This is Part 2 of a six-part feature that will run through the duration of the competition. Look for the next position on Saturday!
What is a “mancrush”? Glad you asked. For the uninitiated, a mancrush is a product of “bromance”, when a man possesses a feeling for another man whereby he strongly desires to BE that man. He may not necessarily WANT said man, but when watching the other man play sports, he is moved in some fashion.
When watching hockey and the Canucks in particular, you will no doubt cheer for every member of the team to succeed(except that one guy you just can’t stand, even if he is wearing your team’s colours), but there’s always those few guys that make you just that little bit more excited when they make a nice play, dole out a nice hit, or say that exact right thing in an interview to make you feel like, “hey...that guy could be my bro.”
The criteria for a hockey player, you ask? Well, the player must look dashing(note: ‘dashing’ is different than ‘good-looking) when skating up the ice, which means the equipment choices, from a straight-cut visor to a flashy stick, are incredibly important. Second, he must have excellent skills on the puck. I love me a sniper. Third, he must be unafraid to mix it up when necessary. There won’t be any sissies on my mancrush team. To sum, physical looks are not the most important characteristic, but I’m not going to have the ginger twins’ chinstraps or Todd Bertuzzi’s tobacco-stained mouth ruining my list, no matter how great they’ve been for the squad over time.
Each day, I will cover the first and second All-Time Canucks Mancrush Teams, featuring players from each position over the years. On this fine Tuesday, we begin our first look at the defensemen, starting with the second team pair. The first-team pair will be revealed on Saturday!
Second Team All-Time Canucks Mancrush Defenseman
Jyrki Lumme
Age: 45(Canuck for 9 years, 1990-98)
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 205 lb.
Hometown: Tampere, Finland
I can remember being 9 years old during the Canucks Stanley Cup run in 1994. I lived in Ontario at the time, so with the Canucks playing in the Pacific Time Zone, I didn’t see much of that Canucks final, or the Canucks in general. However, when you’re 9 years old, things tend to stick out for many different reasons. I always knew who Jyrki Lumme was simply because of his name. I couldn’t believe someone would name their kid “Jerky”(I was 9...pronunciation not a strong suit), and his last name sounded like a foreign candy that you might find at the dollar store beside other weird candy oddities like gummy hamburgers and gummy fetuses(wait, what?).
Once I was old enough, I was able to look past Lumme’s quirky name and it was very easy to appreciate Lumme’s skill as a defensive anchor for Vancouver, as he won the Babe Pratt award as the club’s top defenseman for 4 of the 9 seasons he was here. He also led the team in all-time defensive scoring right up until Mattias Ohlund passed him for the title in 2009, and remains second on the list, only 4 points behind Ohlund with 321 points in 579 games, 200 games less than Ohlund.
 |
| Someone Photoshop Potter/Letterman together. Tell me you don't end up with this. I DARE YOU. |
Lumme’s skill was what set him apart as a certifiable mancrush, his shifty speed and seeing-eye wrist shot marking him as an offensive talent, even though he was certainly more than capable in his own end as well. An underrated talent in an era where Vancouver was overshadowed due to playing so many games in Western time zones, Lumme’s natural talent was undeniable. It was a good thing, too, as off the ice, he looked like a weird combination of David Letterman and Harry Potter, looking more like your history professor uncle who got drunk at family gatherings and tried to tell you about the numerous failings of the government before passing out.
With nerds increasingly taking over the world, it’s no surprise Lumme sneaks onto this list and it’s hard to imagine a time when he won’t be on it, as his defensive dominance made him one of the 90’s surest defensive players.
Second Team All-Time Canucks Mancrush Defenseman
Ed Jovanovski
Age: 35(Canuck for 7 years, 1999-2006)
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 210 lb.
Hometown: Windsor, Ontario
Ed Jovanovski was sent to Vancouver in the first of many lopsided deals the Canucks have made with the Florida Panthers, with the latest of course being the dealing of Marco Sturm’s horrid contract and Mikael Samuelsson’s injured body parts for former 30-goal stud David Booth. While I feel that most Canucks fans have a rather mild opinion of #55 following two less-than-productive final years in the city and his laundry list of injuries, let’s not forget that when the Canucks acquired Jovanovski, he was less than two years removed from his star-making 1996 playoff run, where he led the Panthers to the Cup Final(their only one to date) by shutting down Eric Lindros and Mario Lemieux in back-to-back series, scoring 9 points and establishing himself as one of the game’s premier hitters and back-end threats.
 |
| Yes, this existed. |
Despite being labelled a “disappointment” in Florida after a 22-point season following that vaunted Cup run, Jovanovski quickly discovered his offensive game in Vancouver, having three seasons of 47, 48, and 46 points, and Jovanovski remains the Canucks all-time defensive leader in points-per-game scoring, averaging over a half-point per game while donning the Orca.
What made Jovanovski a mancrush was that the “JovoCop” played defense like you always imagined you would play defense, and that’s what made him a fan favorite for most of his years in Vancouver. He would lay a crushing hit in his own zone, move the puck out into neutral ice, then trail the play and clap a booming slapshot into the net, and his exciting plays brought the Vancouver faithful to their feet many a time. He was also the only Canucks member of the victorious 2002 Canadian Olympic squad, bringing Canada’s first gold medal in over 50 years back to Vancouver, a moment that made everyone proud to be Canadian.
While his declining play in his last few years in Vancouver and his near-invisibility in the desert playing for Phoenix have tarnished Jovanovski’s legacy a little bit in B.C.’s largest city, there’s no question that Jovanovski made many a man excited about Canucks hockey in the time he was here.
Coming up: I name the first team for the defensemen, posted on Saturday! Have any suggestions for your ultimate Canucks mancrush? Leave them in the comments and they will be considered to crack the list!
I shared both of these man-crushes back in the day. Jovanovski was one of the few defenseman who didn't cause me to rip my hair out when he was placed in a net presence role on the powerplay. Kudos Cullen, I'll read you when this is all said and done for sure.
Thanks, Thomas. Much appreciated.
I LOVED Lumme when I was a kid, before I even could ever appreciate defensive skill.
Bring back the Kurtenbloggers!!!!!
Hahaha. They're getting paid now. They are never coming back.
i hope sami salo was a close 3rd.....
Mike Peca - further supported by the fact that in EA NHL 06 he was unstoppable.
-SOS