Connect with us

Vancouver Canucks

Canucks Built Team Chemistry with Practical Jokes – Alex Burrows [Video]

When Alex Burrows of the Vancouver Canucks recalls the practical jokes his team played, they were all about team chemistry he says.

In a recent video from Vancouver Canucks Alumni, Ales Burrows, Ryan Kesler, and Kevin Bieksa hung around together being interviewed by Canucks announcer Dan Murphy. In this video, Burrows revealed some of the best practical jokes the team played on each other when they were playing together during the time between 2005 and about 2016.

One of the best NHL’s best practical jokers by reputation actually spent a short time with the Canucks team prior to Burrows’ arrival. That was Marc Bergevin, who’s currently the general manager of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League. Although he was only with the team during the 2003-04 season and for only nine games, his reputation remains. Bergevin was an NHL defenceman with several teams and he retired after his final games with Vancouver.

Related: Canucks May Make Quick Trade to Start 2021 NHL Season

What Practical Jokes Does Burrows Remember?

In the video, in responding to the Sportsnet’s Dan Murphy on Canucks’ Alumni, Burrows notes that, instead of having anything to do with “bullying,” the practical jokes the team pulled were representative of good team chemistry. Furthermore, as Burrows noted, these practical jokes happened almost every road trip.

Some of the ones Burrows recalled most quickly were that “we’d lock someone’s suitcase with locks;” or, “we’d tornado that guys room;” or, before coming into his room someone would distract him in the lobby of the hotel and the other guys would “crank the heat of his room up.”

Burrows laughingly admitted that there were “so many stories that we used to do.” However, he just naturally noted, “we were tight knit group and there wasn’t any bullying or anything.” However, he recalled that the practical jokes “made it fun for everyone.”

Once the jokes were done, they couldn’t be kept secret for long. The next day at the rink everyone would try to find out who did the joke. Then, it was quid pro quo in the best sense – “a favor for a favor.”

Related: Canucks’ Goalie Thatcher Demko: Can He Be Impossibly Great?

Burrows Favorite Personal Practical Joke

The joke that Burrows laughed about the hardest, but probably didn’t at the time was that he had received a “super nice sweater that I loved to wear to go to the rink everyday.” Then, one day the sleeves were cut off of his favorite sweater. He admits being a “little chilled for a couple days,” but now he thinks it’s funny.

He recalled that Darcy Hordichuk’s shoes were nailed to the stall or glued to the floor. As he notes, the stories are “unlimited.” Obviously, practical jokes were part of the Canucks’ culture that helped build good team chemistry – it’s how hockey players got along.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

More News

Discover more from NHL Trade Talk

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading