The beat goes on...
A side of Trevor Linden fans never knew until now.
Wednesday, 10.12.2008 / 12:00 PM
/ Features
By Jen Rollins
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The ups, the downs, the agonizingly close calls and sweet tastes of victory. These guys have seen it all and splashed it in black and white and across the airwaves. For some, the walk with Trevor was shorter than they might have liked. Regardless of how long or short these writers walked the beat alongside one of the Canucks greatest, there’s no mistaking they spent enough time to get to know a side of Trevor most fans never got to see. That is, until now. “He was just a real heart and soul type person who would do whatever it would take to help his team win a game. Whether it was helping load the bags on the bus, getting in a timely fight standing up for one of his teammates or scoring a big goal, coming up with a big hit—he did it all. He probably scored a little bit more on a regular basis in Junior than he did in the NHL. He really concentrated on the defensive play in the NHL it seemed. In Junior this guy—he just did it all. It’s no wonder Vancouver took him #2 overall in the draft that year because he was the consummate player. There are very few like him that come along that you can say that about. There are a lot of guys who can’t do this or they can’t do that. Or they’re missing this part of their game, but not Trevor. He had it all together. Just an amazing individual.” --Bob Ridley, bus driver (1973) and play-by-play broadcaster for the Medicine Hat Tigers since 1970 “I’ve known Trevor since he played junior in Medicine Hat and I worked in Kamloops, where my first daily newspaper job included covering the Western League. So many memories. So many stories. One of my favourites occurred the season before Trevor retired when a single mom sent me an email, telling how Trevor had had a life-long influence on her son and asking how she might get an autograph now that her boy was turning 21. I passed on her note, told Trevor I was not involved, and left it to him to decide what, if anything, to do. Trevor never mentioned it after that, but I found out weeks later from the mom that Trevor had written her, then sent the autograph along with a jersey and a hand-written birthday message. That’s Trevor.” --Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun “[H]e came to play every night despite [Montreal’s] lack of success and for that, he had the full admiration of his teammates. I was on the team charter flying back to Montreal when he received the news he was being shipped to Washington. It came as a shock to the other players, but Trevor took it in stride. No whining. No what ifs. It told everyone what we already knew: he was all about team. It's what made him special to all of us and to the game. “There aren’t enough like him in the NHL.” --Red Fisher, Montreal Gazette “I know he was going through a lot personally at the time, and ended up having a difficult transition on the ice with the Caps as well, but the class and dignity with which he conducted himself, and the immediate respect he commanded from his peers was distinct. “Trevor had a will to win and strong competitive fire, players gravitated to him, and George McPhee thought enough of him to trade two quality young prospects, hoping Trevor's savvy and leadership could help the Caps go on a strong playoff run.” --Jason LaCanfora, Washington Post “He came in as an 18-year-old and impressed everyone with his work ethic, his hustle, his will to win and all the other intangibles people talk about. --Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun |
   16 Days of Linden Talk of the town End of An Era? Linden's transition The Back Page Peak of training  1112 - Number of games in Canucks jersey 318 - Number of goals scored as a Canuck 415 - Assists with the Vancouver Canucks 16 - Season with the Canucks 733 - Total career points with Vancouver    Day 9 - the run Day 8 - game six Day 7 - the hit Day 6 - the hit Day 5 - sharing Day 4 - best goals Day 3 - rookie record Day 2 - the shift Day 1 - the draft Trevor on PTI Best of 2007.08 A Few Things |
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