Rocket man: the legacy of Pavel Bure

Thirty years ago Vancouver Canuck fans witnessed the franchise's first superstar player

Brandon Yip
Senior Columnist

 

he Vancouver Canucks have been in the NHL since 1970. The team has Current Vancouver Canuck PA announcer Al Murdoch also recalls the

never won a Stanley Cup—though they've appeared in three cup finals: impact (then simply as a Canuck fan) Bure’s debut game had on him: “Pavel
1982, 1994, and 2011. just taking off like a rocket and skating through the entire Winnipeg Jets

Throughout the first 20 years of the team’s history, the Canucks had team for an incredible scoring chance is etched in my mind,” Murdoch said
some very good players: André Boudrias, Thomas Gradin, Ivan Hlinka, in an email interview with the Other Press. “Nobody had seen that kind
Darcy Rota, Tony Tanti, Stan Smyl, Patrik Sundstrém, and Trevor Linden. But — of speed and skill that he brought to the NHL. | think he had [three] shots
the franchise did not have a superstar gamebreaker—a player who could on goal that game, didn’t score but he drew a bunch of penalty minutes
bring fans out of their seats. However, that changed with the arrival of the because the Jets just couldn't contain him. The Canucks had literally caught
“Russian Rocket,” Pavel Bure, in November 1991. Bure was drafted 113th lightning in a bottle with Pavel Bure and from that first game on he made all

overall by the Canucks in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft.

The man who discovered Bure was Mike Penny, who was a scout for
the Canucks during the late 1980s. It was when Penny flew to Russia to
watch the Russian national (junior and senior) teams playing that he saw
Bure in a game against the Finnish national team in Vierumaki on Christmas
Day. Penny then watched Bure put on a show at the 1989 World Junior
Championship in Anchorage, Alaska—and it was around then that other
scouts began to take notice as well. Penny remembers how well Bure
played, stating in a television segment called Pavel Bure: His First Game,
produced by the Vancouver Canucks in November 2012: “He excelled. |
mean, you didn’t need a program. Once he was on the ice and you watched
him you thought, ‘holy smoke—I got to find out who this guy is!’”

There was initially some dispute when the Canucks selected Bure during
the 1989 NHL Entry Draft. NHL teams were aware of Bure, but many felt he
had not played enough games to be considered eligible for that year’s draft.
Not to be deterred, Penny did his research and enlisted the help of a Soviet
statistician who provided Penny with enough game log sheets to help Bure’s
case. Later, Penny cross-referenced those records with the International Ice
Hockey Federation (IIHF) to confirm his findings and remove any doubts.

Bure's draft eligibility was not the only hurdle the Canucks encountered
in trying to sign him: the Canucks also had to pay the Russian Ice Hockey
Federation a large sum of money. Tony Gallagher of The Province reported
in his October 1991 column that, “Bure is delighted to be joining the
Canucks after a total of $250,000 US was paid to the Red Army—$200,000
from the NHL team and $50,000 from Bure.”

Bure would finally arrive in Vancouver on November 1, 1991 and was
introduced during a press conference at the Pacific Coliseum. Bure was
accompanied by GM and president, Pat Quinn, and an interpreter. The
Russian starlet was all smiles and looked incredibly shy. On November 3, the
Canucks practiced at Britannia Rink in East Vancouver with Bure taking part;
it was probably the most anticipated practice in Canuck history, and the rink
was understandably filled to capacity. Two days later, Bure made his Canuck
debut in a home game against the Winnipeg Jets.

Before the game started, Bure stood at the blue line, chewing gum,
looking simultaneously nervous yet confident. The booming voice of late
Vancouver Canuck PA announcer John Ashbridge introduced the newest
Canuck to the home crowd: “Starting at right wing... Please welcome the
newest member of the Vancouver Canucks, wearing number 10, Pavel Bure

Retired Hall of Fame Vancouver Canuck play-by-play broadcaster Jim
Robson still remembers the excitement of calling Bure’s first game in a
Canuck uniform: “Everyone in the sellout crowd at the Pacific Coliseum will
forever remember his debut,” Robson said in an email interview with the
Other Press. “I think he stick handled the length of the ice in a spectacular
rush on his first shift. He dazzled all night but didn‘t score. The NHL did not
issue shots on goal by individuals during a game, but | think Pavel had seven
or eight [shots on goall].”

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Pavel just taking off like a rocket and skating through the entire Winnipeg
Jets team for an incredible scoring chance is etched in my mind,
— Al Murdoch