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Top 20 in 20 years at The Garage, Part One

November 2, 2015 By Justine Galo Leave a Comment

With all the celebrations about #20in20 for Canucks Sports and Entertainment. There is “Grizzlies Night” tonight at Rogers Arena with special guest, Shareef Abdur-Rahim. There have been so many memories at Rogers Arena/GM Place, and it’s different for many of us. Most of mine are hockey related but I would have to say I do have a few concerts and other events thrown in the mix. There is no particular order but I will reveal my most favourite memory very last.

20 My first event: The Cranberries at GM Place

Lead singer, Delores O’Riordan of The Cranberries was my first concert and event at GM Place in the summer of 1995.

19 First ever hockey game: Detroit Redwings

Steve Yzerman and the Detroit Redwings were the first Canucks regular season opponents at GM Place. I sat in the very last row with a group of friends and loved the new home.

18 First NBA Game watched: LA Lakers

Vlade Divac and the LA Lakers were my first NBA game at GM Place but not my last.

17 Watching My Favourite NBA Team, Seattle Super Sonics

Gary Payton is my favourite NBA player (outside of Michael Jordan) and he was playing for my favourite team, the Seattle Sonics.

Gary Payton was my favourite NBA player (outside of Michael Jordan) and he was playing for my favourite team, the Seattle Sonics.

16 Madonna: MDNA Tour

My daughter went to a Madonna concert together back in 2012. It was probably my 7th and her 1st, but it was memorable.

15 Trevor Linden’s Retirement

Linden’s retirement night. I came home that weekend from working out east to be there for this. My favourite Canuck of all time.

14 2006 NHL Draft

Alexander Ovechkin at the NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver. He climbed over the velvet ropes and sat and signed autographs for fans in attendance. That was something to see.

13 World Junior Hockey Championships in 2006

Team Canada wins WJC in 2006.

12 IOC Announcement Vancouver/Whistler hosting 2010 Olympics

There was a little party at GM Place during the IOC Announcement that Vancouver/Whistler were the winners of the 2010 Winter Olympics bid!

11 Queen Elizabeth II Visit in 2002

The Queen having a chat with and handing the puck to Markus Naslund after the ceremonial puck drop.

These are just 10 of my 20 favourite memories at Rogers Arena/GM Place over the years. I will share my next 10 the night Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins visit on Wednesday. For now, we’d love it if you guys shared some of your best memories over the last 20 years at The Garage. Give us at tweet at @Canuckscorner or share a comment below!

@Aviewfromabroad

What To Expect When You’re Expecting Hockey

October 28, 2015 By Bruce Ng 2 Comments

A coworker asked me today if this will be a good year for the Canucks. I didn’t have a simple answer for him.

ERMAGERD ALL THE EMOTIONS

Predicting this year’s Canucks is akin to predicting the behavior of children. As a parent, sometimes you’re shocked at your kid’s actions. Sometimes, you swell with pride. And other times you are moved to tears. But most of the time you’re just hanging on for dear life as it is a hundred mile-an-hour whirlwind of all the emotions.

With the infusion of youth on the Canucks roster, we’re going to bear witness to some horrible mistakes, and some brilliant displays of hockey. There will be nights where you will be soul searching, questioning your fan status, and there will be nights that make you glad you didn’t jump off the bandwagon.

There have been a number of rookies that have come and gone in the Canucks short history. There have been only a few Canucks campaigns that have had memorable rookie seasons, and even fewer that featured more than one or two rookies at a time.

This season’s version of the team features sniper Jared McCann, speedy defenceman Ben Hutton, and local talent Jake Virtanen, all of whom are entering their first NHL season. Add sophomore Bo Horvat. Young prospect Sven Baertchi. Add recent call-up Brendan Gaunce. Even Luca Sbisa was born in 1990 (yes, younger than Chris Tanev).

Player	Position	Birth Date	Age
Jake Virtanen	RW	August 17, 1996	19
Jared McCann	C	May 31, 1996	19
Bo Horvat	C	April 5, 1995	20
Brendan Gaunce	C	March 25, 1994	21
Ben Hutton	D	April 20, 1993	22
Sven Baertschi	LW	October 5, 1992	23
Luca Sbisa	D	January 30, 1990	25

All of a sudden that tired old Canucks team is full of young players and a couple actual teenagers, complete with erratic behavior that will give the most die-hard fan a few more grey hairs. If you can be patient, sometimes that youthful exuberance will surprise you and make you glad you were there to see it. First seasons. First goals. First home ice wins.

First cup? There’s a first time for everything.

And the Award Goes To…

October 23, 2015 By Justine Galo Leave a Comment

The Vancouver Canucks history in the NHL has been described by many as mediocre and nothing to brag about. In its history in the NHL, there have been no Stanley Cups to speak of, but they have been to the dance three times. The Canucks have won President’s Trophies, Clarence Campbell Bowls three times for the Western Conference winners, but no Stanley Cups. However, there have been some individual glory over the years. As recent as a couple of red headed twins and back to some guy we called “The Russian Rocket”.

