What a week itsa国际传媒檚 been for Surreysa国际传媒檚 Arshdeep Bains, who played his first few games with the Vancouver Canucks and became just the fourth player with Punjabi roots to skate in the National Hockey League.
A rookie forward, , played again in Seattle two nights later, then helped the Canucks to a comeback 3-2 win over rival Boston Bruins in Vancouver on Saturday.
At Rogers Arena, dozens of family members and friends watched Bains play on home ice for the first time, with a team he cheered for as a kid growing up in Surrey, where he still lives with family.
Heading into another home game Tuesday (Feb. 27) against Pittsburgh Penguins, Bains hasnsa国际传媒檛 yet scored a point in the NHL. But hesa国际传媒檚 earned the trust of head coach Rick Tocchet and also teammates, meaning he just might stay with the league-leading Canucks for the rest of the season.
sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檓 a big fan, I like him a lot,sa国际传媒� . sa国际传媒淚 think theresa国际传媒檚 another level, and thatsa国际传媒檚 when playing in the NHL. Hesa国际传媒檚 earned a spot right now, you know sa国际传媒� I donsa国际传媒檛 know how long itsa国际传媒檚 going to be. Maybe itsa国际传媒檚 the rest of the year, but hesa国际传媒檚 earned a spot.
sa国际传媒淚 know guys enjoy playing with him,sa国际传媒� the coach continued. sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檝e had a couple of players come up to me individually and say, sa国际传媒楬ey, donsa国际传媒檛 be afraid to throw him on my line.sa国际传媒� So I think thatsa国际传媒檚 the ultimate compliment for that kid.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淚t was a dream come true for the family, for the community, and for all of us here in B.C.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒� Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks)
Kuldip Bains speaks with Kate Pettersen () on watching his son, Arshdeep, make his NHL debut during the Mentorssa国际传媒� Trip! |
Bains made his NHL debut with proud father Kuldip at the game in Colorado, on the teamsa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒渕entors trip.sa国际传媒� In Seattle, more family members watched him in action.
sa国际传媒淚t was a dream come true for the family, for the community, for all of us here in B.C.,sa国际传媒� Kuldip Bains told the Canuckssa国际传媒� rinkside reporter, Kate Pettersen.
sa国际传媒淗is demeanor is hard work, and right from the beginning hesa国际传媒檚 always working hard, to the fullest,sa国际传媒� Bainssa国际传媒� father added.
Two weeks ago Bains was called up by the Canucks from their AHL affiliate, Abbotsford Canucks, where hesa国际传媒檚 starred in recent months and in the first week of February.
Arshdeep Bains writes sa国际传媒淏ibisa国际传媒� & sa国际传媒淏abasa国际传媒� on every one of his hockey sticks paying respect to his grandma & his late grandpa.
sa国际传媒� Randip Janda (@RandipJanda)
A special night for the Surrey kid making his home debut at Rogers Arena tonight.
Bains, 23, was undrafted in both the WHL junior league and the NHL, and , in March 2022. He played junior with Red Deer Rebels and captured the WHLsa国际传媒檚 Bobby Clarke Trophy as top scorer in 2021-22 with 112 points in 68 games.
With the Canucks hesa国际传媒檚 wearing jersey #80, and on his hockey sticks writes sa国际传媒淏ibisa国际传媒� and sa国际传媒淏abasa国际传媒� to pay respect to his grandmother and late grandfather. Before stepping to the ice, he touches the ground (rink floor) in a blessing of Mother Earth, a tradition among Sikh Punjabis.
sa国际传媒淏ains is a big deal for the Punjabi community, but also Surrey, and itsa国际传媒檚 such a great story,sa国际传媒� confirmed Harpreet Pandher, a broadcaster with Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi Edition.
sa国际传媒淗e gets signed by his favourite childhood team, the Canucks. Getting signed, that doesnsa国际传媒檛 mean yousa国际传媒檙e going to play in the NHL, but the season hesa国际传媒檚 had, making the AHL all-star team and being the MVP, it was kind of a no-brainer that he deserved a shot at the NHL.
sa国际传媒淕oing back to his junior days,sa国际传媒� Pandher added, sa国际传媒渃oaches have mentioned that Arshdeep is very coachable, a good learner. Every level hesa国际传媒檚 been at, hesa国际传媒檚 worked hard and he made the adjustments needed to get to the next step.sa国际传媒�
As the fourth Punjabi-roots player in the NHL, Bains follows in the footsteps of Robin Bawa in the 1990s, Manny Malhotra a decade later, and fellow Surreyite Jujhar Khaira in recent years.
Due to pre-scheduling, Bainssa国际传媒� home-ice debut with the Canucks was not broadcast live on Hockey Night in Canadasa国际传媒檚 Punjabi edition, which showed the Toronto-Colorado game instead.
While that was a live-TV miss for the local Punjabi community, the Bains story is huge in Surrey.
sa国际传媒淗opefully he can get a point here, maybe a goal, that will be the next thing for him,sa国际传媒� Pandher said. sa国际传媒淚 remember seeing Robin Bawa playing, someone with brown skin out there, and just getting goosebumps watching that. Itsa国际传媒檚 the same feeling I had this week with Arshdeep, itsa国际传媒檚 great. How few Punjabis have played (in the NHL), itsa国际传媒檚 surprising to me, but it shows just how tough it is to play in the league.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒� RELATED STORY, from June 2023: .
Despite the early accolades, Bains said he isnsa国际传媒檛 entirely satisfied with his play in the NHL so far, just a few games in.
sa国际传媒淚t was so special,sa国际传媒� he said of Saturdaysa国际传媒檚 home-ice win, , sa国际传媒渁nd if I was being honest I was probably a bit more nervous tonight than the first two games. It was awesome, and I had a lot of family and friends here. We were able to beat Boston at home, so it was awesome.sa国际传媒�
