By Karen Aney (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: May 9, 2012
Yeah, the Canucks are out. So are the Senators. There are no Canadian teams left, and no one wants to get up at 6 a.m. to watch the World Championships. For those of you without PVR, watch some NHL hockey instead – it’s still great! Here’s a list of good Canadian boys on each team left in the playoffs that you can root for on your new team of choice. And yes, this list is in order. It’s in order of teams I felt like talking about at that moment. Thanks for asking.
Shane Doan (Phoenix Coyotes)
The Phoenix Coyotes have the most Canadian players of any remaining team. Plus, they’re a total underdog story. The good folks at Disney are currently bidding for rights to the run, actually.
On to Mr. Doan. He was born in 1976 in Halkirk, Alberta. He was the last player drafted to the old Winnipeg Jets before the franchise moved to Phoenix; that’s one reason to cheer him on. This could very well be his last season as captain of the Coyotes franchise – his contract is up at the end of the year, and he isn’t exactly a spring chicken. He seems like a good guy: he won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy in 2010, which is awarded for leadership on and off the ice and a significant contributor to the community. Also, he’s only had one suspension in his entire career. Oh, and if religion’s your thing, he’s a good Christian boy; his parents run a Bible camp, and he writes “Romans 8:28” on his sticks.
Mike Richards (Los Angeles Kings)
Yeah, they kicked Vancouver out. Maybe if they win, it won’t be so embarrassing? With that straw firmly grasped, let’s take a look at Mike Richards from Kenora, Ontario. You know this kid’s Canadian, because as Alexandre Burrows pointed out, he loves snow. He was the captain of the Philadelphia Flyers during a time when the media “threw the team under the bus,” as stated by Richards. Sure, they were thrown under said bus because of excessive partying and losing games, but you still have to feel bad for the guy. At press time, he’s second on his team for points and third for penalty minutes. Oh, and according to his NHL36 show, he has a dog with whom he shares ice cream. Aw.
Travis Zajac (New Jersey Devils)
This 26-year-old from Winnipeg comes from a hockey family. His dad played for the University of Denver, and two of his brothers play for the Albany Devils – an AHL team. Though he regularly centres captain Zack Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk, he was out for the majority of this season after injuring his Achilles tendon. He is currently breathing a heavy sigh of relief that all water-themed teams are out of the playoffs.
Brad Richards (New York Rangers)
Hailing from Prince Edward Island, he’s one half of what’s possibly the biggest bromance in the NHL. Yes, I just used that term. He and Lightning player Vincent Lecavalier have been friends since the age of 14 when they were roommates at boarding school. It was Lecavalier who suggested to the Lightning that they draft Richards. No word on whether he thanks Lecavalier monetarily for this assist. He goes back to PEI every summer, and in 2010 he donated half a million dollars to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown. Oh, and he’s leading his team in points right now.
Braden Holtby (Washington Capitals)
Many Vancouver fans are looking for a hero here, because while the Capitals deserve to be cheered for ousting the Big Bad Bruins from the playoffs, looking at Alexander Ovechkin’s mug long enough to see if he made a good play is difficult to stomach. There are a few Canadian heroes to find here: centre-man Brooks Laich, from Saskatchewan, is only a single point behind Ovechkin. But, underdog stories are more fun, so Holtby it is. Because of injuries to the regular Capitals goalies, this 22-year-old from Lloydminster helped his team win the Boston series despite having played only 21 NHL games beforehand. He even brought a game to triple overtime last week. Though they ended up losing, that’s pretty good for a goalie that was playing in the AHL until a month ago.
Claude Giroux (Philadelphia Flyers)
This is the guy that took over the first line centre position when Richards was traded to the Kings in March. More importantly, he’s the guy that spends his time lighting up boards. In the regular season, he ranked second in the league for assists and third for points overall. Think of him as Henrik Sedin, minus the ginger hair. He’s won the Bobby Clarke Trophy two years in a row, which is given to the Flyers MVP. He’s from Hearst, Ontario, which confuses everyone that thought he was from Quebec. He scored six goals and eight assists through the first six games of the playoffs. Translation: he’s one to watch if you want to see some points.
Yeah, Wikipedia says that lacrosse is Canada’s national sport. But realistically speaking, in this corner of the country at least, hockey reigns supreme. Our Canucks are out, but the NHL is still overwhelmingly Canadian. Support the sport that we grow best, and if anyone tries to call you out on not cheering for your own team, tell them they’re un-Canadian. As Don Cherry would say, these are all good. Canadian. Boys. And even though our Canucks are out, hockey still rocks. View accordingly.
