Bieksa s Buddies to play UBC Thunderbirds

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1 Bieksa s Buddies to play UBC Thunderbirds By Jason Botchford, The Province October 3, 2012 Kevin Bieksa may not always be your favourite player. But in October he should be player of the month. His compassion is colliding with ambition and the result is a shinny for charity event on Oct. 17, which likely will be your only chance to see any Canucks play for a long time. Orchestrating it will be no small task. Just ask Brad May. The former Canuck was flipping through The Province during the 2004 lockout when he twigged to a story on the Canuck Place Children s Hospice. It was facing a $200,000 shortfall because of the lockout. What followed was one of the most hectic, exhilarating and enriching chapters of May s career. After dreaming up several exhibition games, he raised more than $1 million for 11 charities. It took on a life of its own and it was awesome, said May, who leaned on friends Karim Chandani and Marcello Leone for help. It kept me sane during the lockout. It wasn t easy, but you get back ten-fold. I got so much from it personally. I could sleep at night, knowing I was trying to do the right thing. Bieksa s game Bieksa s Buddies vs. the UBC Thunderbirds won t have quite the scale of the one eight years ago, but it s no less important. It will benefit the Canucks Autism Network, Canucks Family Education Centre and the Canuck Place hospice, which generates per cent of its $8-million budget from the Canucks for Kids fund. Without hockey for a year, the shortfall at the facility for life-limiting illnesses would be in the $1.1-2 million range. This (game) is a big thing, said Debbie Butt, director, communications and marketing for Canuck Place. It s a huge value to build that awareness that we need funding.

2 The ticket s for May s game sold out in a flash. There were scalpers outside the 16,400-seat Pacific Coliseum, and fans desperate enough for NHL hockey they were paying $300 for $25 tickets. So, expect the $20 tickets for Bieksa s game at UBC s 7,500-seat Doug Mitchell Sports Centre to go quickly beginning Saturday. There is no end in sight for the lockout, and both the NHL and the NHLPA seem to have already kissed off regular season games in October and November. In an interview Tuesday, Bieksa expressed concern about the number of people who are being impacted by this lockout. It s a tough time for everyone. Fans are suffering. Charities are suffering, Bieksa lamented. Bieksa s team will include Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Dan Hamhuis, Manny Malhotra, Max Lapierre, Cory Schneider, and Willie Mitchell. And if a spot ever opened up for some alumni, you better believe May would play. Kevin Bieksa is a great guy, and as fierce a competitor as there is on the ice, May said. I went through it, and I respect him so much for what he s doing. It s great that he has the awareness that he can make a difference. Vancouver was my home, I lived in Yaletown, and I wanted to be a part of it. It s a testament to all of them that are playing that they are giving back to the community. I ve played with great hockey players in cities all over, but never had the togetherness Vancouver has. It says a lot about the organization, and a lot more about the players. Interestingly, May s game was one of the first to be streamed live on the Internet. May lined up several sponsors, including Telus and Bell. You think of a child on his last breath who can benefit, and nobody fought me on it, everyone was in, May said. My payoff was an emotional one. Copyright (c) The Province Connauton ready to prove himself By ben kuzma, The Province October 3, 2012 Kevin Connauton could get caught up in the numbers.