Here’s a break down of NHL Award winners :

CALDER MEMORIAL TROPHY

Only one Canuck has won the Calder for top NHL rookie player. In the 1988-1989 season, Trevor Linden came in second in voting to Brian Leetch of the New York Rangers. However, it took “The Russian Rocket”, Pavel Bure to be the one and only Canucks Calder winner.

In 65 games his rookie season, Pavel scored 34 goals and 26 assists for 60 points. Enough to win his the Calder Memorial Trophy for top NHL rookie of the year in the1991-1992 season.

JACK ADAMS AWARD

Two Canucks coaches have won this honour. Pat Quinn in 1991-1992 and Alain Vigneault in the 2006-2007 season.

With a (42-26-12-0) record, Pat Quinn won the franchise’s first ever Jack Adams Award for NHL Coach of the Year. Quinn coached his team to the 1994 Stanley Cup Final and was so close yet so far away from winning it all in Game 7.

Alain Vigneault won the Jack Adams, Coach of the year award in 2006-2007. The Canucks had a 49-26-7 (105 points) record and won the old Northwest Division. He went on to become the Canucks most winning-est coach in franchise history.

NHL PLUS/MINUS AWARD

Pretty straight forward award. The player with the best plus/minus rating in the NHL is the winner. One of the few awards not requiring media votes.

In 2003-2004, Marek Malik had the best plus/minus rating in the NHL with a +35. But more people remember Malik for that cray shootout goal when he was a member of the New York Rangers.

KING CLANCY MEMORIAL TROPHY

This award goes to the NHL player that displays leadership qualities on and off the ice and humanitarian contributions within their community. In 96-97 season, Captain Trevor Linden won this award, and it’s not hard to see why.

Trevor Linden won the King Clancy Award for the first time in the 1996-1997 season. His countless and tireless contributions to the community through his charitable works and other endeavours has made him a top philanthropist in the NHL.

NHL FOUNDATION PLAYER AWARD

Much like the King Clancy Award, the Foundation Player Award exemplifies the player who applies commitment, perseverance and leadership to enrich the lives of people in his community. Guess who won that one in 2007- 2008? Trevor Linden, of course.

In his last NHL season as a player, Trevor Linden won the NHL Foundation Player Award for his works in the Canucks community. Picture here at the end of the season for his last game giving the Vancouver fans a final farewell wave.

GENERAL MANAGER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Created in 2010, the NHL gave the executives an award to recognize the hard work it takes to put together a winning team on the ice.

The 2010-2011 season didn’t see a Stanley Cup for Vancouver, but it did see Mike Gillis put together a President’s Trophy winning team and a game away from winning the Cup.

WILLIAM M. JENNINGS AWARD

An award for the goaltender(s) that allows the fewest regular season goals. In the 2010-2011 season, the Vancouver Canucks tandem of Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider did just that. Both excellent starting goaltenders, here is the TSN video that showed they were pretty good sports and funny guys off the ice as well.

FRANK J. SELKE AWARD

The award for the forward who best excels in the defensive aspect of the game. An award that could possibly be renamed the “Pavel Datsyuk Award” in the future but in 2010-2011, Ryan Kesler won that distinction.

When Ryan Kesler won his Selke Trophy in 2011, he had 41 goals and 32 assists. He had a plus/minus rating for +24 as well.

ART ROSS TROPHY

Another trophy that doesn’t require media votes goes to the NHL player with the highest point total for the regular season. In 2010, Sedin won, and in 2011 Sedin won again, but not the same one.

In 2010 Henrik Sedin won the Art Ross Scoring Title with 112 points, 29 goals & 83 assists. Daniel Sedin won the trophy in 2011 with 41 goals & 63 assists with a total of 104 points. First time in NHL history the Art Ross has gone to brother back to back, let alone twins.

TED LINDSAY AWARD

National Hockey League’s outstanding player in the regular season as judged by the members of the NHL Players Association. The Ted Lindsay award replaced the Lester B. Pearson award. The Canucks have a couple of Swedish guys from Onskoldsvik, Sweden who won it.

2002-2003 saw Markus Naslund get voted by his fellow NHLPA members as the Lester B. Pearson winner. He had 104 points scoring 48 goals and 56 assists. Naslund came in 2nd for the Art Ross Trophy that year to his childhood friend, Peter Forsberg by two points.

Like Naslund, Daniel Sedin had 104 pts when his brethren voted him to win the Ted Lindsay Award as the NHLPA’s most valuable player in the 2010-2011 season. As previously stated, he won the Art Ross that year also.

HART MEMORIAL TROPHY

We only have one, but the way our Captain won it was a statement type of season. He put the rest of the NHL on notice that he could put up the points like the best of them.

Henrik Sedin won the first ever Hart Trophy for the NHL’s Most Valuable Player in 2010. He scored 112 points, 29 goals & 83 assists. A good chunk of that was without his brother and linemate, Daniel because of an injury.

