Growing Up in Vancouver: Alex Edler Shares Stories of His Growth in his 15 Years with Canucks

When Alex Edler arrived in Vancouver, he was a teenager within the quick lane who simply wished to play hockey and concentrate on doing his job each night time.

Now, Alex Edler has returned to Vancouver to signal a one-day contract and retire as a Canuck. He seems again on his time in Vancouver with a lot love for town and fan base and credit the leaders he had when he was younger for serving to him notice what his relationship with Vancouver meant.

“I may take a step again and see the larger image,” stated Edler about what it meant to develop into maturity in Vancouver. “I had such good leaders like Markus Naslund, Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Trevor Linden and Mattias Ohlund. Simply having the ability to have them there and simply hold round them and be taught from them was enormous for me. After which, as I bought older, I met my future spouse right here and we had two children.”

There was once an pleasure degree for going house to Sweden after a Canucks season, however Edler grew to like his time within the metropolis of Vancouver, and it helped that he met his spouse right here and she or he had household within the space.

“As a result of my spouse grew up right here, we had household on her aspect that we might at all times come again early in the summertime and spend a month right here earlier than coaching camp, which I believed was at all times superior as a result of the summers listed below are nice. I at all times loved that,” Edler stated.

Edler thinks again to his time as a Canucks and there are two separate overarching recollections of his time within the blue and inexperienced.

The primary is the relationships he constructed together with his teammates.

Edler performed 10 or extra seasons with every of Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Chris Tanev, Alex Burrows, and Jannik Hansen.

Edler has all of the respect on the planet for these gamers however his relationship with Hansen shares a particular bond. These two met one another on the 2004 draft and lived in Manitoba collectively whereas they have been taking part in for the Canucks erstwhile AHL membership, the Manitoba Moose.

As for Edler and his relationship with the Sedins, it was all about following the leaders.

“There have been a number of good individuals and a number of gamers that set the usual so excessive in my time with Vancouver,” stated Edler. “The twins have performed that for therefore a few years, and their commonplace continues to be so excessive. Everybody else tried to observe them again then.”

The second distinct reminiscence for Edler is the help from town.

That help confirmed in droves in the course of the Canucks’ run to the cup within the 2010-11 season.

“We have been a very good group, and going into the playoffs, as a result of we misplaced in opposition to Chicago two years in a row earlier than that, and having them within the first spherical, it was an intense problem. I feel we have been the higher group, however Chicago received three cups in a brief period of time. So, they’d a group that knew the best way to win,” stated Edler.

“Enjoying them within the first spherical, once we beat them, we gained a number of confidence. It was such a fantastic feeling. It was playoff hockey, which is essentially the most enjoyable hockey, after which within the metropolis, there have been followers in all places. So many flags and jerseys in all places you went. You could possibly actually really feel that you simply had the whole metropolis behind you.”

For our personal questioning thoughts, we requested and Edler shared his aspect of the story of how the Canucks drafted out of a lower-level league in Sweden.

“I suppose I used to be fairly fortunate as a result of I do not assume there was anybody paying an excessive amount of curiosity in that league that I used to be taking part in in, however I do know that somebody advised another person to only possibly come have a look at me. And somebody did. I suppose they appreciated me and that is about it. Once I heard that somebody was coming, I did not even consider it at first. I believed it was a prank once they first known as me.”

The Canucks finally drafted Edler 91st general and the remainder was historical past.

With 1030 video games performed within the league, Edler earned respect in his time and although he didn’t have the loudest voice within the room, his voice carried weight behind it like considered one of his blue line wrist photographs.

“I’m a quiet man, and he’s quiet till you get to know him, however, as soon as I bought to know him a bit, he was such a very good teammate and a very good chief on the market,” stated Brock Boeser, who was Edler’s teammate from 2017-2021. “He at all times competed exhausting. I grew to become actually shut with him through the years, and he’s simply so type and such a fantastic particular person to be round.”

Edler made an incredible influence locally together with his work away from the rink and his longevity on the ice alongside together with his excessive degree of expertise made him a fan favorite for a few years.

INSIDER EXTRA

Brock Boeser shared a narrative with us about Alex Edler and we checked the details with Edler once we sat down with him.

I believed we may share it right here in our ‘Insider Additional’ portion of the article.

“In my first 12 months, I used to be a little bit intimidated by him,” stated Boeser of Edler.

“He is quiet and he was a man that did not care for those who have been net-front in observe, he ripped the puck as exhausting as he may each time,” stated Boeser with amusing.

“That is one factor that stands proud,” Boeser continued as a smile developed. “He did not care. After which if he hits you, he simply skates again to the redline or one thing and doesn’t even say something. It is like, ‘What the heck.’ However no, he was such a very good man for me after I got here into this league.”

After we introduced this story to Edler, he smiled and leaned again in his chair whereas he chuckled.

“Possibly I discovered that from Mattias Ohlund too,” Edler stated.

“Ohlund would at all times shoot excessive after which if he hit somebody, he would simply chuckle. I suppose that’s one thing I’ve discovered from him.”

“As for Brock, I at all times thought that for those who screened the fitting means and have been within the center, you would transfer to both aspect of the puck and dodge it. For those who’re standing beside the web to tip the puck, it’s tougher to dodge it. Possibly Brock was standing beside the web an excessive amount of when he was younger,” stated Edler with a smirk.