It’s rare to get a chance to play for your hometown team. On Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche, Arshdeep Bains became just the 69th British Columbia native to ever play an NHL game for the Vancouver Canucks.
The Surrey native is one of just two BC-born players on the Canucks’ current roster, along with Abbotsford’s Noah Juulsen.
Including goaltenders, 72 individuals born in BC have donned the Canucks sweater for a regular season game, and only 20 have crossed the 100-game threshold.
Here are the best British Columbians to ever play for the Canucks.
1. Cliff Ronning, C
- Stats: 366 GP, 112 G, 216 A, 328 PTS
- Hometown: Burnaby
What Cliff Ronning accomplished in an era of big-boy hockey was incredibly impressive.
Listed at 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds, the undersized centreman was an offensive force for the Canucks throughout his five years with the organization. His 85-point campaign in 1992-93 is the highest single-season mark among any BC-born Canuck.
He also holds the record for most points ever by a Canuck in a single period, when he posted five points (three goals, two assists) against the St. Louis Blues back on April 15, 1993.
2. Geoff Courtnall, LW
- Stats: 292 GP, 102 G, 144 A, 246 PTS
- Hometown: Duncan
To think that the Canucks acquired their two best BC-born players in franchise history in just one trade.
You can thank the legend himself, former Canucks general manager Pat Quinn, for that.
Courtnall was acquired with Ronning in March of 1991, when Quinn traded defenceman Garth Butcher and centre Dan Quinn for Courtnall, Ronning, Sergio Momesso, and Robert Dirk. That trade coincided with the Canucks turnaround and opened their window as a Stanley Cup contender.
3. Brendan Morrison, C
- Stats: 543 GP, 136 G, 257 A, 393 PTS
- Hometown: Pitt Meadows
Much like Ronning, Brendan Morrison was an undersized centre who rose to prominence with the Canucks.
Acquired from the New Jersey Devils in the Alexander Mogilny trade, the deal paid off when Morrison ended up centring one of the most exciting lines in NHL history.
Morrison’s 393 career points are the 15th most in Canucks history and are tops among all BC-born Canucks.
4. Greg Adams, LW
- Stats: 489 GP, 179 G, 190 A, 369 PTS
- Hometown: Nelson
Greg Adams is right up there with Alex Burrows as arguably the most clutch Canucks of all time.
Both Adams and Burrows are tied with a franchise record of three playoff overtime goals. Of course, Adams and Burrows both scored goals that decided series for the Canucks.
During the 1994 playoff run, Adams actually had overtime-winning goals in back-to-back games. He scored the goal that eliminated the Toronto Maple Leafs and sent the Canucks to the Stanley Cup Final.
Adams scored the overtime winner in the following Canucks contest, during a Game 1 victory over the New York Rangers.
5. Doug Lidster, D
- Stats: 666 GP, 65 G, 242 A, 307 PTS
- Hometown: Kamloops
After being drafted by the Canucks back in 1980, Doug Lidster spent the prime of his career patrolling Vancouver’s blue line. His 666 games played are the most all-time by a BC native in Canucks history and ranks 11th overall. Lidster also registered 307 of his 343 career points with the Canucks.
The Kamloops native spent six more seasons as a depth defenceman for three different teams, including the Cup-winning Rangers back in 1994.
The 63 points he registered in 1986-87 stood as the record for most points by a Canucks defenceman in a single season. He held that record for 35 years until Quinn Hughes finally broke it in 2021-22.
6. Dan Hamhuis, D
- Stats: 389 GP, 23 G, 119 A, 142 PTS
- Hometown: Smithers
One of the best defensive defencemen in franchise history, Hamhuis was a top-pairing rock for the best team the Canucks ever iced.
He spent six seasons in Vancouver after signing a six-year deal in the summer of 2010. Hamhuis’s +78 is the best mark among any defenceman in Canucks history.
7. Darcy Rota, LW
- Stats: 289 GP, 120 G, 116 A, 236 PTS
- Hometown: Vancouver
After growing up in Vancouver, Kelowna, and Prince George, skilled left winger Darcy Rota carved out a 500+ game NHL career with the Chicago Blackhawks and Atlanta Flames before the Canucks acquired him in February of 1980.
He would go on to spend the final five years of his career with the Canucks, and helped the team reach their first Stanley Cup Finals back in 1982.
āThe biggest goal I ever scored in my life was the goal to make it 4-2 in Game 5 against Chicago (in the Campbell Conference Final),” Rota said in this interview. āThat, by far, is the highlight of my life in hockey.ā
- You might also like:
- Where are they now? What every member of the 2011 Canucks is doing today
Honourable Mentions: Russ Courtnall (Duncan), Cam Neely (Comox), Gary Lupul (Powell River), Steve Bozek (Kelowna), Steve Tambellini (Trail), Troy Stecher (Richmond), Willie Mitchell (Port McNeil), Murray Baron (Prince George)
Follow Channels and Categories