by Joel Smart (Sports Editor)
Email: cascade.sports at ufv dot ca
Though Jeff Tambellini is a new face in the Canucks’s locker room, Steve Tambellini, his father and BC Hockey Hall-of-Famer, played three seasons for the Canucks back in the 80s, and after working with the team for many years, he went on to become the Vice President and Assistant General Manager for the team in June 2004. Originally from Trail, Steve has since gone on to become the General Manager of the Edmonton Oilers. Jeff has had an impressive beginning to his hockey career as well, and though he hasn’t shown as much success in the NHL so far, his play in Vancouver is starting to get him noticed.
The 26-year-old left-winger told the Vancouver Sun in September that he had always dreamed of playing for the Canucks: “I grew up wanting to be part of the Vancouver Canucks from age six up. That’s all I could think about. I was kid drawing pictures of the Canucks, going to the rink with my dad, and skating. It’s been a huge part of my life. I’ve always been passionate about this team, even when I was playing on another one.”
He showed great promise in the juniors when he played for the Chilliwack Chiefs. In the 2001-2002 season, he won the Brett Hull Trophy, awarded to the BCHL leading scorer, with 117 points. His play secured the Chiefs victory that year as league champions, landing them the Fred Page Cup. The following season he was picked up by the University of Michigan to play in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, where he won the 2002-2003 Rookie of the year award with 45 points in 43 games played. In 2005 he won the Tournament MVP award, and was soon signed to an NHL entry-level multi-year contract with the Los Angeles Kings, who had originally drafted him in 2003 in the first round. Though he only played four games with the Kings that year, he did well on the AHL affiliate-team, the Manchester Monarchs. He was managing a point for each game he played, 56. His play got him noticed by the New York Islanders, who traded for him midseason, where he played the final 21 games on the NHL squad, managing four points. Four more years with the Islanders lead to significant improvement, and he began to spend more time in the big league, and less time with the AHL farm club, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
Between seasons, Tambellini moved back to Vancouver, where he grew up. So when the Canucks offered him a two-way contract on July 1, 2010, worth only $105,000, he jumped at the chance to play for the team he had idolized as a child. Now, in his fifth year in the NHL, and first with the Canucks, he has already managed to take his game to another level. By the end of 2010, and in only 21 games, he managed to tie his previous best for points in a season, at 15. With the Islanders, it took him 65 games to reach the same point total. Just the game before he had beaten his season best in goals scored. For Tambellini, there couldn’t be a better time to get hot. TSN has estimated that the 186lb forward is on pace for a 45-point season with 27 goals.
Whether he reaches those lofty heights remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure, Tambellini is taking it in stride. “Hockey, every day you think it’s the last day,” he told the Vancouver Sun. “But it’s funny, one day you can feel like nothing’s going right for you and then the next day you’re playing with Daniel and Henrik Sedin. It’s such a great ride. You have to take each day like that.”
