'Juice' is the quintessential Canuck.....a fifth round draft pick out of Bowling Green who came in and broke down the door to a stellar NHL career. Just too bad the Canucks haven't found very many more d-men like him over the years.
Confirmed with Link: Kevin Bieksa signs one day contract to retire as a Canuck
- Thread starter Angry Little Elf
- Start date
Johnny Canucker
Registered User
- Jan 4, 2009
- 17,750
- 6,116
I’m happy about this. Probably the best personality on a Canuck I’ve ever seen. He was never a very skilled player to be honest but tough as nails and a willing combatant. He was part of a core that was hard to play against , was hated, had swagger and had the ability to win in different ways. A core that didn’t get pushed around.
Literally the opposite of this current core.
Literally the opposite of this current core.
CalderSchmalder
Registered User
Bieksa is really one of my favourite Canucks ever, tough as nails and had a very good shot from the point. Right next to Rypien in terms of fighting ability IMO. He had his moments though where he would fumble the puck trying to move it and give away a dangerous turnover.
There's an interesting moment from an interview recently where he says the Sedins would ignore him while they strategized passing plays, I'll see if I can dig it up.
edit: can't find the Sedins clip but check out this fight, the slow mo is amazing
There's an interesting moment from an interview recently where he says the Sedins would ignore him while they strategized passing plays, I'll see if I can dig it up.
edit: can't find the Sedins clip but check out this fight, the slow mo is amazing
Last edited:
Mr. Canucklehead
Kitimat Canuck
Awesome news. Love that he identifies as and wants to officially conclude his career as a member of the Canucks. Such a huge part of those fire wagon teams lead by the Sedins. Loved his snarl and personality.
cc
Registered User
- Feb 28, 2002
- 9,775
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Nice sentiment for a popular former player.
He had questionable defensive ability but he was a true heart and soul player who was reportedly great in the locker room and a leader off and on the ice for the organization.
He had questionable defensive ability but he was a true heart and soul player who was reportedly great in the locker room and a leader off and on the ice for the organization.
It's cool this is happening and on the whole after the fact I'm a huge Bieksa fan, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I hated his game for a few long junctures of his time here.
Bieksa was a pure instinct/anticipation-based defender who paid zero attention to basic defensive fundamentals - kind of a poor man's Chris Chelios who attacked the puck and the play at all times and roamed way out of position to do so. When he was 'on'. he was a possession force who broke up plays before they happened and drove the puck up ice for us. But when he was 'off' ... good god, it was ugly. And there were multiple entire seasons where he was off, partly due to serious injuries. And then his last season when his legs had started to go he couldn't recover when he got out of position.
But his rookie season and 2010-2012 he was 'on' and he was a delight to watch. The partnership with Hamhuis was absolutely perfect.
The descriptions of 'such a physical player' are also kind of funny. He was and he wasn't. When the clock was ticking, he was actually a smallish attacking-based skill defender who didn't often throw big hits and wasn't a crease-clearing menace or anything. But then the whistle blew and he went full Hulk and was an absolute superstar in scrums and fights.
Bieksa was a pure instinct/anticipation-based defender who paid zero attention to basic defensive fundamentals - kind of a poor man's Chris Chelios who attacked the puck and the play at all times and roamed way out of position to do so. When he was 'on'. he was a possession force who broke up plays before they happened and drove the puck up ice for us. But when he was 'off' ... good god, it was ugly. And there were multiple entire seasons where he was off, partly due to serious injuries. And then his last season when his legs had started to go he couldn't recover when he got out of position.
But his rookie season and 2010-2012 he was 'on' and he was a delight to watch. The partnership with Hamhuis was absolutely perfect.
The descriptions of 'such a physical player' are also kind of funny. He was and he wasn't. When the clock was ticking, he was actually a smallish attacking-based skill defender who didn't often throw big hits and wasn't a crease-clearing menace or anything. But then the whistle blew and he went full Hulk and was an absolute superstar in scrums and fights.
- Aug 28, 2011
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He was mentored by a decent cast that included: Sami Salo, Mattias Ohlund, Willie Mitchell.
I think being paired with prime Willie Mitchell in 2006-2007 really helped him further develop his game. He was more free to push forward while Mitchell cleaned up on the backend.
