There were a lot of Canuck hat-wearing vacationers in Puerto Vallarta the day Vancouver made hockey headlines by firing Mike Gillis and hiring Trevor Linden.
I stopped one young guy with one of those vintage purple Canuck hats and told him the Canucks had gassed Gillis. The guy celebrated like he had won Lotto Max, throwing in a number of curse words to describe Gillis.
Seems the whole province is pretty stoked to see the Canucks begin a rebuild with the classy Linden as president.
I was fortunate enough to see Linden up close and personal as a baby-faced rookie in Vancouver. Watched him tweak his game at training camps in Parksville and Duncan while working on Vancouver Island for 11 years.
My first glimpse of Linden in the dressing room had me wondering if he was big enough for the NHL. He was a skinny kid who had put up 110 points in his second year with the Medicine Hat Tigers.
He turned 18 in April of 1988 and was drafted second overall by the Canucks in that summer’s entry draft.
The Minnesota North Stars had first pick and chose Mike Modano of the Prince Albert Raiders. It was a great draft class with d-man Curtis Leschyshyn of the Saskatoon Blades going third to the Quebec Nordiques.
The seventh through 10th choices also panned out very well with Martin Gelinas going seventh to the Kings, Jeremy Roenick landing in Chicago at No. 8, Rod Brind’Amour going to St. Louis at nine and Teemu Selanne putting on a Winnipeg Jets’ jersey at No. 10.
The Canucks didn’t have any luck with their next two selections. D-man Leif Rohlin of Sweden and forward Dane Jackson of the Vernon Lakers hardly played for the Canucks. Rohlin, a major success in Swedish pro hockey, never signed with Vancouver until 1995 and got in 96 NHL games. Jackson scored six times in 15 games as a Canuck.
While lean, Linden had no trouble making an impact as a Canuck rookie. He supplied 30 goals and 59 points. He registered nine more 30-plus goal seasons in Vancouver and is likely the most popular Canuck in franchise history.
Linden, now 44, was a driven and determined 18-year-old. I met his towering father, Lane, at an Oiler-Canuck game in Edmonton during Linden’s rookie year.
Lane, who ran a trucking company in the Hat, crushed my hand when I was introduced to him by Medicine Hat News sports editor Greg Heakes on that Dec. 21 night at Northlands Coliseum (Canucks won 2-1).
Lane told us that Trevor and teammate Mark Fitzpatrick, a goalie chosen 27th overall by Los Angeles the summer before, worked out like Navy Seals in Medicine Hat.
“Trevor and Fitzy would ride their mountain bikes down to the Y (MCA) everyday for a workout,” said Lane. “Trevor was trying to eat 6,000 calories a day to bulk up, He was eating six times a day.”
These days, the Canucks send their first-round picks back to Major Junior. They weren’t about to have Linden spend a third year in the WHL.
“We thought if we got 15 goals out of him, we’d be happy,” said Canuck head coach Bob McCammon. “We decided to play him no matter what happens. Trevor’s like a breath of fresh air.”
McCammon was impressed with Linden’s fearless style.
“He finishes his checks, but physically he’s not where he should be. The fact that he’s not matured hurts him. You have the feeling some nights that Trevor’s not going to let you lose.”
McCammon felt Linden was “like Bobby Clarke with talent.” Linden also had good hands and a fabulous shot.
As for Linden’s chances of winning the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie, McCammon offered: “Let’s be honest. Nobody knows about this kid because they haven’t seen Vancouver on TV. People have to starting thinking seriously about this kid. He’s very intense and you have to coach a kid like him to really appreciate him.”
Ranger blueliner Brian Leetch took the Calder ahead of Linden with 71 points and a rookie record 23 goals for a defenceman.
After almost 1,500 NHL games, including the playoffs, later, Linden certainly proved his worth as an excellent player.
As president of the Canucks, I look for him to keep working harder than the next guy, make wise decisions, hire people who share his people skills and find success sooner than later.
I’m still a die-hard Oiler fan, but it’s tough not to cheer for Trevor Linden in his new role.
