Now who isn't excited to have our beloved Vancouver Canucks back in our city!?!? I know I am and so were all those fans who came out to support our boys on the weekend! Got to Rogers Arena early before the lineup got insane on both days! Of course it had to start raining on the very fist day of camp. Lined up outside under the Georgia Viaduct outside Gate 3 with a mixture of teenagers, adults and young children. People were dressed in their blues and greens and came with signs and cheers! Its like something happens to the people in this city when the Canucks play..the energy just becomes so much more vibrant and electric!
First day of camp and my friend (fellow volunteer) and I are able to get close to the ice. Ryan Kesler was just finishing his practice alone on the ice when we walked in. There was a kid, about 10 yrs old there who ran down to the glass and started screaming from the top of his lungs "Ryan Kesler! I love you Ryan Kesler!". Ryan was standing on the ice on the opposite side of the glass. He kept doing this and Ryan kept laughing..you could tell he was loving every moment of it. He loves "Canuck Nation". Next thing you know, he comes over and tries to give his stick to the kid and a bunch of pucks to the girls. "Kes" is such a class act!! Unfortunatley, a girl took the stick from the kid it was intended for but it worked out ok.
Canucks are split into two groups. Group A came out at 9am and Group B at 11:30am. Group A had Kevin Bieksa, Daniel Sedin and Alex Burrows, just to name a few. It was very apparent who the star of the show was as the screams got louder when he appeared. Signs went up and the "I love you's" started. Yes, Kevin "Boom Boom" Bieksa stole the hearts of many young teenagers that morning! The drills started and Bieksa was playful with the crowd, trying to loft a couple pucks over the glass with his stick and failing. Crowd laughed. Then the drills started. To his credit, he was easily the best defenceman on the ice. Group B had the same kind of action....but it starred our captian, Henrik Sedin, Chris Tanev and Keith Ballard. I had to leave for a CAT team orientation for the new BC Place with my friend before the practice ended.
Day 2 of Camp. It was still raining hard when I got up at 6 am to get my butt down to Rogers Arena for second day of camp! Gates opened at 8:30am but had some entertainment while waiting in line. A couple of enthusiastic girls decided they were going to get the crowd going by performing a cheer. It went something like this "Give me a T! Give me an A! Give me an N! Give me an E! Give me a V! T-A-N-E-V, TAN E-V!!" They tried it with Schroeder but kept screwing up his last name! It was funny to watch.
So, again, Kes was on the ice first just finishing up his practice before the rest of the crowd entered. He went over to the other side of the rink this time and did the same thing with them when they started screaming for him....he truly has the "Heart of a Canuck". So this time Group B came out first. As they started their stretching in the middle of the ice, someone cat-called them! The guys all laughed and so did the crowd. Nice way to start the day.
The drills went on for most of the morning and the girls were trying to get Volpatti and Tanev's attention. Oh, to be a teenager again. Once they skated off, Group A came back on the ice at 11:30 am. Bieksa was the the last to show up on the ice....you couldn't miss it. Screams galore! He seems quite comfortable with his fans though....only blushed a couple of times. One girl put up a sign on the glass that read " There once was a Moose who drank lots of Juice!"..got a good chuckle from one of the trainers on the ice. Bieksa smiled at it as well. The drills started and everyone got into it. It was a bit more gruelling than the first day, lots more scrimmages and bumping. It was great to see our Canucks back on the ice. Here's a picture of Bieksa and our new Canuck, Marco Sturm.
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