On This Day In Canucks History: November 3

An 8 year old Beantown was at that retirement ceremony. Also to be noted – the very next game was Pavel Bure’s first. Evidently my father was under the impression that he was actually going to play the same night as the retirement ceremony, and was disappointed that he didn’t. I had never heard of him at that point.

Man was Steamer a little monster. Almost like him more than Linden. Just a beast who never took a shift off. Totally deserving of the retired jersey

I was at his summer hockey school in Burnaby one year. Being a goalie, it was free ice for me. I think I was about 11 at the time.

We were goofing aroung fighting for a puck. I went off balance and the goalie sick came straight up while he was bent over. I’ll never forget the sound the toe of mystick made careening into his orbital bone. The blood flow was immediate and the stitches very necessary.

I was mortified. Also, being 11, scared shitless he was going to kick my ass. He just told me no big deal and got himself patched up. Made sure I didn’t feel to bad about when he made his return.

Always one of my alltime favorite hockey players. All heart.

I can still see the scar I gave him when he gives an interview. One of his many.

The first time I saw Stan Smyl on the ice was when the Memorial Cup was played at the Pacific Coliseum in 1977. The New West Bruins were a pretty, ahem, physical team back then, and Steamer was no exception. He pasted guys all through the tournament, which the Bruins won.

Fast forward a few years to when the Canucks drafted Smyl. I think his first or second year he was put together with Thomas Gradin and Curt Fraser. There wasn’t much on-ice success those days, but at least that line gave fans something to cheer about. ‘79-’80 season probably best summed up Steamer:

77gp 31g 47a 204pim

Stan led the team in each one of those categories. Now, the NHL in those days didn’t have the behemoths they do now. 6’3’, 200 pounds would have been Boogardian then. Steamer took them all on. He was relentless, the heart and soul of the Canucks. There’s a pretty good clip of Smyl and Bob Nystrom going at it out there on the interweb. Might have been from the ’82 finals, not sure.

Aaaahhh, the ‘82 playoffs….one of the high water marks of this franchise. Rolled into the finals against the Islanders( and Sean’s buddy, Bryan Tottier lol). Led by Stan, the ‘Nucks rolled over the Flames, Kings and Hawks, losing only 2 games in the first three rounds. A gritty, physical team, built in the mold of their captain. Unfortunately, Smyl’s playing style may have been his downfall. Injuries started taking their toll, forcing #12 to pack it in in ‘91. Seeing his number raised was probably the first time I got teary over a player. Jeezus, I’m teary just writing this. Lucky for Messier 12 wasn’t his number, or there would have been a shitstorm for sure.

He wasn’t the biggest, or the most talented, but Steamer left everything out on the ice. He was the one who faced the media time after time, more often than not after a loss. We don’t have HOFers, or Cup-winners in our history, but that doesn’t diminish what players like stan smyl have meant to Vancouver fans.

Sorry to be so long winded, someone should have told me to shutup. :)

great for you guys to all share your memories of a player that i never got to see. being born in 1990 (yes, i’m only 19), i missed out on all the good old glory days. i hope we add more glory days to our history in the next couple years….

I recall the Nucks playin Calgary that night, and I also recall the Nucks scoring 11 goals. I’m to lazy to check though. I’ll just assume I was right.

Steamer was before my time, his career ended when I started playing actually. He looks like a little beast from the videos.