The Gino Odjick for ROH Campaign

[Mr. Canucklehead]

I thought this would be a good topic for discussion as I see a lot of people talking about it on Twitter. There’s a movement afoot to have Gino Odjick enshrined in the Ring of Honour. How do people here feel about it?

Personally, I’m in favour. He was a long time Canuck, who holds a unique place in franchise history perhaps forevermore given that the role of the enforcer has become / is becoming obsolete. More so than his on ice contributions, he’s been a pillar of the community for several decades, and is still actively involved in charity and community work to this day.

I think for those reasons, there’s a good case for him being there. But I expect there’s a lot of viewpoints on this either way.

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[NoRaise4Brackett]

Nope. Sorry, but you have to impact the game. Gino eclipsed the 20 point barrier only once; he was pretty much just a face-puncher.

 

[MS]

Not in a million years.

He isn’t in the 100 best Canucks in terms of on-ice performance. Maybe not the best 200.

He was consistently a healthy scratch in the playoffs and never scored a point in a series the team won.

Career 4th liner.

He’s a terrific guy with a special place in fans’ hearts but jersey retirements and ROH inductions aren’t ‘nice guy awards’. Are we going to put Jack McIllhargey up there, too?

If he wasn’t ill there is zero chance this would ever have been discussed and it would be something done out of pure sentimentality instead of rationality.

 

[xtra]

This is the reason we have 6 retired jerseys which is 3 more than the amount of finals appearances we have.

we need to raise the bar on what we celebrate in this franchise.

 

[MS]

This is the reason we have 6 retired jerseys which is 3 more than the amount of finals appearances we have.

we need to raise the bar on what we celebrate in this franchise.

Yup. It's the sort of move that would make us a laughingstock.

Imagine what we'd be saying here if the Islanders put Mick Vukota in their Ring of Honour equivalent.

 

[Didalee Hed]

Yup. It's the sort of move that would make us a laughingstock.

Imagine what we'd be saying here if the Islanders put Mick Vukota in their Ring of Honour equivalent.

Gino Odjick and Mick Vukota belong on all-time names lists, not rings of honour.

 

[MS]

Gino Odjick and Mick Vukota belong on all-time names lists, not rings of honour.

There are tons of ways for this franchise to honour Gino and what he's done here and meant here.

Establish a high-profile scholarship fund for talented indigenous hockey players in Gino's name? Absolutely.

Name an eatery at the arena after him? Sure.

Give him an honour reserved for the finest players in franchise history? Nope, sorry. He just wasn't, and this is a franchise that already sorely needs to raise their standards for these things, not drop them further.

 

[Didalee Hed]

There are tons of ways for this franchise to honour Gino and what he's done here and meant here.

Establish a high-profile scholarship fund for talented indigenous hockey players in Gino's name? Absolutely.

Name an eatery at the arena after him? Sure.

Give him an honour reserved for the finest players in franchise history? Nope, sorry. He just wasn't, and this is a franchise that already sorely needs to raise their standards for these things, not drop them further.

I like the eatery at the arena idea. Like steamer and the hot dogs. Simple, really popular meals. Get that carve sandwich associated with gino. I love that sandwich.

 

[xtra]

There are tons of ways for this franchise to honour Gino and what he's done here and meant here.

Establish a high-profile scholarship fund for talented indigenous hockey players in Gino's name? Absolutely.

Name an eatery at the arena after him? Sure.

Give him an honour reserved for the finest players in franchise history? Nope, sorry. He just wasn't, and this is a franchise that already sorely needs to raise their standards for these things, not drop them further.

I agree here there’s so many ways to celebrate don’t involve retiring his number or putting him in the ring of honor (in fact I’d have smyl, linden,naslund and bure in the roh instead of retired but that’s off topic)

the scholarship is a great idea but I doubt our owner ever does that one as it’s money out, but naming an eatery after him and maybe working with First Nations to develop a rotating item to introduce people to First Nations culture


Just no jersey retirement or ROH

 

[MS]

I like the eatery at the arena idea. Like steamer and the hot dogs. Simple, really popular meals. Get that carve sandwich associated with gino. I love that sandwich.

