British Columbia-based businessman Ron Toigo was granted a WHL expansion franchise for the city of Vancouver ahead of the 2001–02 season.[1] In the following years, the club's ownership group would grow to include Sultan Thiara, former Vancouver Canucks head coach Pat Quinn, the estate of Hockey Hall of Fame member Gordie Howe, and singer Michael Bublé.[2] The team was first based out of Pacific Coliseum, the former Canucks arena in downtown Vancouver; in 2016, after 15 seasons, the team moved to the Langley Events Centre.[3]
After a dismal inaugural season, typical for an expansion team, that saw the Giants win only 13 games, the team rapidly improved. In 2002, the Giants selected Gilbert Brule first overall in the WHL Bantam Draft—Brule would go on to become the team's first major star player, beginning with winning the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as the WHL's rookie of the year in 2004.[4] That season, the team won its first playoff round, defeating the Kamloops Blazers before losing to the Everett Silvertips in the second round. Along with the Giants' improving play, the 2004–05 NHL lockout led to a boost in attendance for the club—nearly 9,000 fans attended the team's season-opener, and the team averaged 8,400 spectators that season; Toigo later stated that the lockout was a definite factor in "putting us on the map".[5][6] The Giants capitalized by putting together a string of successful seasons that saw the team capture five consecutive B.C. Division titles between 2005 and 2010.
The run of success began with the hiring of former NHL coach Don Hay as head coach, replacing Dean Evason.[7] Then, in 2005, general manager Scott Bonner acquired a number of key players including Kenndal McArdle, Wacey Rabbit, and goaltender Dustin Slade, who, along with Brule, would lead the team to its first championship.[8] In 2006, the Giants captured their first league championship, defeating the Moose Jaw Warriors in the league final in four games, with Brule earning most valuable player honours.[9] The win advanced the Giants to their first Memorial Cup tournament, in which they were eliminated in the semifinal by the host Moncton Wildcats.[10] Despite the loss, Brule recorded 12 points in the tournament, the highest total in the tournament since 1997 and enough to secure the Ed Chynoweth Trophy as the leading scorer.[11]
With the breakthrough of second-year forward Milan Lucic helping to make up for the off-season loss of Brule, the Giants returned to the WHL championship series in 2007 in a playoff run that also featured the debut of future star Evander Kane.[12][13] In the final, they faced the Medicine Hat Tigers, narrowly losing the series in the second overtime period of game seven.[14] However, the Giants were selected to host the 2007 Memorial Cup, which secured them a berth in the tournament despite their championship series defeat. The Giants secured a spot in the tournament final with an 8–1 semifinal win over the Plymouth Whalers, setting up a rematch with the Tigers.[15] In the final, the Giants avenged their WHL title defeat with a 3–1 victory over the Tigers to secure the team's first Memorial Cup championship.[16] Lucic was named tournament MVP.[12] In 2023, the 2007 Giants team was inducted into the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame.[17]
The Giants would set franchise records with 57 wins 119 points in 2008–09 and make consecutive runs to the Conference finals in 2009 and 2010. However, after the 2010, the team failed to win another playoff series until they returned to the championship final in 2019. During that stretch, Bonner stepped down as manager after 15 seasons, replaced first by Glen Hanlon and then, in 2018, by Barclay Parneta, who hired Michael Dyck as head coach.[18][19] In the 2019 final, the Giants faced the regular season champion Prince Albert Raiders; the Giants fell behind in the series three games to one before forcing a decisive game seven in Prince Albert.[20] In game seven, the Raiders won 3–2 in overtime, marking the second game seven overtime defeat in the finals in Giants history.[21]
In 2022, the Giants made history by selecting Chloe Primerano in the thirteenth round of the WHL prospects draft, making Primerano the first-ever female skater selected in a Canadian Hockey League draft.[22]
In 2023, when Michael Dyck left the organization to join the professional ranks, the Giants hired Manny Viveiros as their new head coach.[19]
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