Two North Shore players will get a chance to live the Olympic dream as members of Canada’s men’s hockey team for the 2018 Winter Games running Feb. 9-25 in PyeongChang, South Korea.
North Vancouver’s Stefan Elliott and Edmonton-born Gilbert Brule, who grew up in North Van, will both suit up with the Canadian crew going for gold next month. With the NHL refusing to release its players for these Games, the Team Canada roster is made up of 25 players from seven different leagues across North America and Europe.
Elliott, a 26-year-old defenceman, starred with the North Van/Burnaby-based Northwest Giants of the BC Major Midget League before moving to Saskatoon to play WHL hockey with the Blades. He was drafted in the second round by the Colorado Avalanche in 2009 and split his time between the NHL and minor leagues from 2011 to 2016, scoring 24 points in 84 career games with the Avalanche, Phoenix Coyotes and Nashville Predators.
He is currently playing for HV71 in the Swedish Hockey League where he is second on the team in scoring amongst defencemen with 12 points in 19 games this season.
Brule, a 31-year-old forward, is well-known to Vancouver area hockey fans as a star with the Vancouver Giants WHL team from 2003 to 2006. He earned WHL rookie of the year honours in 2004 and was named the WHL playoff MVP after leading the Giants to the Memorial Cup in 2006. Brule was the Memorial Cup’s leading scorer despite the Giants losing in the semifinals.
Brule was picked sixth overall in the 2005 NHL draft and appeared in 299 regular season games from 2005 to 2014, notching 43 goals and 52 assists while playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers and Phoenix Coyotes.
Brule has played in the Kontinental Hockey League since 2014, suiting up for five different teams in the European-Asian league, known as the second best in the world behind the NHL. This season he is the leading scorer for Beijing-based Kunlun Red Star with 14 goals and 17 assists for 31 points in 40 games.
Brule is also known for a unique celebrity encounter that saw him give a ride to Bono, the U2 frontman, who was hitchhiking on a West Vancouver road after getting caught in a rain storm while out for a walk in June of 2011.
Both Elliott and Brule played minor hockey with the North Shore Winter Club.
