Bourdon was one of the Vancouver Canucks’ top prospects, next to Alexander Edler. He spent his time split between the Manitoba Moose and the Canucks last year, and was really showing plenty of potential.

“Luc was a winner, he was a competitor,” said Kent Hughes, his agent. “There was no quit in him. He persevered through a lot. He was a great guy and a great teammate.”

His agent didn’t even know he’d gotten into motorcycling. “I had no idea,” he told CKNW in Vancouver. “Another client of ours, Kris Letang, said Luc let him know he was riding his dad’s motorcycle with some friends a week or two ago. I have since been told - though I don’t know - that he actually bought a motorcycle two days ago.”

He also won a gold medal for Canada in the 2006 World Junior Championships, and followed that up with a Memorial Cup that same year. He signed a 3 year entry level deal immediately afterwards with the Canucks.

“We are deeply saddened by today’s news and on behalf of the entire Vancouver Canucks organization, I would like to extend my sincere sympathies to Luc’s family,” said Canucks general manager Mike Gillis in a statement.

“Luc was an extremely talented player with a bright future. He brought great passion to the game and was a valued team member on and off the ice. He will be greatly missed.”

RIP Luke, and Condolences to the Bourdon Family

Details are going to come shortly.

UPDATED: Several media sources are confirming that former Nucks GM Brian Burke may be the leading candidate to replace Nonis; funny, isn’t he supposed to be going to Toronto?

Nonis has been the general manager since May 2004, which was his 6th year of being senior vice president of the Vancouver Canucks. He replaced Brian Burke.

Now, wouldn’t it be a twist if Burke replaced him again? Though, the thought is that Pat Quinn will usurp the throne.

Discuss it on the Faceoff Boards: http://faceoffboards.com/nonis-fired-t272.html

a) Tomas Holmstrom

Pronger: Height: 6′ 6″ Weight: 213
Holmstrom: Height: 6′ 0″ Weight: 203

The Height difference may not be a factor but it is a big difference between hitting someone in the head or in the shoulders. Now if your Chris Pronger do you want to readjust how you hit just because your playing with shorter people. I cannot fault pronger for being an oaf or for hitting Holmstrom into the boards because Rob Niedermayer pinballed Tomas Holmstrom into the boards Holmstrom clearly sees both players around 43 seconds into that video so Check from Behind does not hurt Pronger or Niedermayer. But what does is the Boarding penalty. Rob insert into the formula made the hit alot worse that it could have been but it is an awesome hit and I can say this because Holmstrom is fine. Kinda

Pronger: Height: 6′ 6″ Weight: 213
McAmmond: Height: 5′ 11″Weight: 195

Dean McAmmond came in very fast and very low ever increaseing his chance for hard hit to his own head during the Stanley Cup Final between Ottawa and Anaheim last year.

Now Pronger appears to thrust his elbows toward Dean McAmmond’s head.

McAmmond has a history of concussions so he was bound to have one again. If this play deserves a suspension because a player got a concussion in the Stanley Cup Finals so does another hit that wasn’t very dirty. There was another play during the Cup Finals last year that also needed a suspension by a certain Swede with a puck. Was the intention not there?

Click here to view the embedded video.
c) Ryan Kelser

Today in my Calculus class I was taking a test and when I was finished I realized that my foot had become tangled with my backpack. I kicked around until it was free and then I kicked down again to make sure it was free then looked down Why this is important is cause it’s human nature not to try to make yourself look stupid. Just imagine I’m Pronger and my stupid backpack is CP’s *****.

You would all do the same. I check so I would look stupid and trip and fall so I could continue my domination of Calculus and Pronger did it to continue his domination of the Canucks.

Click here to view the embedded video. ]]> http://faceoffcircle.net/2008/03/14/pronger/feed/ http://faceoffcircle.net/2008/02/21/bieksa-returns-to-hurting-canucks/ http://faceoffcircle.net/2008/02/21/bieksa-returns-to-hurting-canucks/#comments Thu, 21 Feb 2008 12:57:32 +0000 Roberto Passaglia http://faceoffcircle.net/2008/02/21/bieksa-returns-to-hurting-canucks/ Dave Nonis’ best deadline acquisition may be one he didn’t have to lift a finger to acquire.

After a brutally mediocre January, which at one point saw the team ice just one of their six starting defensemen in a game against Dallas, the injury-plagued Canucks are seeing light at the end of the tunnel — and not a moment to soon. Fresh off a pair of back-to-back wins for the first time in since January 8th (since December 30th if we’re looking outside the shootout), the Canucks have more good news: they maybe getting Kevin Bieksa back as early as tonight’s game.

Bieksa was in Chicago playing for the Moose last night, his first game action since November 1st, when Vern Fiddler’s skate clipped the back of his calf. He’s missed 47 games so far, but that number may stop growing, as after the game, Bieksa was immediately recalled to join the team in Nashville.

Ironic, it was a wake-up call against the Predators that gave the Canucks the emotional lift they needed — that same blood-filled game that saw the team lose both Bieksa and Salo. Horrible as it was, it was also something of a blessing in disguise: the previously lacklustre Canucks rallied to save their season, and the injuries paved the way for Alex Edler to make a name for himself. Most of all, Bieksa, before the injury, may have been the Canucks’ worst defenseman this season, clearly not over the oblique tear he suffered in last year’s playoffs. If the time off helped him heal that injury as well, Vancouver will be getting back a much better player than they initially lost — and on going down the stretch, it couldn’t come at a better time. The Canucks, who just last week were “done for”, are right back in the thick of things: get on a bit of a roll here and they could even catch the surging Ducks — who lead them by 7 points — as the Canucks have four games in hand.

Can’t count your chickens of course, but if Vigneault wants to give his team a bit of a lift, Bieksa’s return could do just that. Add to that the confirmed return of Taylor Pyatt (who left the Saturday Night Fight after Zack Stortini hit him into the boards and missed Tuesday’s tilt in Minnesota), and the looming return of Brendan Morrison in the coming weeks, and things are starting to look up around here.

Funny enough, as Bieksa gets set to return, it was announced Lukas Krajicek will miss the remainder of the season after getting rocked by Keith Tkachuk in the last game before the all-star break, making it official: the Canucks will never once this season ice the top six they had on paper coming into the year. And who says we have too many defensemen?