Funny how it happens. A name from the past appears, then just starts popping up everywhere.
Not long ago, a Washington Post story about Vancouver’s legendary watering hole included Troy Brouwer saying that when he broke into the NHL, Adrian Aucoin told him there were three things in the world that were mandatory – death, taxes and the Roxy (Yes, the aforementioned bar).
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A couple of weeks ago, Michael Stone, when asked about facing his childhood idols, noted that most of his heroes had retired by the time he cracked the NHL, but in Arizona he’d had the honour of skating alongside the likes of Shane Doan, Ray Whitney – and Aucoin.
A few days later, The Athletic’s Josh Cooper unveiled a delicious Q&A with Ilya Bryzgalov. To round out the the nutty goalie’s account, an email was sent to Paul Bissonnette, who responded, in part, by saying in those days it had been Aucoin who was “fucking hilarious.”
It’s a description that is tough to dispute.
In Aucoin’s two winters with the Calgary Flames, he tickled teammates – and media members – with an unfailing sense of humour.
When scribes began to swarm the Flames’ dressing room in the trade-deadline lead-up – an annual occurrence with a predictable line of questions that players dread – Aucoin happily fielded all queries … then tried to convince reporters that he and his children planned to set up a “war room” in advance of the big day.
“It’s a family event.”
When Aucoin twice won the Flames’ hardest-shot contest, he pleased the parents in attendance by drawing attention to his trusty mallet, a wooden model.
“This is only a $30 stick,” he merrily informed a crowd of 12,000. “There’s a lot of things out there that look good, but sometimes the old-fashioned stuff is what works.”
Perhaps it was time to catch up with Aucoin.
The blueliner may have suited up only 170 times, including playoffs, for the Flames, but he’d been a witty and willing presence here. Always happy to hold court. By dialing the number he’d had when the Flames originally acquired him – from the Blackhawks for Andrei Zyuzin in June 2007 – an interview plan was hatched.
He’s now a full-time hockey dad, helping to coach the teams of four of his five kids – after a two-year stint in a developmental role with the Chicago Blackhawks. The other day, as he drove his daughter Alyssa from Chicago to Kitchener, Ont., for a tournament, Aucoin was a captive audience.
You put 1,108 games into the books (177th most in NHL history). Did it go by fast? Or was it a grind?
I wouldn’t say it was a blink. I got traded, so there were so many little eras. I really had a lot of ups and downs to my career, so there’s a lot of side stories.
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It’s cool because I can look back and remember my Vancouver days, coming in and being so naive, then starting to figure it out. Then getting traded to Tampa, here’s a blip on the radar. Then the Islanders, where I had my best years. Then Chicago, where I had my two worst years. And Calgary, where we had a great veteran team and it was a lot of fun. Then Phoenix, where I got the furthest in the playoffs. Then a fun year in Columbus, where I was one of only two guys over 30 – and I was 39. Me and my wife always get a chuckle out of that one, coming from Phoenix where I think (players) had 31 children – it was such an older group, everyone had kids. Then I go to Columbus where the average age was probably 24. Me and Vinny Prospal were the only old guys. My kids were literally closer in age to that team than I was. It was hilarious.
Maybe he is onto something – the concept of “little eras.” After transcribing an hour’s worth of quotes, that may actually be a sensible way to unpack the 45-year-old’s insight. Chapter by chapter.
Vancouver Canucks (341 games, 1995-01)
Playing for Pat Quinn
Like a grandfather-slash-father-slash-mentor-slash-everything. He was awesome because he was one of the most honest guys around. So you didn’t want to upset him or let him down. It was almost a privilege to play for a guy like that.
Playing for Mike Keenan
I had a meeting with him … and he basically told me that I wasn’t good enough, that I wasn’t putting in the effort, then he laid it on the line. At the time, Dana Murzyn, Dave Babych, Jyrki Lumme, Bret Hedican were my four mentors – they took me under their wings, they were great guys, they were like big brothers. And Keenan explained that it was OK for me to take their jobs – it was actually helping the team. He said I was too content being the fifth, sixth guy, because I had these great guys ahead of me. Ultimately, that was one of the turning points of my career.
Keenan’s influence
I came to camp and he sat me down, “How are you going to help this team?” I had a little bit of a chip on my shoulder because he didn’t love me and I threw it back at him, “Well, it depends how much you’re going to play me.” One of those back-and-forth arguments. He said, “You’ve got a great shot. If you could (have a shooting percentage of) 10 percent, that could help the team a lot.” I remember saying, “Ten per cent for a defenceman is crazy.” He snapped at me and said, “Listen, just do what I tell you to do.” And that was the year I scored 23 goals (with a 13.2 shooting percentage). He compared me to Sergei Zubov, who I don’t even come close to, skill-wise. But being a right-handed shot, a hard shot, he was like, “with our power play and the way (Markus) Naslund and (Alex) Mogilny and (Mark) Messier can move the puck around, we’re going to set you up. Just keep shooting it and good things are going to happen.” I think he pretty much nailed it.