3 He could wonder why he wasn t playing in the Chicago Wolves AHL preseason opener Wednesday or how the parent Vancouver Canucks project the promising blueliner with the booming shot and room to improve defensively. With his entry-level contract expiring next summer, there s pressure to gain a greater vote of confidence after two minor-league seasons and prove he can eventually present the Canucks with a power-play option. By failing to court the coveted Justin Schultz, not reaching terms with Sami Salo and not qualifying Marc-Andre Gragnani, there will be a need for more offence from the back end. Jason Garrison and Alex Edler are go-to guys now, but the 22-year-old Connauton could be one sooner or later. You try not to read into things like that too much and obviously there s some sort of opportunity there, but I don t want to look too far down the road, said Connauton, who had 13 goals and 33 points last season. That s when you get distracted. I m not thinking about Vancouver right now, and it s important for me not to get stressed out about something like that. All that s on my mind is having a good start to the season. That s fine. But the Canucks management group is present at camp and keeping tabs on every prospect. There s quite a bit of pressure but you ve just got to have the mentality of doing your best every day, said Connauton. It s a big year for me. I want to make the most of it and show that I m ready to make that next step. Hopefully, when the lockout ends, there s an opportunity for me. The Wolves camp was whittled from 49 to 38 players Wednesday which has a lot to do with giving others a look knowing what Connauton can bring but the Canucks are curious to see how much their third-round 2009 draft pick has improved. At 6-foot-1 and 202 pounds, the left-shot blueliner won the hardest-slapshot skills competition at the AHL All-Star Game last January with a blast of 99.4 miles per hour. He also holds Vancouver Giants records for most goals (24) and points (72) by a defenceman established in his rookie WHL season. But it s behind the blueline where Connauton has been a work in progress. It s kind of been a knock, but I ve taken that part of my game to to the next level every year trying to shake that label, said Connauton. I think I ve done a pretty good job and heard good things from the people who I m trying to impress. It s just reading the coverage and making sure you have an active stick. My game in my zone has improved drastically since the day I was drafted. I m comfortable and confident back there.

4 Part of that has to do with Connauton s friendship and the tutelage of former Wolves captain Nolan Baumgartner, who s now part of the coaching staff. In more than 1,000 pro games and just 147 at the NHL level with six teams, the 36-year-old former Canucks blueliner will play a key role in getting Connauton to The Show. And what did he learn the most from his teammate turned tutor? Just battling hard every night, said Connauton. There s a guy who it didn t matter where it was, he brought everything he had to the table and for the young guys to see him play to win every night was inspirational. I learned something from him every day. The Canucks have seven NHL defenceman under contract and could carry eight. Connauton is probably best served by logging major minutes with the Wolves to earn another deal and a longer look from the parent club. But a fast start could fast-track the process. Copyright (c) The Province Bieksa's Buddies to lace 'em on in charity game with Thunderbirds Players want to keep funding going to several worthy causes Vancouver Sun October 3, 2012 They practised together earlier this week and now some of the locked out members of the Vancouver Canucks are going to play the UBC Thunderbirds in a charity game. Bieksa's Buddies - they can't call themselves the Canucks during the lockout - will meet the TBirds at UBC's Doug Mitchell Sports Centre on Oct. 17. Game time is 7 p.m. and tickets ($20 plus service charges) go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday through TicketMaster. Defenceman Kevin Bieksa will be joined by Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Dan Hamhuis, Manny Malhotra, Max Lapierre, Cory Schneider, Willie Mitchell and others. Net proceeds from the game will benefit Canuck Place Children s Hospice, Canucks Autism Network, and the Canucks Family Education Centre. We understand there are many people [affected] by the NHL lockout and we know charities such as Canuck Place Children s Hospice, Canucks Family Education Centre, and Canucks Autism Network need funds to continue operating their programs, Bieksa said in a news release issued Wednesday by UBC. These organizations do great work for our community. It is important for my Buddies and I to lend a hand and with the help of the UBC Thunderbirds; we have the perfect opportunity to do so.

5 Tickets can be purchased by logging on to or by calling Several members of the Canucks have been skating three times a week at UBC since the lockout began. Last week, they joined the Thunderbirds at one of UBC's practices. Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

BRAD ZIEMER vancouversun. com Twitter. com/ bradziemer

BRAD ZIEMER vancouversun. com Twitter. com/ bradziemer 21 Feb 2014 The Vancouver Sun BRAD ZIEMER bziemer@ vancouversun. com Twitter. com/ bradziemer VANCOUVER SUN Time to bring back the swagger Tortorella spends break looking for ways to restore team s level