Backyard bonding on a small rink
Gagner has fond memories of honing his skills and having fun on the ice his dad built
Sam Gagner had his bell rung — and he liked it.
This particular ringing wasn’t a crippling concussion — which the Vancouver Canucks forward has suffered during his 11 NHL seasons — but rather something so joyful and memorable that it left a lasting impression.
The ringing of a backyard bell to get Gagner and his buddies off the family rink in Oakville, Ont. long enough to grab some grub — before dashing back to the slab of ice and playing late into the night — resonates with Gagner to this day, and especially on Father’s Day.
Gagner’s father, Dave, logged 15 seasons with seven NHL clubs, including a partial season with the Canucks, and there was often his wide-eyed kid at his side in the locker-room. And when he left the game and coached his son through minor hockey, he became every man. And what man didn’t dream of building a backyard rink?
“It’s something I wanted to do,” recalled Dave. “I played on the (1984) Olympic team at 18 and when we went to Fussen (Germany) we practised outdoors and I thought it was the coolest thing ever.” It wasn’t your ordinary rink. Dave hired a company to construct the surface that measured 90 feet long and 50 feet wide. There were boards, netting, lighting and a mini-Zamboni rigged up to a John Deere tractor. Shovels were eventually replaced by a snowblower and the backyard jewel attracted neighbourhood kids, including Sam’s childhood friend and teammate John Tavares.
“At first my wife, Jo-Anne, thought I was a little nuts and now she thinks it’s the best thing we ever did,” added 53-year-old Dave, who would form Custom Ice Rinks in which he remains a partner.
“All the kids were at our house all the time and it kept us really close to our children. Sam was out there 30 hours a week and the only (bad) thing was the noise of the puck hitting the boards.”
That’s when Dave would ring that same bell because it served a purpose when Sam’s shot went astray. Not only was he missing the net, the neighbours weren’t amused by the boom on the boards.
“It was a good thing,” said 28-year-old Sam. “It forced me to hit the net and whenever I missed and it made that loud crash, my dad would ring it and yell at me to hit the net. That was pretty funny.”
The laughter served a purpose, too.
Sam already had natural talent and was quickly growing his game. His dad would push him as hard in practice and games, but the backyard rink was where structure was replaced by riotous fun and 3-on-3 marathons.
It wasn’t unusual for Sam and his buddies to play a league game and bolt back to the backyard rink, only stopping briefly for a slab of pizza and then playing until 10 p.m.
“I don’t think I’m an NHLer without the outdoor rink — it develops your creativity and your skills and you’re just having fun,” said Sam, who skated on the surface from age 10 until 16, when he left to play junior hockey.
“It made me the player I am today. And I know I owe my dad a lot for being able to put that rink in and even coming out and playing with us.”
When his parents sold the home, the new owners invited the Gagner family to use the rink again a couple of years ago.
“There was no better experience because that’s what hockey is,” stressed Sam. “It’s having no inhibitions and enjoying the game in its purest form and it allowed me to develop my passion.”
That was vital. Sam has ground out a career with five NHL teams, including four in the past four years. He’s not only coming off a difficult transition season with the Canucks — 31 points (10-21) in 74 games after 50 points the previous season with the Columbus Blue Jackets — he has two young sons and a wife, Rachel, who’s a family physician and the glue that keeps everything together.
Beckham turns one next month and Cooper will be three in August. So, there’s balancing the home life and training for next season and who better than dad to help the 2007 first-round draft pick.
After all, Dave not only played 946 career regular-season games and compiled 719 points (318-401), the 1983 first-round draft pick worked as director of player development with the Canucks. For the last five years, he has been with the Orr-Wassermann Hockey Group as a recruiter and mentor for the agency’s clients.
“The biggest thing I learned from him is work ethic,” said Sam. “He had to fight for everything he got in hockey and he brought that into everyday things.
“To this day, he’s probably still the hardest worker I’ve ever met. And as a kid and growing up around him and having so much respect for him, I learned the value of commitment and sticking to something.”
“It’s the way I handle myself around the rink and with some of the intensity I bring. I’m not where I’d be in hockey without him. He has been through everything at the NHL level and understands the grind of the season and is a great guy to throw ideas at or just vent.”
Sam also knows that in any hockey household, Father’s Day can easily double as Mother’s Day. Keeping everything on an even keel often falls upon Rachel.
“I don’t know how she handles all the stress and takes care of me and my stress and the kids as well,” admitted Sam.
“It’s pretty incredible actually. You never really know how it’s going to go until you have kids, but it’s been a lot of fun and probably the most rewarding thing I’ve done in my life.”
Dave is also father to two daughters and gives Jo-Anne the props she richly deserves for embracing the moving and making sure the kids got the most out of life. Sam embodies that.
“I was a little bit more intense personally and ran at a higher temperature than Sam,” said Dave. “But he’s a happy young man and very content with his life.
“Sometimes with my attitude, it was difficult all the time to be happy because you tend to be too critical of yourself. Sam has better balance. Not that I was bad at it, he’s just better.”