By Joel Smart (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: November 2, 2011
Perhaps in order to meet the Canucks’ unexplainably high red-head quota, after this summer’s loss of the famously-ginger Raffi Torres, GM Mike Gillis signed on defenceman Alexander Sulzer on July 7, 2011. He just recently played his first game with the Canucks, on Wednesday, October 26, in a losing effort to the St. Louis Blues. To his credit, no goals were allowed during his 19:19 of ice time. Although it’s too early to say for sure, it looks as though he could be just what the Canucks are looking for from a depth defenceman – reliable. The kind of player who is doing his job when you forget he’s even on your team.
Both Sulzer and Alain Vigneault had positive impressions of his first game. “After a couple of shifts, I felt pretty good,” Sulzer told The Province. “I like playing with Keith [Ballard] and he made it easier for me to get into the game.” Vigneault added that though he hadn’t looked over the tapes yet, his impressions were positive. “He had a lot of energy, made some good plays with the puck… I thought he played well,” he added. The the 6-foot-1, 204-pound player, who wears the number 52, fit into the lineup after Aaron Rome broke his hand. Well, that, and both Chris Tanev and Andrew Alberts were struggling. Sure, he’s a depth guy, but that he is playing well says a lot about the guy – and also about the kind of defensive depth the Canucks have this year.
Before the season began, playing for the Canucks was just a hope for Sulzer; Sportsnet had even called it a long-shot. Yet Sulzer told The Province that after playing in Vancouver for Team Germany during the Olympics, and after looking at the team’s completeness, it looked like the best fit for him. “It made the most sense,” he said. “I look at the roster in Vancouver, it’s got really, really good depth… It’s a challenge and, for me, it’s an exciting challenge.” He called it a “huge change” from his time in Nashville, but he felt it was an opportunity too good to pass up. “It’s a chance to play in a Canadian city and compete for a Stanley Cup every year.” It’s the kind of enthusiasm Canucks fans hope for in new recruits.
Born in the hockey-mad city of Kaufbeuren, West Germany, Sulzer grew up playing the game. He played for ESV Kaufbeuren at age 16, which was part of the third-tier German Hockey League called Oberliga. His play got him noticed, and the Nashville Predators selected him in the third round (92nd overall) in the NHL Entry Draft. In the 2003-04 season, Sulzer advanced to the DEG Metro Stars in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, a league known for its high numbers of North American players. After four seasons with DEG, Sulzer moved to the United States and began playing in the AHL with the Milwaukee Admirals. He played 61 games in his rookie year, the 2006-07 season, and scored four goals and 15 points. He was a plus-six. He also had two goals in nine playoff games that year. His first NHL game came with the Nashville Predators in 2008-09. The next season he had 20 games with the club, and was a plus-four on the year. By 2010-11 he managed 31 games with the club, where he finished a plus-14. He also scored his first NHL goal that season – it came against the Edmonton Oilers on January 23, 2011. Just a month later, with his contract coming to an end, he was traded to the Florida Panthers for a conditional draft pick.
It was as an unrestricted free agent that Sulzer was able to sign a two-way contract with the Canucks – worth $700,000 at the NHL level, and $105,000 at the AHL level. Canucks assistant GM Lorne Henning explained to The Province that management felt Sulzer had a great deal to bring to the team. “We’ve been watching him for quite a while now,” Henning said after the signing. “He’s good on the power play, he moves the puck, he’s a really good skater. We’re excited to get him. He gives us depth.”
Sulzer has adapted well, especially considering his tough start in Vancouver; he was hit especially hard by the Russian plane crash that killed 44 KHL hockey players over the summer. He was excused from the Canucks training camp to return to Germany for the funeral of his close family-friend, Robert Dietrich, who was on the plane. “We were like brothers – we had known each other almost all of our lives,” he told The Vancouver Sun, “I was totally in shock when I first heard. It was a big loss for my whole family.” The two had grown up as next-door neighbours. “He was a really happy guy who made everyone in the room smile and feel better,” he reflected.
