News Article: Bieksa's Leadership

[Lindgren]

I found this tidbit from a Globe article on Hamhuis's turnaround interesting:

"Bieksa recalls reassuring assistant coach Mike Sullivan: 'Just don’t worry, Dan’s going to be okay.'

'Sully knew that,' Bieksa recalled. 'Dan’s a guy you don’t worry about. You know he’s going to find his ‘A’ game. Everyone knew it was a matter of time.'"

Even though Bieksa says "Sully knew that," I find it interesting that Bieksa recalls offering that assurance to the coach responsible for the D. It suggests a confidence in the relationship between the player and the coach, and it also suggests a certain responsibility on the part of the player: Bieksa, perhaps, doesn't want Hamhuis's struggles to lead to less ice-time and, potentially, to snowball.

I'm not saying that the comment is a big deal, but I found it intriguing. It reminded me of a comment Bieksa made at the beginning of last season, about Lapierre coming to him for some advice about fighting.

Good teammates help others to be better players. Good captains do it. I suppose "Casual Kev" will be too old to be considered for captain when Henrik retires.

Link to the Globe article:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/canucks-hamhuis-turns-season-around/article15334729/

Click to read more...

 

[Chubros]

Yup. Bieksa is more important to this team than most people on here want to believe.

He is probably the team's most valuable defenceman. The team would have missed him more than it does Erhoff.

 

[EpochLink]

Love Bieksa

Although there are the "Casual Kev" moments that make this board go WTF BIEKSA, you cannot deny his leadership and grit. Maybe we are seeing a different Bieksa under Torts.

 

[Foundational Player]

As much as I wanted to see GMMG retain Erhoff back when the team was constrained by the cap, he made the right decision retaining Bieksa. He plays tough, and has a smugness about him that this team needs in spades. He is a key cog in the dressing room, and agree that he would probably be next in line for the captaincy after Henrik.

He is a defender that is suited for 'playoff hockey', and although he has his tendencies to go 'casual' his strengths outweigh his weaknesses.

Plus his comments with the media are very entertaining and he always defends the team when media members try to stir the pot.

Love me a tall glass of JUICE!!!

 

[bottomlesspop]

Juice is the man and has been ever since clocking Fedor Fedorov

 

[Mizral]

Juice is the man and has been ever since clocking Fedor Fedorov

Haha, this is still my all-time favourite Bieksa moment, glad I'm not the only person who remembers!

 

[Reign Nateo]

Juice is the man and has been ever since clocking Fedor Fedorov

Yup. Always liked Kevin. Spoke with him at training camp one year, he's the same guy to everyone he meets and is one of the pillars or the Canucks dressing room. He's had his ups and downs but I'm glad he's still a Canuck.

 

[Fairweather]

With Torts on hand to minimize "Casual Kev" he's been great so far =)

 

[Karl Hungus]

You can tell he's a key guy in the dressing room. I think it was a shocking moment for this whole fan base when the Sedins named him an assistant captain a few years back. That got the fans off his back and seemed to turn his career around almost immediately.

 

[luongo321]

I ripped on him a lot in the past, but he's playing great this season. Sure, he takes risks, but that's the type of player that he is. I'm so damn glad AV is gone. Tortz and co. have been able to get Bieksa's head on straight and Edler is playing better as well. I really like that Bieksa seems to be more physical this season. He's willing to step in and fight more than the previous season.

 

[Bourne Endeavor]

And this just goes to show the importance of Bieksa to the Canuck nucleus and why he will not be traded. Since Torts arrived Bieksa has been our most consistently good defenseman, a statement I never thought I'd say.

 

[Hollywood Burrows]

I think he'll be a head coach in the NHL if he wants to be one, but every TV network will be rushing to hire him as an analyst when he retires.

For now I'm glad we have him.

 

[Jyrki]

I'm not sure about KB3 as a coach, but he'd make an excellent broadacster.

 

[The Bob Cole]

That's why he was given the "A" with Daniel this year.

 

[yoss]

Highly underrated around here imo, couldn't imagine the team without him. Juice is the man. Agree with much of the posts above.

 

[Wisp]

I predicted the possibility of a combination of Tanev/Corrado/Garrison forcing him into a Ballard position and him losing his job with Torts. I'm glad I'm wrong.

the dichotomy of how Bieksa is viewed is interesting to me. He drives fans nuts but NHLers regard him with such deference.

 

[Lindgren]

I predicted the possibility of a combination of Tanev/Corrado/Garrison forcing him into a Ballard position and him losing his job with Torts. I'm glad I'm wrong.

the dichotomy of how Bieksa is viewed is interesting to me. He drives fans nuts but NHLers regard him with such deference.

I guess certain personalities simply command respect. I remember the pre-season when the Canucks signed Malhotra, and he was reported to be leading the workouts at UBC before training camp. He hadn't even played a game for the team yet.

 

[Lemurion]

I predicted the possibility of a combination of Tanev/Corrado/Garrison forcing him into a Ballard position and him losing his job with Torts. I'm glad I'm wrong.

the dichotomy of how Bieksa is viewed is interesting to me. He drives fans nuts but NHLers regard him with such deference.

I think his character has a lot to do with it. Fans see the brainfarts, Pros see the man.

 

[Hammer79]

Bieksa is so under-rated around here it's criminal.

 

[Smokey McCanucks]

Bieksa might not be our "best" defenceman but he is our most important and most valuable defenceman.

 

[Shareefruck]

I definitely don't deny that he's great for the locker room.