As I look back at the accomplishments by individual Canucks players, it’s nice to see that there has been some bright spots for this franchise. Elusive so far, is Lord Stanley, but having some individuals getting recognition for their efforts eases the sting of being ‘cup-less’. One day, maybe. From what we have gathered putting this piece together, Ornskoldsvik, Sweden seems to be a place that pumps out award winners.

@Aviewfromabroad

Top Three WTF So Far

October 17, 2015 By Justine Galo Leave a Comment

The Canucks look alright, if you look at their record. They are second in the Pacific Division, attained seven out of 10 possible points and have a 3-1-1 record. It’s only 5 games but it’s enough to give us a sense of where a few questions that need to brought to attention about Willie Desjardins’ nightly lineup. Willie doesn’t have the rookie coach excuse this year, he’s a sophomore now, there is no need for weird line juggles that don’t make sense. Willie needs to start utilizing his talent properly.

WTF #3 Vrbata-Horvat-Baertschi

When the “Lindenning” signed Radim Vrbata last year, the idea was to put him with the twins. Have a first line guy who loves to shoot and can work with the Sedin cycle game. Bring him onto the 2nd line with some idea to get that line going. Not a problem if that line is Vrbata -Horvat- Baertschi. A line that was throwing more shots on net than any other line but just weren’t going in. That’s when the law of averages takes over and eventually something is going go in with the amount of shots that line is producing.

So the game against the Blues, Sven sits, but Dorsett is the guy who takes his place? Derek Dorsett? A 4th line energy guy? Sure Sven hasn’t been great, but he hasn’t been bad either. The fact that he, Vrbata and Bo were producing so many shots is a sign of good things to come. Willie showing a tinge of impatience with some of his young guys who just need a little more time (Sven) . At the same time giving a message to a first line player in Vrbata that he’s not worthy of playing with the Sedins. That’s inexcusable, and frankly just dumb of Willie to not have a thought process. Either put Burrows back with the twins, or Vrbata but never bring up Dorsett or Hansen in these situations, you’re asking them to play way too much out of their elements.

WTF #2 Alex Burrows’ Role

When a guys is making $4+million on your team, has been a 1st line winger with arguably the two best play makers in the last 8 years, why doesn’t he have a permanent home on a permanent line? Willie needs to either play Burrows with the twins or give him some time with Sutter and Virtanen on the other wing. Sutter doesn’t belong with the Sedins, it should be either Burrows or Vrbata or maybe Virtanen. As stated above, I like Vrbata-Horvat-Baertschi together. So putting Burrows on a viable third line isn’t such a bad ask, but he works well with the twins, knows their rhythm, their cycle and can no look drop pass with them like was a triplet. Why punish the guy who could keep the twins consistent throughout the season? Willie again puzzles me with his lack of vision for putting together two top lines. He better figure it out soon or some players will just stop caring where they are in the lineup.

WTF #1 The Power Play Without Yannick Weber

The PP has now gone 1 for 17. For some reason, Willie Desjardins won’t put the guy who has shown that he can put pucks to net in special teams situations. Yannick Weber has played a total of one game since the beginning of the regular season. Putting Alex Edler on the first PP unit instead of Weber who has shown results in the recent past to be a good guy to have on the point with the Sedins.

A little more celebrating from the PP like this would be nice.

If Willie wants to continue to be stubborn and leave Edler on the first unit, than put Weber on the 2nd unit PP because Chris Tanev’s shot scares no one. Not you, not me, not big bad NHL penalty killers either. I am not sure when Willie will put Weber back into the line up, but 1 for 17 should be more than enough ‘encouragement’ for a change on special teams PP units. Don’t you think?

These have been a few things bugging many Canucks fans over the first five games. It would be “real good” if Coach Willie can give us a lineup that makes sense from time to time.

@Aviewfromabroad

#TICH: Housewarming At GM Place

October 9, 2015 By Justine Galo Leave a Comment

The Vancouver Canucks moved to their new home on October 9, 1995. GM Place saw its first regular season NHL hockey game, the Vancouver Canucks vs the Detroit Redwings. Mike Ridley scored the first Canucks regular season goal at GM Place, but the Detroit Redwings won the game, putting five pucks past Kirk Mclean that night. The score was 5-3.

Canucks Photo Campaign: “Building The Dream”. Players photograph doing construction at GM Place.

I was at that game. I sat in Level 300, section 301 in the very last row. I attended the game with 5 other friends and although we were all the way up there, we didn’t miss a thing. That night, we all realized there wasn’t a bad seat in the house. This was going to be a great home for this team.

The old scoreboard at GM Place.

The first Canucks team to play at GM Place.

This season, the Canucks celebrate the #20in20 campaign. Celebrating twenty years of events at GM Place/Rogers Arena on twenty nights throughout the regular season. Many Canucks (and other event) memories over those 20 years. We will be sharing some of those moments throughout the season. Hopefully, it will conjure up some of your own memories at The Garage.

That’s Today in Canucks History, October 9, 1995.

@Aviewfromabroad