We really haven't had that defensive defenseman in the past few years to shelter some of our younger guys. Actually, we did....and yeah, he plays in Calgary now.
Hit the post
I have your gold medal Zippy!
I might have my timelines wrong but I think Kevin also had Alain Vigneault as his AHL coach but that might be part of the 'Kelvin timeline' if my memories are off.
- Aug 28, 2011
- 16,531
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Played ~20 games with AV in the AHL then yeah, transitioned into a full-timer by 2006-2007 under AV in the NHL.
PS. Please change your avatar. I always get the "1-2-3" song stuck in my head.
Bieksa wasn't without his flaws, but he was a huge part of the best team the Canucks have ever had.
And he literally bled for the team regularly as a middleweight who had to go up against other team's heavyweights. Deserves the Ring of Honour IMO.
And he literally bled for the team regularly as a middleweight who had to go up against other team's heavyweights. Deserves the Ring of Honour IMO.
Nucker101
Foundational Poster
- Apr 2, 2013
- 21,286
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Yeah Bieksa was definitely a polarizing player in Vancouver but if anything that speaks to how high the bar was for that era compared to the low limbo bar we have now 10+ years later.
I loved the Kesler/Bieksa/Burrows bromance trio.
Was so fun having an elite team that also annoyed the shit outta the entire league.
I loved the Kesler/Bieksa/Burrows bromance trio.
Was so fun having an elite team that also annoyed the shit outta the entire league.
EpochLink
Canucks and Jets fan
His wife also gave a shoutout to Vancouver as well, stating they were heart and soul Canucks. She’s super chill.
Chairman Maouth
Retired Staff
It was either 2008 or 2009 when the Canucks beat the Blues in the quarter finals 4 straight. Bieksa's game was Conn Smythe level. I remember I photoshopped up a picture of Bieksa's face on a beer bottle and labelled it, "Pronger Lite". Bieksa always raised his game in the playoffs.
EpochLink
Canucks and Jets fan
It was 2009, he gave Dave Backes a slip at the end of game 2 and some scrum happened. Bieksa was always a playoff performer.
Shareefruck
Registered User
The luxury of having a guy who could legitimately have been a first pairing caliber guy when healthy on your third pairing in Sami Salo was insane, too.
Ah Juice, looked upon so fondly now, lest we forget that he was the whipping boy for the fans. I saw posts like 'Ryan Parent carrying the Juice pairing' or that they would much rather have Shane O'Brien over him. Now he's getting the respect from the fans that he deserves.
Shareefruck
Registered User
Let's not compare mostly net positive Jekyll and Hyde players with an always rock bottom, "even when he's at his very best, he's still kinda terrible" player like Sbisa.
Tyler Myers is a better comparable, IMO.
Bieksa was particularly weird because he wouldn't really have that many inconsistent one-off moments-- he'd just alternate between being bad for nearly a full season and being insanely good for nearly a full season.
Chairman Maouth
Retired Staff
Bieksa is my favourite Canuck of all time, not only for that reason, but for how he stuck up for his teammates, his fighting ability, his intelligence, his sense of humour, his love for our city, his support for sick children, and his support for the cause in the name of his friend, Rick Rypien. It has been no surprise to me that he has excelled as a hockey panelist, although I do wish he would sometimes cut Friedman a little slack.
I appreciate why fans of other teams hated him, but I think they were wrong if they didn't at least respect him.
Shareefruck
Registered User
Yeah, it's weird, you don't really think of Salo as a first pairing guy because he's always injured and because of that, only plays around 20 minutes a game.
But when you break down his capabilities, he's:
* a focal point offensively that teams outright need to key in on to avoid being exposed
* more mistake-free and positionally perfect than other guys you'd think of as defensive studs like Mitchell or Ohlund
* always at least among our best PP D and PK D simultaneously
* doesn't really have any deficiencies in terms of speed, strength, puck skills, or work ethic
* able to consistently carry a pairing with a crappy d partner single-handedly
That's considered a first pairing caliber defenseman under most circumstances. If only he wasn't made out of glass.
Hit the post
I have your gold medal Zippy!
I still remember how multiple coaches (including one who won the Coach of the Year award) kept putting those two together despite looking like dog****.
Weird thing chemistry. Two otherwise LEGIT top 4 D's on their own. But combined? Yikes!
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