Bieksa delivers the perfect game-day speech to Canucks players (VIDEO)
If the Vancouver Canucks run through the Anaheim Ducks tonight, you’ll know why.
It’ll be because of Kevin Bieksa’s game-day speech to Canucks players this morning.
The 41-year-old former Canucks defenceman signed a one-day contract today, allowing him to retire with the team that he played most of his career with. He even suited up with the team at the morning skate, but not before sharing some words of wisdom with the players.
“The best time of my career was being a Vancouver Canuck, and being in this dressing room… We have so many good memories in this room,” Bieksa told the players, which included a pair of former teammates in centre Bo Horvat and assistant coach Jason King.
Bieksa then went into detail about the culture that the Canucks built during his decade with the team from 2005 to 2015. That seems awfully relevant to today’s team, which has had its dressing room culture criticized, given its lack of success in recent years.
Once a leader, always a leader. pic.twitter.com/HRg8LCkJxZ
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) November 3, 2022
“The most proud thing I am is the culture that I helped build in this room for about eight to 10 years. And I knew it was special, because when we had guys come from other teams, and we had Bo come up and everything, guys would tell us. ‘Like this room is special. You guys have something good here,'” Bieksa began.
“So how did we develop that? It wasn’t like just me and the twins and Luongo. I think it takes like 3-4 defencemen, 1-2 goalies, and 6-7 forwards of ultra competitive guys. Ultra competitive in your own right.
“Like, are you a net-front guy? Well, you’re the first guy on the ice tipping pucks every morning. Are you a shooter on the flank? Well, you’re a guy that’s on the ice shooting a hundred pucks before practice. That’s what the skill guys do. That’s what the Keslers, the Burrows, the Sedins — that’s what they did.
“Are you an energy guy? You’re in the gym. You have your mandatory workouts, but you do more. You go above and beyond so you’re the best-conditioned guy, you’re the strongest guy. Your body’s not breaking down from all the contact.
“You hone your craft, you take pride in what you do, and you work your [expletive] off doing it, and that’s what makes everybody a better team. And then you keep each other accountable. If everybody’s doing that, goalies are on early, everyone’s working at their profession, and you battle each other in practice, and that’s why we were a great team for 8-10 years, and that’s why we had a great culture.”
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