Breaking Messier’s shinpad – with a slapper in practice
I hit him so hard one day, I almost fainted. I was like, “Oh my gosh. This is a career-ender. A massive mistake.” But Keenan was like, “you know what? You have to do that every day.” Keenan was adamant about it – that every shot in practice had to be as hard as I could –because come game time, it would be easier.
Tampa Bay Lightning (26 games, 2001)
John Tortorella, I absolutely loved him. You knew exactly where you stood every day with him. I tell people, if I had to play for him in my late-30s I could have never done it because he’s so high-tempo, high-pace.
(Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports)New York Islanders (235 games, 2001-04)
Peter Laviolette was ahead of his time. Such a go-go-go (coach), he had our forwards going, our defencemen going, everyone going up ice to create as much offence as possible. And that’s kind of the way the NHL is now.
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Ice time on the Island. One time, as a visitor to the Saddledome, Aucoin logged more than 12 minutes – in the first period. In 2001-02 at 28:54, he was second in ice time to only Chris Pronger. In 2002-03 at 29:01, he was second to Nick Lidstrom.
It was doable. You almost build up an immunity to it. You just get conditioned to it. It becomes a dream because you’re out there every shift. Good, bad, make a mistake, have a horrible play, make a great play – you know you’re getting right back out there. You get the puck so much more on your stick, it just makes the game so much easier. Your confidence is just so much higher. Those years on the Island, it was a dream come true. Lavvy, he loved it. He really went with his top guys.
Expanding his social horizons
Early in my career I only hung out with my teammates, at home, on the road. I didn’t know neighbours, I didn’t know locals, I didn’t care to. (That changed) when I moved to the Islanders … we met all these good people. It was maybe two nights after we lost in playoffs and my wife (Caroline) was like, “OK, we’re going to this party with the neighbours.” And I’m like, “no chance” (before relenting). I did not want to deal with other people. To this day, I’m still good friends with probably 10 of those guys – we play fantasy football together – and the same thing happened in Chicago.
Chicago Blackhawks (92 games, 2005-07)
Public life of pro athletes
It’s always weird. When you walk into a room as a professional athlete or a public figure, everybody knows what you do. So I make it a point of asking (others), “So what do you do?” The first time I ever met our neighbours in Chicago, we go to dinner and they’re discussing my salary (in front of me) – I’d just signed that $16-million (four-year) deal – but it really wasn’t that awkward. But a couple people at the table thought it was so offside. I’m like, “it’s public knowledge. It’s not really a big deal. Everybody knows how much I make. I’m happy to talk about it.” They wanted the flipside – “Well then, ask him how much his salary is.” And I’m like, “I don’t really care.”
I came into the NHL in an era where everybody already knew your salaries, so there was no hidden agenda. Some of these guys now, with social media, they’re getting into trouble with who knows what. I never had any issues with any of that stuff. I really had an open-book life.
Calgary Flames (157 games, 2007-09)
In the locker room I was always one of the guys who kept it light, no matter what. You have to enjoy it. Oh my god, you are literally living your dream. And, believe it or not, one of the guys who really taught me that was Jarome Iginla. I’d always taken losses very hard, taken them very personally. I can’t remember where we were, but we lost a game. And after, Jarome said a joke on the plane and I was looking at him sideways, “Dude, we just lost a big game.” And he’s like, “Yeah. And we’ve got a game tomorrow.” I always saw him as such a hard-ass, go-get-it kind of guy. It was kind of shocking.
Phoenix Coyotes (221 games, 2009-12)
Dave Tippett, one of those guys who totally loved his players, did everything for them, and was so mellow. Even if you were down by two goals in the last two minutes … he never lost control.
Last NHLer to use a wooden stick
From what I hear, I think I probably was the last. I could be wrong, because I know (Jason) Spezza used one off and on.
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What happened, I was using Koho or CCM or Reebok or whoever owned the company at the time, and they changed factories. The sticks, they had always looked the same – that clear fibreglass – and, all of a sudden, they showed up and they were this dark-brown-looking stick. It was a completely different feel. I couldn’t use it. I think they were almost like, “you know what? We’re not putting any money into the production of wood anymore.”
So we were in Anaheim. I’d broken my last wooden stick. I used a Robert Lang pattern, a Peter Mueller pattern, a Shane Doan pattern, all in the pregame skate. The first period, I used Robert Lang’s. The second period, I used Shane Doan’s and I ended up scoring a goal. So my sticks from that day … were all Shane Doan’s pattern with my name on it.
Using a composite stick
Better passing. Better puck control. But I could still shoot harder with wood. I don’t know why. I think it was the flex of the wood. I never had enough skill to be a good golfer or stickhandler or skill guy, so the wood always made sense – just lean into it and pound it as hard as I could.
