

The goaltending was bad but so was the entire team. I think it's unfair to overly criticize one over the other. It was impossible for either position to look good given the circumstances. The Giants were the worst team in the league for a reason. Like I said previously this season will be very telling. We will find out if Lee truly is the goalie of the future. As of now it's up in the air. I think the organization believes in him but a lot of fans aren't so sure (and understandably so). I'm on the fence. I've seen enough flashes of hope that I want to believe he can be a legitimate starter but I've also seen the bad and at times he seems to lose focus and let in goals that should never be allowed at this level. But again I pretty much consider last season a wash. It was so bad that you can't really take a lot from it and consider it concrete. I'm going to reserve judgement until watching him this season. I'd like to think he will be a lot better. Who knows maybe I'm just being naive? Only time will tell.

[Priceisright]

Yes we will :) did i read the schedule correcty? Aug29? Must be pre season games? When does regular season begin. I am away sep14-21.

Thanks

[Lucic]

The Preseason starts on August 31st. The Regular Season starts on September 20th.

[Priceisright]

Oh cool. Ill only miss the opener.