Remembering Rick «Ryp’ Rypien on World Mental Health Day ~

sign with the Canucks. On the ice, Rypien was a fierce competitor. He would drop the gloves and go toe-to-toe with opponents who were beyond his height and weight class. Rypien was a favourite of then- head coach, Alain Vigneault. But off the ice, Rypien was fighting a battle far greater than any fighter he faced on the ice: depression. Rypien, who played for the Canucks from 2005-2010, was granted two extended leaves of absence. Before Rypien’s tragic suicide on August 15, 2011, he wanted to help others who were battling through mental health issues as he was. The website mindcheck.ca was created as a resource for people to go to for mental health information, where to go to seek help and other resources. Rypien’s teammate and good friend, Kevin Bieksa, would take on the role as team spokesperson to speak about Rypien’s legacy and the mindcheck website. Bieksa would speak publicly at schools and hospitals to talk about mental health and his good friend “Ryp.” Speaking to an audience back in February 2013 at the Chan Centre Auditorium, BC Children’s Hospital, for the 2013 Youth Summit, Bieksa said that it is important to be supportive and understanding if someone you know has a mental health issue.

“Unless you're suffering from depression, you don’t know how they're feeling,” Bieksa said. “And that’s one thing that friends of mine have told me [who] are suffering through the disease is you can’t try to understand how they're feeling.”

Bieksa also stated that it is important to take action if you know that someone close to you is suffering with a mental health issue.

“As soon as your friend opens up to you, you inherit that responsibility and you inherit that critical role that could end up saving his or her life,” Bieksa said during the speech. “Give them the benefit of the doubt, listen to what they are saying and when the time comes, you're gonna have to help them get some help.”

Later on, Alex Burrows, would become a mental health ambassador for the team. Bieksa would later be traded to the Anahiem Ducks in June 2015 and Burrows dealt to the Ottawa Senators in a trade back in February 2017. This coming season, the Canucks have announced that defenceman, Ben Hutton, will now be the new mental health ambassador for the team.

Tara Clarke, manager for Community Partnerships with the Vancouver Canucks, believes that World Mental Health Day is an important day for bringing awareness to mental health issues. “It is important that we eliminate the stigma associated with mental illness,” Clarke said in an interview with the Other Press. “We need to make conversations about mental health a regular, commonplace occurrence and this

starts with awareness initiatives such as World Mental Health Day. We would like mental health issues to be discussed

with the same ease and understanding as we do any other injury or illness. It is not something that should be hidden away. No one should feel embarrassed or ashamed to talk about struggles they might be having. They need to know that there are resources out there and help is available.”

From 2014-2016, the Canucks hosted a free mental health youth summit called Balancing Our Minds at Rogers Arena. More than 1,500 youth from around BC spent the day learning about numerous mental health topies and working on ways to reduce the stigma within their communities and beyond. In 2017, Balancing Our Minds went on

the road with conferences held in Penticton, Prince George, Surrey, Parksville and Victoria, allowing the messages to reach even more youth in BC.

Clarke also stated the importance of carrying on Rick Rypien’s legacy.

“Rick Rypien was a hockey hero, a son, a brother, a teammate,

and a friend,” Clarke said. “Rick's wish was to support others and help reduce the stigma associated with mental illness by being a spokesperson for this issue. After his passing, the Vancouver Canucks committed to honoring Rick's legacy by telling his story and carrying out his mission to support youth and families struggling with mental health. This is a commitment that we hold close to our hearts and we will not falter in continuing our work in this area.”

Ultimately, discussions of mental illness should not be taboo or something to be ashamed of. Big corporate national initiatives such as the annual “Bell Let’s Talk” day have brought mental health awareness to the forefront in this country. It seems that public awareness initiatives and recognizing important days such as World Mental Health Day are the steps in the right direction. However, stigma

and ignorance regarding mental illness is still there, but awareness, education, and being able to judge less and listen more are keys in removing stigma. And for Kevin Bieksa, the loss of his good friend, Rick Rypien, leaves behind a void.

“He was a great friend,” Bieksa had said. “It’s still tough to think about not having him around. He wanted to really help out, tell

his story [and] reach out and help other people suffering from this illness...I'm carrying on his legacy for him. This is what he wanted.”