Being nicknamed “The Closer” after scoring five consecutive shootout-winning goals in 2010 – Feb. 2, Feb. 5, March 10, March 14, March 21.
We were in Nashville and we went through the first five shooters. Then Tippett, around six, he’s like, “Oakie, you’re up.” And I’m like, “nope.” We got to around eight or nine and he said, “you’re up,” and I’m like, “nope.” I wouldn’t say I’m a shy guy, but being alone in front of 20,000 people to me is not normal. One of the reasons I love hockey more than any other sport is because everybody plays, everybody’s a part of it, you have goalies that help you, D that help you, coaches that help you. If you make a mistake, there’s always someone there to help you out. In the shootout, there’s nobody there but me.
(After agreeing to go in the 10th round), I came down, shot top corner, scored. And it was kind of a big joke. So we win. The next game we go to Chicago … it was a big deal going back to one of your old buildings. Tippett calls me, I go. Same shot – top, glove.
Five game-winners in a row. More than surprising, it was actually just a big comedy for our team. The guys would just love it. Tippett loved it. The coaches loved it. We just thought it was a big joke.
Then the sixth time I went (March 25) he put me in the first three (shooters). I’m not superstitious, but everyone’s like, “you can’t do that.” It was against Pekka Rinne and he’d watched what I did because I scored my first one on him. He literally just stood there with his glove up in the air and I shot it right into his glove. He didn’t even budge.
Columbus Blue Jackets (36 games, 2012-13)
I had Todd Richards and he was unbelievable. I think he got a bit of an unfair shake there. He took over a pretty crazy roster. But he was probably one of the biggest keys in turning that organization around.
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His final game
It was kind of weird because we had to win and Minnesota had to lose and we would’ve been in the playoffs. It was the lockout year, so we played 48 games. It was kind of nuts. Poor Todd Richards, he had a real mix of young kids and we started off so poorly … but having (Sergei) Bobrovsky. Remember they traded for him for nothing? (From Philadelphia for one second- and two fourth-rounders.) So we have a decent D corps, we’ve got Bobrovsky, we have a couple forwards who can score. My last game, we ended up (beating Nashville), which is great. But we all just sat around the rink for an hour in our underwear, waiting for that Minnesota game to end. They ended up winning, so that was it. (Playing my last game) wasn’t as sad as I thought it might’ve been. I was more sad about missing the playoffs than it being my last game. (Retiring) was totally expected so it wasn’t that big of a deal. Missing the playoffs was devastating.
Parenthood
(Aucoin and Caroline have five kids – Christina, Alyssa, Cameron, Kaden, and Kyle, a No. 33-wearing defenceman who was selected in the OHL and USHL drafts. He recently committed to Harvard.)
The coolest thing was, when Kyle ended up choosing Harvard. He had a bunch of offers from all these schools and I made him call all the other coaches and tell them he made a decision and it wasn’t their school. Almost everyone said, “He’s one of the first kids who’s ever done that.” He’s so respectful. He’s just a good kid. It’s amazing when you talk to him – he can have a conversation with an adult. I don’t think he’s an odd 16-year-old boy at all because he’s a typical 16-year-old – you’ve got to get him out of bed, you’ve got to tell him to put the dishes away. He works hard in hockey because he loves it. He’s a great teammate. But I think he’s figured that out on his own.
We’re pretty proud – starting with my oldest child and all the way down, they’re doing well in school, they’re doing well in sports. Ultimately, they go hand in hand because you’re only as happy as your most miserable child.
The curious existence of a player
It is so different. Think about how many jobs a grown person would have where a coach literally belittles you – whether on the bench, in public, in an office – and verbally just abuses you. And I’ve had my fair share … with Keenan, (Marc) Crawford. And seeing how some of these coaches treat other players, it’s amazing. Can you imagine a lawyer or a doctor or someone like that or someone in the media, getting absolutely ripped apart by his boss? Then expecting to come back and be better? So that was always kind of a weird one.
But it was almost a fun thing to get traded or sign as a free agent or go to a training camp every year because it was always fresh and exciting and new. I know a lot of guys get monotonous, like, “oh my god, this sucks.” But I don’t know. I think guys who don’t experience other teams might kind of fall into that. Even when I got traded to Tampa. Here I come from the Canucks, who, in my eyes, were one of the best franchises ever and going to Tampa, which was kind of new and not awesome, it was exciting. Then, when I went from Tampa, who was in 29th place, to the Islanders, who were in 30th place, which sounds kind of shitty, I was like, “this is kind of exciting, too.” New group, but you always know a couple guys.
All the off-ice funny stories, good and bad, with coaches and players, media. I don’t think anybody could have a better career than what I went through. The only regret I have is not winning a Cup – it’s not even a regret, it’s a dream – but my career itself was awesome.
(Top photo: Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images)
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