The Official 2011/2012 Canucks Thread

[LsquareD]

Originally Posted by bonestock

something sickening i heard while at a restaurant today: "well he wasn't that great of a player for us anyways so why is everyone so worked up".

needless to say, people around him heard and one fan gave him an earful before the manager told him to calm down.

RIP Rypien, you will be missed by the REST of us

Should've went Rick Rypien on him.

Damn.. I'm still shocked

[k3mps]

Originally Posted by LsquareD

Should've went Rick Rypien on him.

Damn.. I'm still shocked

but he wasn't twice my size

[shawn79]

grabner sure loves vancouver always mentioning it

he will be missed

[Nvasion]

RIP

[Harvey Specter]

Rick had heart and always stepped up for his teammates no matter the consequences. I still remember watching an interview with him in March and how he was progressing nicely with the Moose and how the Canucks organization was helping him get back to form so he could join the team. So sad.

RIP.

[Mercy]

Awe man rip Rick. I wish we could have seen you lace em up against us. Sigh
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[b0unce. [?]]

definitely a sad day teared up a bit watching those old clips of his smashing faces in.
rest in peace.

[LSF22]

RIP to one of the best pound for pound fighters in the game.

[goo3]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

to think he was that bad that he couldnt have lived to play for the jets

although being let go by the Nucks was a huge blow i'm sure, going back to Winnipeg would have probably been a great opportunity and there were probably as many Rypien fans there than in Vancouver from the moose days

he was ufa and was offered a contract, no? He just decided to go to winnipeg.

[7seven]

Originally Posted by goo3

he was ufa and was offered a contract, no? He just decided to go to winnipeg.

Nope, the Canucks never offered him a contract

Rypien wasn’t offered a new contract with Vancouver, but was signed as a free agent to a one-year deal by Winnipeg

Read more: Former Canucks forward Rick Rypien dead at 27

[411ken]

RIP

[krazynuck]

Originally Posted by 7seven

Nope, the Canucks never offered him a contract

I think both parties realized that he needed a change...however in a sense he still signed with an old division of the Canucks organization

sad to see though

[MR_BIGGS]

It will be interesting to see how the NHL responds to this incident and how the media write about it once the dust settles.

Was this an isolated incident where a hockey player had past emotional or mental problems/issues (ie. depression), or was this the result of the lifestyle of NHL hockey enforcers?

Think about it. How many people could do what players like Rypien and Boogaard did game in and game out? How many sports do you know where bare knuckle fighting is allowed to occur?

These guys have to play this kind of style just to make it in the bigs. They may not want to play that style, but if thats the only way to play the game they love, they take on the risk.

I remember a George Parros interview, where he said he had to make a decision near his rookie year about changing his game to being a tough guy, because he wouldn't last in the league if he didn't.

You basically have to man up and fight, even if you don't want to. Youtubing all of Rypien's fights, you can't help but think that this is going to ware you down mentally and physically.

Some sentiments from sports media I agree with:

From Mark Spector at Sportsnet:

"Rypien was, pound-for-pound, as punishing a fighter as we can recall seeing in years. Like a Wendel Clark in the old Norris Division, Rypien regularly beat up Edmonton's Zack Stortini(notes), despite giving up five inches and 25 lbs.

"And that's what always puzzles about players who do what these guys do. They always look so comfortable in their craft when they set the ground rules with a fellow enforcer while waiting for the puck to be dropped. You never see the fear when they stand there in front of 18,000 fans, bare-knuckle fighting under the glare of the TV cameras.

"But so many of them speak later of how scared they were at that moment; how they barely got out of the shower after the game when the thought of the tough guy from tomorrow night's opponent darkened their head space. The toughest part, a fighter once told us, is that guys like Rypien could never let that fear show. That there was no one to talk to about it."

This one also struck a cord with me:

"Symptoms of CTE include depression and suicidal tendencies. We don't know anything about Rick Rypien's death today but if anybody wants to place a cash bet that it wasn't suicide and he didn't have CTE I'm willing to give you good odds. Ultimately we, the fans who pay for tickets and cheer for fights, are responsible for the men who sacrifice their brains for our entertainment.

"This isn't intended to be a sanctimonious lecture on the evils of fighting because I stood up for every fight I ever saw in a hockey rink.

"I don't think people who like fights are troglodytes because when I woke up this morning I was a fan of hockey fights. Speaking as someone who's had some serious brain trauma though the stories of Derek Boogaard, Bob Probert and others have been on my bruised mind for a while. I like watching fights and I like it when players fight but I just don't think I can support it anymore so count me out."

[dignatas]

Originally Posted by krazynuck

I think both parties realized that he needed a change...however in a sense he still signed with an old division of the Canucks organization

sad to see though

It wasn't just a *change*, it was his personal issues which were affecting his game

[Not really racist!]

sigh RIP

ill always miss his fights

[InvisibleSoul]

In this case, I personally doubt his depression or personal issues were related to anything caused by fighting in hockey.

