"Be yourself": Canucks legend Bieksa talks about joining the media on CBC's The National
Former Vancouver Canucks defenceman Kevin Bieksa got to flip roles for a recent interview.
While Bieksa is now usually the one asking questions and leading interviews — leading to some hilarious moments — he returned to the role of the interview subject that he assumed so often during his playing days for this one.
Since he retired from professional hockey, Bieksa has quickly become a fan-favourite analyst. He often appears on Hockey Night in Canada and provides refreshing and novel insights into the game.
Bieksa spoke with CBC’s Ian Hanomansing about the transition from being a player to a media member, the current state of the game, and a lot more.
“I was told pretty early on, ‘Be yourself and don’t try to be a trained journalist.’ I didn’t go to school for this,” Bieksa said when discussing his early success in the media world. “I’m a retired athlete, and I’m essentially there to talk about hockey and bring the fan into what the players are seeing and thinking.”
One of the more interesting conversation topics that the former Canuck spoke about was the role of fighting and enforcers in today’s game.
“I don’t think you have the fighters anymore like you did when I played. There were guys where their job was essentially to go out and fight every other game, so we’re looking at 30, 40 fights a season,” Bieksa said. “Back then, a heavyweight was 6-foot-5, 250, that was a normal size. So yeah, I can understand the anxieties for players going into those games knowing that it’s one punch away from permanent damage, and on top of that, not really getting an opportunity to play the game.”
You can find the full conversation between Bieksa and Hanomansing below.
Bieksa played 10 seasons with the Canucks before moving south of the border to play for the Anaheim Ducks. He finished his career with 808 games played and 278 points.
The right-shot defenceman played a huge role on the 2011 Canucks team that made a charge to the Stanley Cup finals. One of the most iconic moments from that postseason run was Bieksa scoring the series-winning goal in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals to send his team to the next round.