It’s not like they sit around the dressing room, hold hands and sing Kumbaya, but the Vancouver Canucks are a tight group.
Tighter than any NHL team Chris Higgins has been a part of.
“It is night and day compared to some other teams I have been on,” Higgins said Monday. “I have been on a couple of teams where it was just very cliquey. Outside the rink certain guys just don’t hang out with other guys.”
The Canucks, Higgins says, are different.
“On this team it seems like you are never in the same group of guys if you are hanging out away from the rink,” he says. “And I think that is pretty refreshing to see.”
Higgins, who had four previous NHL stops before he was traded to the Canucks at last season’s deadline, was immediately struck by the team’s chemistry as well as its talent when he joined Vancouver. He was welcomed with open arms and has seen the same happen to other players who have subsequently joined the team.
“I am a big believer in that the better you get along with guys off the ice the better you are going to play with them,” he says. “Some people may disagree with that, but that’s the way I feel. You see that personality with this team, guys are willing to spend time away from the rink with each other and really enjoy their time.”
Captain Henrik Sedin’s face practically lights up when the subject of team chemistry is raised. Henrik, his brother Daniel and some of the other core players such as Ryan Kesler, Kevin Bieksa, Alex Burrows and goalie Roberto Luongo have helped cultivate that atmosphere.
“I think it’s great,” Henrik said after Monday’s optional practice. “It’s fun to come to the rink. We have an 11 o’clock practice and you see guys down here at 8:45 or 9 o’clock just sitting around talking. That is what you need. Guys are staying around after practice and that’s a good thing.
“If you have guys coming an hour before practice and they leave right away, that is not a good thing. This has to be a place where you like to be even if hockey is not working out and we are losing games. It has to be fun to come down to the rink and that is what we have.”
And it is not a coincidence. As an organization, the Canucks place a high priority on the person, not just the player.
“Who they are as individuals and what their core values are is as important, if not more, than what attributes they bring to the ice,” says assistant general manager Laurence Gilman. “Obviously we are in the business of trying to build a championship hockey team. Different players have different roles and you are trying to get the best performers in each role. However, if at the end of the day you are assembling individuals who don’t mesh as a unit, then your results are going to be compromised.
“It’s rare that you see every guy in the locker room get along,” adds Luongo. “All the guys in there are good team guys. Usually, there are a few guys that are on their own program or what not. This is the best group we have ever had as far as chemistry is concerned. Obviously the talent is there, but I think we have got something special.”
“It’s never been bad here,” Daniel Sedin says. “But it certainly has never been as good as it is now.”
Chemistry is the key to success!
