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(Article) Canucks: Matt Irwin knows his role as he finally comes home to B.C. ​​​​​​​

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RWJC

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Canucks: Matt Irwin knows his role as he finally comes home to B.C. 

The veteran blueliner grew up in Saanich and dreamed of playing for the Canucks as a boy.


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If you walk into Rink B of the Panorama Rec Centre in Saanich, home to the Peninsula Minor Hockey Association, and make your way over to the awards case, squint a little and look toward the back, you’ll spot a couple photos.

In those photos is a young Matt Irwin.

 

Irwin’s hockey life has finally come full circle.

 

He grew up in Brentwood, learned to love hockey, then took his life on the road, first to play Junior A hockey in Nanaimo, then to university in Massachusetts, and then, finally, to the NHL.

 

He has been an NHLer for a decade, and now, almost two decades since he first left home to pursue his hockey dream, he is playing for the Vancouver Canucks.

 

“The closest I got was San Jose,” Irwin said with a smile Thursday after skating with most of his new teammates at the University of B.C. Coming to play at home is indeed a dream come true.

 

“Excited for my family. Excited for our extended family, my wife’s family, and everyone who’s from the island,” he said.
 

“I’m so stoked to be here. I know everyone in our family is excited. It’s such a cool opportunity, just packing up the kids and taking a ferry over was special. The fact that we can have help whenever we need it … it just makes life a whole lot easier.”

 

Steve May is president of the Peninsula Minor Hockey Association, and Irwin also grew up next to May’s family home in Brentwood.

 

The usual babysitters for the Irwins — Matt and his sister Nicole, who is now a teacher — were May’s younger sisters. But from time to time, May, who is 17 years older than Irwin, would be called into service.

 

One thing stood out from the beginning to May: Irwin loved sports, and especially hockey.

 

“I’d play goal and he’d take shots,” May recalled. “Hockey, it was always there.”
 

May took note of the photos at the rink.

 

“In every one of them, he’s smiling. He just loves the game,” May added.

 

Irwin’s success, his focus on what’s in front of him, his good character, was a testament to Irwin’s parents Mike and Cathy, May said.

 

Mike Irwin said when they first moved into the neighbourhood, he looked next door — the opposite way from the Mays’ — and saw the children of the Wilsons playing ball hockey inside their house.

 

“I thought, ‘Oh, no way is that happening at our house,'” he said Friday with a laugh. Papa Irwin can still barely skate — he grew up playing soccer and baseball.

 

Obviously, his no-hockey vow didn’t stick.

 

“It was a great place for our kids to grow up. We had road hockey games every evening,” he said.
 

Matt turned out to be quite the athlete. In the winter, he would play hockey and soccer. In spring, it was baseball — on the same team as the Benn brothers, Jordie and Jamie. Jordie and Matt, who are the same age and went through school together, remain close friends.

 

“As things advanced, he had to make a decision. I don’t know what they call it now, but it was called gold soccer then. I knew as a coach, to play at a high level you need to be there all the time, you can’t be missing things. So we told him he couldn’t do both rep hockey and gold soccer, that it had to be either rep hockey and house soccer, or gold soccer and house hockey,” Mike Irwin recalled.

 

“He had to make a choice.”

 

Given Matt’s bedroom was adorned with images of Trevor Linden, Pavel Bure and Kirk McLean, it’s no surprise that he picked the icy route in the end.
 

His parents were the first people he called to tell them he had signed with the Canucks. They were elated, of course.

 

And now, at his first training camp, the job for Irwin is simple: win the depth-defenceman role. Like Luke Schenn, Kyle Burroughs and Alex Biega, the most recent occupants of the seventh defenceman role, Irwin knows what it takes.

 

You’re likely to only play about 40 games in the season, but you always need to be ready.

 

He filled that role in recent seasons for Nashville, Anaheim, Buffalo and Washington, although the 35-year-old suited up 61 times for the Capitals last season.

 

“Playing in the NHL has been one of the greatest jobs in the world. That is something that I don’t take lightly. So any chance I can be in a locker room, in an NHL locker room, I’m extremely honoured,” he said.
 

“Missing stretches of games, then playing stretches of games, just being able to manage that time in between games, it’s something that I take pride in,” he said. “And whenever my name and number’s called, to be ready and step on the ice like I haven’t missed a beat.”

 

pjohnston@postmedia.com

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RWJC Canucks First-Line

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28 minutes ago, Bob.Loblaw said:

@RWJC is thirsting hard for some Canucks hockey right now

 

bring on the hype train

You know it!!!

 

just trying to do my part in getting everyone revved up for another season. Love it when CDC is active and vibrant. 

Edited by RWJC
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Provost Canucks Franchise Player

Provost

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This is my pick for most under rated signing of the offseason.

 

We go through 11-16 D a year in this organization.  This is a guy that is primed to earn the trust of the coaching staff, especially ones that preach needing to be more predictable and gritty.

 

He has a leg up on being 7/8 and staying with the big club because the young guys are better served getting big minutes and reps in the minors.

 

There will be times that our 7th D is taking top

four minutes this season.  Not a lot of young guys can do that.  A seasoned pro is just going to have a better chance or not hurting you.

 

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