By Joel Smart (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: November 16, 2011
Fans of the Canucks who also happen to be rabid Twitter addicts have been salivating over the last couple months as several key Canuck players (and a couple less-key ones) have opted to join the popular social networking service. The most popular Canuck to tweet is none other than Ryan Kesler (@Ryan_Kesler), last season’s Selke winner, who had 99,750 followers at the time this article was written. Defenceman Kevin Bieksa (@kbieksa3), known for his witty comments, was in second place with 43,513. Even retired Canuck (and possibly the future Mayor of Vancouver) Trevor Linden (@trevor_linden) has set up an account.
For many, it’s an opportunity to learn a little bit more about the characters that make up the team, and to understand the day-to-day life of Vancouver’s true celebrities. Kesler and Bieksa often keep it light-hearted by cracking jokes. On October 9, Bieksa tweeted Kesler with a message about Cody Hodson’s clothes. “Important mission with Dan [Hamhuis] & Manny [Malhotra]: upgrade Coho’s wardrobe! Want to make him into a young T-Linden eventually!” Kesler tweeted back moments later in reply: “when are we gonna flag pole those awful boxers of his! #epicprank” In another example, Kesler sent Bieksa a tweet after he finished a nude photoshoot with ESPN: “Nothin needs to be said about this but here’s something to put on your fridge buds!” The tweet included a link to his nude picture. Another time Kesler posted a picture of an enormous, strangely-painted boot that adorned a baggage carrousel in an airport they were at. Bieksa tweeted back to Kesler in response: “Jump on that boot and straddle it with a straight face and see the reaction…prob worth it no?”
New Canuck, and personal friend of Kesler, David Booth (@D_Booth7) has also set up an account: “Always loved how passionate Canadians are about hockey – now i get to play at Rogers in front of the craziest fans in the game! #NoiseMeter,” he wrote shortly after the trade. He also dished on playing with Kesler at an early age, such as the time Kesler convinced him to shave his head for a tournament. “he made me buzz it!! #UGLY This time he wanted me to shave my eyebrows!! #HOT” He also cracked some smiles when he posted a picture of the massive Gateway Arch in St. Louis, and added: “Right back at it today in st louis! Wish the goalie nets were this big!”
Fourth-line banger Dale Weise (@Daleweise32) also opened an account. Even in 140 characters or less, it’s interesting to read a player’s impressions of a game directly. After a 3-2 win against the Los Angeles Kings on November 10, Weise left a comment for his followers about his impressions of the game: “Great win for the boys and even better turn out b [sic] all the Canuck fans in la….sure makes a difference…..huge game by Lu……” An excessive number of ellipses, sure, but it feels more personal than reading a quote in the newspaper. Vernon-native Andrew Ebbett (@aebbett), also new to the Canucks, posted an informal tweet after a game that gave insight into his personality. “Thanks for all the congrats on my 1st as a Canuck. A little bittersweet though as I broke my foot trying to play goalie. #kicksaveandabeauty” He also made a crack at Weise, who went on a tweeting rampage shortly after opening his account: “@Daleweise32 already has tweeted more in 1 hour than @kbieksa3 has ever. Guy is looking to set records. #fanfavorite”
Sure, it’s just for fun, but the Twitterverse is abuzz with the antics of the Canucks. There is some room for controversy; tough guy and Canuck-hopeful Mike Duco had to eat his words after making disparaging tweets about the Canucks during the playoffs last season. So far, the rest of the Vancouver squad have been much friendlier. And if those six players aren’t enough to fill your daily Canuck cravings, almost every non-player Canucks personality has an account, from Dan Murphy (@sportsnetmurph) to the legendary Green men (@TheGreenMen). If you’re really into it, you can even find some hilarious and/or very intelligent Canucks fans who live-tweet during games, making comments that range from relevant, complex statistics to the absurdity of the commercials that play during the intermission.
