TSAWWASSEN, B.C. – Josh Nicholls looks like a man ready to vent a little.



Nicholls knows just about everything there is to know about Brendan Gallagher. The two started playing on the same line in peewee and remained linemates through minor hockey. They lived a few houses apart growing up in Tsawwassen, just outside Vancouver. They went to school together. They still work out together in the summer.



So Nicholls has stories, but they all revolve around one thing, the defining characteristic that makes Gallagher who he is.



“He’s the most competitive person I’ve ever met,” Nicholls said. “Whether it’s golfing, whether it’s mini-sticks when we were younger, whether it’s ping-pong …”



Nicholls remembers when a game of mini-sticks turned into a full-blown meltdown. He told Gallagher he would never be invited over again, but he invited him over the very next day. He remembers when Gallagher...