I agree here there’s so many ways to celebrate don’t involve retiring his number or putting him in the ring of honor (in fact I’d have smyl, linden,naslund and bure in the roh instead of retired but that’s off topic)

the scholarship is a great idea but I doubt our owner ever does that one as it’s money out, but naming an eatery after him and maybe working with First Nations to develop a rotating item to introduce people to First Nations culture


Just no jersey retirement or ROH

This is what teams generally do with 'cult hero' types. They find a way like this to honour the player without diminishing the standards of their honours which are based on actual playing excellence.

And as bad as we've been with retiring numbers (I'd have the Sedins and maybe Linden and that's it), we have actually set a reasonably high standard with the ROH, with guys like Brodeur and Ronning not making the cut. And we should keep it that way.

__________

As an aside, I still think it's a disgrace that Phil Maloney isn't in the ROH and that he wasn't honoured in any way before he died last year.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

This is what teams generally do with 'cult hero' types. They find a way like this to honour the player without diminishing the standards of their honours which are based on actual playing excellence.

And as bad as we've been with retiring numbers (I'd have the Sedins and maybe Linden and that's it), we have actually set a reasonably high standard with the ROH, with guys like Brodeur and Ronning not making the cut. And we should keep it that way.

__________

As an aside, I still think it's a disgrace that Phil Maloney isn't in the ROH and that he wasn't honoured in any way before he died last year.

The franchise’s refusal to acknowledge their extremely successful WHL phase still baffles me. I wonder, if like the Millionaires, it’s a situation of who owns the property? The Canucks had to purchase the Millionaires brand before they really embraced it as part of their heritage.

Also - part of the reason I like this discussion, is because it stokes good ideas like some of @MS suggestions about new and different ways to honour players for their impact on the franchise and the city/province.

 

[MS]

The franchise’s refusal to acknowledge their extremely successful WHL phase still baffles me. I wonder, if like the Millionaires, it’s a situation of who owns the property? The Canucks had to purchase the Millionaires brand before they really embraced it as part of their heritage.

Also - part of the reason I like this discussion, is because it stokes good ideas like some of @MS suggestions about new and different ways to honour players for their impact on the franchise and the city/province.

Surely the current team owns all rights to anything WHL Canucks related? They've appropriated both the name and the Johnny Canuck logo, so I can't imagine that isn't the case.

The thing that gets me about Maloney is that he was the team's most successful NHL coach prior to Pat Quinn and led the team for their only winning seasons in their first two+ decades, so it isn't like it's even a 'solely WHL' thing.

I don't know if it's arrogance about associating themselves with their 'minor league' iteration or that minor-league stuff from 50+ years ago just doesn't sell tickets or generate public interest (conversely, a 'Gino Night' is a guaranteed sellout). But that shouldn't stop the team from doing the right things to honour their heritage and the people who built the franchise and hockey in Vancouver.

 

[timw33]

God our franchise is so embarrassing that this is even remotely a possible discussion.

3 Conference finals in 50 years of existence, no championships, and we have what, 6 jerseys that will be retired?

 

[rypper]

I originally voted yes because I don’t think the ring of honor has to be reserved for the most skilled players.

I think it can be a spot to recognize players who brought a little extra to the team during their time here, but maybe weren't superstars. (Someone like Bieksa for example.)

But I'm also someone who looks at the jerseys we have retired and thinks it's far too many for a team that's never won it all.

I agree with some of the posters in here too find another way to recognize Gino.

 

[MS]

I originally voted yes because I don’t think the ring of honor has to be reserved for the most skilled players.

I think it can be a spot to recognize players who brought a little extra to the team during their time here, but maybe weren't superstars. (Someone like Bieksa for example.)

But I'm also someone who looks at the jerseys we have retired and thinks it's far too many for a team that's never won it all.

I agree with some of the posters in here too find another way to recognize Gino.

