The Vancouver Canucks is a team known for a few things. Losing in game seven of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, churning out top-level players like Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson, and the Sedin Twins.
The team has a history of developing homegrown talents from the west coast of Canada. Players like Cliff Ronning from Burnaby, B.C. and Greg Adams from Nelson, B.C. played for the Canucks during the team’s iconic ‘flying skate’ era from 1978-1997.
Players like Brendan Morrison from Pitt Meadows, B.C. joined the franchise in 2002 when the team first dawned their signature blue and white colours that many fans know and love today.
The team has continued the tradition by having two B.C.-born forwards on their roster. One of those players is Arshdeep Bains, a native of Surrey, B.C.
Bains is entering his second year with the club. In his first season, the Canucks called him up toward the end of last season, playing eight games. Bains has seen an increase in playing time with Vancouver this year, thanks to turning many heads in the organization with an impressive showing in the preseason.
During his short stint with the Canucks, Bains has made the most of his opportunities.
Take Saturday, Oct. 26, as an example. That night, the Canucks took on the Pittsburgh Penguins at Rogers Arena, a game where the Pens grabbed hold of a 3-0 lead early in the second period. However, a flurry of goals from J.T. Miller, Elias Petterson and Kiefer Sherwood tied the game at three.
Then, it was Bains’s time to shine, as he put a rebound past Pens goalie Alex Nedeljkovic for his first career NHL goal. The rebound was courtesy of a hard shot from Charlottetown Islanders legend Daniel Sprong.
Bains’s first in the big leagues stood as the game winner, as the Canucks defeated Pittsburgh 4-3.
“It’s hard to put into words. It all kind of developed so fast in front of me. Sprong had a hell of a play and I won’t forget every detail about that,” Bains told Sportsnet’s Scott Oake after the game. “It was a special moment.”
Before scoring the goal, many were and still are, unaware of Bains hockey trajectory.
This was because Bains had worked his way up from the junior leagues to the NHL. He has met several bumps on the road to living his dreams of playing for his hometown Vancouver Canucks.
Bains played his junior hockey for the Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League. He joined the team in 2017 and from there, Bains lit up the league. He collected 209 points in 257 games, with his best season coming when Bains was 20 years old. That season, he had 112 points in 68 games, winning the Bob Clarke Trophy as the WHL’s top scorer, becoming the first player of South-East Asian descent to win the prestigious award.
Although his first goal was a special moment for Bains, it conveyed a much deeper meaning for the game of hockey. For instance, the goal helped Bains join a select group of South-East Asian hockey players, past and present, to score in the NHL. Other players in the group included Robin Bawa, Jujhar Khaira and Manny Malhotra.
Malhotra is the current coach of the Abbotsford Canucks, coaching Bains for a few games this season.
On top of making history, the game Bains scored the goal was broadcast on Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi. The show is released in partnership with the English Hockey Night in Canada, giving viewers another option to watch hockey.
When Bains slid home his first professional goal, you could hear the emotions coming from the voices of the duo calling the game.
“There is a lot of South Asians that play in Surrey and around the lower mainland, so it’s really important to keep pushing the importance of this game for everyone who can play,” Bains told CBC in April. “It’s not about the colour of your skin or where you’re from or if you’re an immigrant or not.”
“I think that’s a message that hopefully could keep spreading.”
Whether or not Bains scores again this season, many can take comfort in knowing that he had his moment in the spotlight, coming with a continued change in the hockey diversity landscape. Bains has a large Punjabi following in his home province, especially young Punjabi hockey players who want to be like him.
