It’s no secret to anyone who follows the Flyers on a regular basis, that Claude Giroux is a vital part to the teams overall success. As Giroux goes, so do the orange and black. Giroux is the engine that runs the Flyers. Last year the Captain had a career year. Even with that, he still thinks he can be better.
Of course, he will tell you he has to be better. Giroux wears his heart on his sleeve and is always a team first guy. With the youth infusion injecting life into some veterans in the locker room, one can only hope that Giroux has another career year. At Training Camp, Giroux seems ready and willing to achieve just that, carrying a belief in himself and the infusion of youth around him.
Giroux is injecting the locker room with belief, taking the loss in Game 6 of the 2017 playoffs to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and learning from it. Multiple players in the locker room are feeding off of Giroux, with the likes of Jakub Voracek, Sean Couturier and Ivan Provorov referencing that game throughout Training Camp, “It’s obviously disappointing the way we ended the season,” Giroux says. “We’re in a position now to learn from this, and get ready for this season.”
Something that fans may not know about Giroux is that a new Junior Hockey team in his hometown of Hearst, Ontario, the Hearst Lumberjacks in the Northern Ontario Hockey League, have used a cartoon depiction of his face as a logo on their jerseys. The team was blown away by Giroux’s contributions so the team decided to use the Flyers colors, and Giroux’s face as their logo. To the best of their abilities anyways. Talk about an honor, “It’s good,” Giroux says. “In my hometown hockey is huge, people love it. To see 600 or 700 fans every game consistently. It’s kind of fun to see that happen back home.” The depiction of their logo is below:
@lumberjacks2017 logo. A depiction of Claude Giroux. pic.twitter.com/D3TEAuvqc1
— Jamey Baskow (@JameyBaskow) September 26, 2018
Culture and hockey go hand-in-hand. Unlike other sports, if there are waves in the minors and juniors, you can bet every dollar that the players that those making said waves look up to are going to hear about it. That goes far beyond just what we see on the Ice however, as I later found out. Hockey truly is like one big family.
What really hits home still are the Humboldt Broncos hockey team, victims, and their families. A horrific tragedy that shook the hockey world to its core has left a lasting impact on anyone who heard about it, Giroux included. “I saw a little of their first game, and saw some videos after…it’s [sighs, overcome with emotion, hold on as he coughs] pretty emotional,” Giroux exclaims. The crowd there is great to see, just.” This is a side of Giroux I’ve never seen. From the way he looked at me in the eyes, seeing him overcome with this type of emotion, it was real. No wonder people love this guy.
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Giroux always thinks about other people. He talks very highly of his teammates, this is just who he is. Giroux always thinks about others before himself, “Wayne he’s a beast. He’s a hard-working guy. He’s great to have on the ice. Not many guys can come back from that type of injury, and be out there the first day of camp.”
The 30 year old in Giroux continues, “Provy, it’s crazy the things he does, as he does the right things. Always in good position. He’s definitely a leader, and he should be in the top 10 in the league.”
Make no mistake about it, Giroux seems poised to surpass his career high in points, set just last season. Last season, he tallied 34 goals, and 68 assists for 102 points. From the way he looks this pre-season, there’s not a doubt in my mind Giroux can surpass last years totals. Giroux seems faster, and poised to have an insane season once again. If he does watch out NHL, the orange and black could be a lethal team this year.
Side Note:
Once again Giroux continues to lack the respect throughout the league. I’m not saying players and coaches, but some analysts. This time Craig Button placed Giroux as the 43rd best player in the league in his latest best 50 players rankings amongst active NHL players. How can this be? According to Quanthockey.com, Giroux has the second most points in the NHL for the past 7 seasons with 527 points, which is second to Sidney Crosby’s 544 points.
Dropping a Giroux interview article tomorrow because the recent 43rd ranking that was given by Craig Button. This man has the 2nd most points in the NHL dating back for the past 7 seasons,and he's still fighting for respect. #Flyers
— Jamey Baskow (@JameyBaskow) September 26, 2018
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