I don't disagree with the bolded and that certainly resonating with the fans might give a guy like Bieksa (or Ronning) a bit of a 'bump' into ROH status. But these were also players who were core excellent 'not quite All-Star' players performing in top roles here for many years, and it's only a very slight bump. The bump involved in Gino making the ROH would be ludicrously large.

 

[vancityluongo]

Aside from the other points brought up, I'm voting no because it sort of sets "tragedy" as a bit of a standard. Like others have said, this is being discussed because of Gino's health, and pretty much for that reason only.

So does that mean Rypien is ROH? Wayne Maki? Demitra?

Name a wing of Canuck Place after Odjick. That's how to recognize community contributions - for what he did in the community. The ROH is a recognition of on-ice accomplishments.

 

[RussianRacket]

Paint the concourse walls with murals of notable but not ROH or rafters worthy players. Honoring their contribution and legacy but not going overboard. Probably more interesting for visitors to the arena as well.

Bam. Problem solved, no one is offended.

 

[Dump Itch]

OP is probably the type to think every child who participates in a tournament is a winner and deserves a trophy lol

 

[rypper]

So does that mean Rypien is ROH? Wayne Maki? Demitra?

I think with players like these they should have their numbers unofficially retired. Maybe not forever but certainly off limits for a while.

(A handful of players have worn 38 since Demitra but I also don't really think of the Canucks first when I think of Demitra.)

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

OP is probably the type to think every child who participates in a tournament is a winner and deserves a trophy lol

Thanks for coming out.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Aside from the other points brought up, I'm voting no because it sort of sets "tragedy" as a bit of a standard. Like others have said, this is being discussed because of Gino's health, and pretty much for that reason only.

So does that mean Rypien is ROH? Wayne Maki? Demitra?

Name a wing of Canuck Place after Odjick. That's how to recognize community contributions - for what he did in the community. The ROH is a recognition of on-ice accomplishments.

While I don’t think this conversation is only occurring because Gino has health issues, I think the bolded is another good idea. You and MS have both contributed some solid ideas to this thread, I think.

 

[Kryten]

Thanks for coming out.

Hey that’s what my trophy says!

 

[PavelBure10]

Loved Gino, he was one of my all time most memorable Canucks. The hilarious penalty shot goal, taking on the whole Blues team, or just seeing that goofy smile. Gino is an all time Canuck great, his memories need to be cherished and remembered, but unfortunately not in the ring of honor.

 

[vancityluongo]

While I don’t think this conversation is only occurring because Gino has health issues, I think the bolded is another good idea. You and MS have both contributed some solid ideas to this thread, I think.

Fair enough - I can see reasons on the other side of it too. In particular, I'm starting to lean towards thinking that setting up specific "standards" for jersey retirement/ROH induction sometimes doesn't properly account for the factors beyond counting stats. At the end of the day, it isn't about hitting 1000 points or whatever - it's about franchise impact. Like MS said, for some close cases (a guy like Bieksa), that impact obviously adds a "bump" to the counting stats - but there's no rule that it can't go the other way.

As in, I don't know if I agree with treating those honours like they're "sacred" - people seem to be sort of stuck in comparing to the O6 teams, where 1-2 of the HHOF'ers of the half dozen on every team would get that additional honour, assuming they had a full tenure with the team. But it's a wholly different thing for non-O6 teams. Henrik Sedin is the Jean Beliveau of the Canucks. Markus Naslund probably means more to the history of the Canucks than Denis Savard means to the Blackhawks. Linden is our George Armstrong, despite an on-ice record closer to Wendel Clark (who also has his jersey retired).

So is honoring a genuinely well-liked guy like Odjick, who was a long-time fan favorite, not just as a Canuck, but in the community for many years after in his retirement, some sort of affront to the sacredness of the team? Probably not.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

isn't the whole point of a ring of honour to allow the team to remember guys who weren't objectively great enough to have their numbers retired? if not for sentimentality, why even have a ring of honour?

not to say gino needs to be in it, but i guess i'm just wondering where it ends if we create another category for each successive tier of player we want to honour.