Video-game ban about bonding
Canucks coach and players say screen restrictions on the road are no big deal
Fortnite is a global obsession.
The Vancouver Canucks are so wary of its popularity they have banned playing video games on the road. Citing everything from ensuring players get proper rest and recovery — to a transitioning NHL club becoming closer on the road — the new policy is a bigger deal on social media than in the locker-room.
“It’s a group decision,” Canucks centre Bo Horvat said Wednesday.
“It’s important, especially for the young guys, to see different cities and do different things and be more of a tightknit group — instead of staying in your room and ordering room service.
“Go for dinner and enjoy being around the guys. I’m just not a video guy, but it’s important on the road to enjoy each others’ presence and talk away from hockey. That’s going to be real important because we’re young and we need to get better.”
Troy Stecher doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about.
He plays video games at home and not on the road because the Canucks defenceman understands the demands of being a professional athlete. He’s even aligned with Jake Virtanen, Brock Boeser and Ben Hutton as a quad in Fortnite, and the group plays only at home and in the evening after practice.
“I don’t think it (ban) is a big deal and you guys (media) are making it a bigger issue than it is,” stressed Stecher.
“It doesn’t really bother me because it’s a rule we’ve put in place and nobody has questioned it. Guys are going to respect it.
“Were not babysitting anyone here. Even when guys were bringing it on the road, it’s not like they’re skipping dinners or anything. If you’re up at 2 or 3 a.m. playing X-box then there’s an issue. We trust each other that we’re going to do the right things away from the rink.
“There’s nothing wrong with playing video games for an hour at night. When I went to college (North Dakota) it was a good way for me to connect with my friends back home in Vancouver with the time change. So, there are pros and cons to it.”
The attraction to Fortnite is obvious.
In the most popular Battle Royal version that can include up to 100 players — individuals, duos or squads of up to four players — the objective is
to be the last player alive by killing others or evading them. All of this occurs while staying in a constantly shrinking safe zone to prevent lethal damage for being outside of it.
Players must scavenge for weapons and armour and can break down most objects to gain resources to build fortifications.
Fortnite is supported through microtransactions to purchase in-game currency that can be used toward upgrades.
In April, it generated US$296 million across mobile, console and PC platforms.
It was more than double what the game generated in February. Approximately 1,700 Fortnite games were uploaded to YouTube during one week in May and amassed 226,376,777 views.
So, it’s not a stretch to suggest the sensory overload and competitive compulsion of the game could keep impressionable young players too dialed in to Fortnite.
In late May, a report suggested an unnamed recent first-round draft pick has a video-game addiction.
A freelance journalist then wrongfully posted on Twitter that it was Canucks prospect Olli Juolevi, the fifth-overall pick in the 2016 NHL draft.
Juolevi’s agent, Markus Lehto, confirmed the allegations were false.
“We don’t have any guys like that,” said Virtanen. “We’re usually on it from 7 to 8:30 p.m. to just kill time and have some fun and relax and then go to bed. I don’t really care to be honest if it’s banned (on the road) or not. I’m not going to complain and it doesn’t really matter.
“I feel in the middle. It’s weird. I like going for dinner with the guys and playing Fortnite, too.
“But we have enough time to play at home, so it’s not a big deal.”
Canucks coach Travis Green laughed when the video-ban topic was broached.
“It has been overblown a lot and this is just simply players trying to bond as a team,” he said. “My kid plays Fortnite and I have not banned it from him or anybody on our team. Players want to make sure that all are at the team dinners and that’s the way it is in team sports.
“It’s not an issue.”