"It really helped me": Luongo explains importance of Twitter during his Canucks days

Roberto Luongo was an accomplished NHL star when he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in 2006.

But getting used to the demands of a Canadian market took some getting used to.

Speaking in Vancouver ahead of tonight’s Hall of Fame celebration at Rogers Arena, Luongo said Twitter helped him on and off the ice.

The player that fans and media in Vancouver first got to know was quite different, outwardly at least, than the one that left in 2014.

“Mostly it was Twitter,” Luongo told reporters, referring to his legendary @strombone1 account.

“When I got here, it was the first time I was in a Canadian market obviously. After the first year when you start to hit a few bumps in the road, and I started having trouble dealing with certain things I would say, I internalized most of it and it affected me in a personal matter. Sometimes I didn’t deal with it the right way, I found.”

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Luongo joined Twitter in July 2011, the month after the Canucks lost to Boston in the Stanley Cup Final, but kept his account anonymous. People began figuring out that Luongo was behind the account in 2012.

Through Twitter, Luongo was able to show off his personality and deprecating sense of humour. He says it helped him in many ways.

“As I got a little [more] mature, and went through the ups and downs of a career really, I started to learn a few things and not take things as serious as I should have sometimes. And I wasn’t joking, when the [@strombone1 Twitter account] came around, it really helped me. Once I started kind of making fun of myself, it kind of made things a lot easier on myself to accept that things are going to happen and you can’t just dwell on them the whole time.”

“It helped in a lot of ways, more than just my performance. Just life in general. I became better for it, the way I approached certain situations. Maybe more difficult situations that I’d have trouble with in the past, and I was able to handle them better, and move past things a little bit easier.

“It’s the old saying, you live and you learn. For me, that’s kind of what happened.”

"The best moments of my career was when I was here (in Vancouver). To be able to relive them a little bit in the next while, take it in and thank the fans, it's a nice way to cap it all off." pic.twitter.com/kJ61uLHWB8

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) December 1, 2022

Luongo will be inducted into the Ring of Honour, rather than having his jersey retired — a decision that has been lambasted by a significant portion of the Canucks fan base. But the Hall of Famer took the high road when asked about it.

“That’s not up to me to decide,” said Luongo. “Either way, it’s a tremendous honour. I’m very grateful to be honoured [in] any way. I was happy when I got the call yesterday, and I’m looking forward to next season.”