[spideyv2]

Though i do agree with what spector said, what about UFC fighters and boxers?
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[dbaz]

brunnstrom gets a tryout contract with the red wings. watch him make the team and rip it up. stupid red wings and their luck with swedish players.

[Tim Budong]

Dan Murphy's response...

Great article for those that haven't seen it

Murphy on Rypien: R.I.P. Ryp - sportsnet.ca WAP

Rick Rypien was a legendary pugilist who was unable to win the battle with his own demons.

I woke up overseas this morning to the terribly sad news that Rick Rypien had passed. I'm sure much will be written over the next few days about the former Canuck, and written by those who are much more eloquent than myself, but I still felt compelled to pass on my memories of an incredibly tough kid everyone called, "Ryp".

Rypien was already a bit of a legend when he was first called up by the Canucks. And by that I mean within the organization. Sure many in the AHL knew about him, but he was still an unknown quantity as far as NHLers were concerned.

It's said that Rypien, who was mentored by Mike Keane while with the Moose, would go after anyone who even raised an eyebrow at the decorated veteran.

"No big deal," I thought.

Until I met Rick and saw he was under 6' tall and about 175 pounds. Rypien came to the Canucks with the reputation that he would take on all comers. It didn't matter how big or how tough the opponent, Rypien always wanted to prove himself.

As everyone knows, Rypien's years in pro hockey were littered with injuries. But this was not a frail kid. Once he was called up by the Canucks and Alain Vigneault forbid Rypien to fight as he was recovering from a broken hand. On his first shift Rypien crushed an Avs player with a questionable hit on the forcheck and was quickly crowded by Ian Lapperierre. You could see Rypien wanted to follow orders - for about two seconds - and then accepted the offer to what turned out to be a very spirited scrap. Post-game, Laperierre (one of the most honest players to ever play the game) said he appreciated him taking the scrap despite the injury and you could tell he also greatly respected Rypien for it. As for Alain Vigneault, all he could do was shrug his shoulders and say, "that's Ryp."

On the ice, Rick was all about his teammates. He loved to stick up for them. And you'd have to guess that's why the Canucks stood up for him over the last few years when he was trying to overcome his demons. The Canucks loved his work ethic, the way he battled and tirelessly fought to get back into top shape injury after injury.

One year, Rypien showed up at prospects camp even though I'm pretty sure he wasn't required to. Rypien set the pace in the drills and conditioning, setting an example to the younger players in attendance. He would crush the Grouse Grind in 37 minutes while the rest of the prospects were labouring in towards the 50-60 minute mark and then encourage them up. Thus supporting them while also showing them how hard they would need to work in order to get into proper shape.

Rick was a great teammate. Ask anyone. In fact two years back goaltender Josh Harding called Rypien the best captain he ever had (the two played together in Regina). Remember, Harding said this when he had already been in the NHL for a number of years. That is a great compliment.

I'll smile when I think of Rypien. It's tough not to when you look back on some of memorable moments with the Canucks. Like when he took on Hal Gill or Boris Valabik despite the fact he was giving up more than six inches and 50 pounds to each of them. Or when he went toe-to-toe with Cam Janssens last season. Or the memorable three fights he had with Brandon Prust in one game when Prust was a member of the Calgary Flames.

He was a gifted young man with plenty left to give us. And I was sure that he was going to. I kept in touch with Rick since the end of last season, exchanging the odd text here and there. He was excited about the opportunity to play with the Jets. Turning down two-year deals offered by other clubs to ink a one-year deal with Winnipeg. Why? Because he was sure that he was going to prove himself once again and earn a second year by Christmas.

I truly believed that Rick was on the road to recovery. Obviously I don't know the depth of the issues he was dealing with however it seemed like he was coming out of the darkness. More importantly it seemed like he wanted to beat what was ailing him. The Canucks kept what Rick was going through a closely-guarded secret, and for good reason, because they didn't want to force the young man to talk about his issues until he was ready to. And you know what? He was ready. A few months back he contacted me to help write his story. He was finally open to the idea of speaking about his demons. He wanted other people who may be suffering the same illnesses to know they weren't alone. He knew that because of who he was, that his voice would be heard. It is just so sad that he will never get that chance.

My thoughts and prayers are with the Rypien family.

[Hondaracer]

Sad, what a shame
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[Gh0stRider]

stamkos to be on the cover of nhl12??

[invader]

Originally Posted by Gh0stRider

stamkos to be on the cover of nhl12??

old news bro

[Gh0stRider]

Originally Posted by invader

old news bro

ahh ok.

[DanHibiki]

Wow, this idiot on my fb who added me from his roller hockey drop-in e-mail list posted this:

Justin M
ok everybody rick rypien killed himself thats a cowards way out and very selfish its time for all of you to stop riding his dick and let it go.

[604778]

Hal Gill vs Rick Rypien Oct 7, 2009 - YouTube