Kevin Bieksa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Position | Defence |
| Shoots | Right |
| Nickname(s) | Juice 'Boom Boom' 'BXA' Bieksallent The K is before the S |
| Height Weight |
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 205 lb (93 kg/14 st 9 lb) |
| NHL Team | Vancouver Canucks |
| Nationality |  Canada |
| Born | June 16, 1981 , Grimsby, ON, CAN |
| NHL Draft | 151st overall, 2001 Vancouver Canucks |
| Pro career | 2004 – present |
Kevin Bieksa (born on June 16, 1981 in Grimsby, Ontario) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman with a Lithuanian background, who currently plays for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League.
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[edit] Playing career
He played four years of college hockey at Bowling Green University. After his freshman year he was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks with the 151st pick in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. After his college career was over, he made his professional debut with the Manitoba Moose late in the 2003-04 season. In 2004-05, he played the entire year with the Moose, playing in 80 games and registering 39 points. In the 2005-06 season, he once again began the season with the Moose, but after a solid start he was called up by the Canucks in December.
Though he wore No. 25 for the Canucks in 2005-06, he switched this to No. 3 for the 2006-07 season. On October 13, 2006, Bieksa scored his first NHL goal against Evgeni Nabokov in a loss to the San Jose Sharks.
The 2006-07 season is considered to be Bieksa's breakout season, in which he rapidly developed into one of the Canucks' top blueliners. He finished the season leading all Canucks defensemen in points and penalty minutes, as well as was given a regular shutdown role against oposing teams' top forwards. That off-season, the Canucks acknowledged Bieksa with a 3-year, $11.25 million contract extension, effective 2008-09.[1]
The next season, a calf laceration limited him to just 34 games and 12 points.
His last name, which is pronounced phonetically (Bee-ek-sa), is frequently mispronounced by sports newscasters and hockey broadcasters such as Bob Cole and Harry Neale, to the frustration or amusement of many fans. It has even been misspelled on scoreboards.[2]
[edit] Off the ice
Kevin Bieksa and his wife, Katie, have one child, Cole Walter, born October 24, 2007.[3]
[edit] Award and achievements
- AHL All-Rookie Team - 2005
- Cam Neely Award (The Hockey News' Breakout Player of the Year) - 2007
- Babe Pratt Trophy (Canucks' top defenceman) - 2007
[edit] Career statistics
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2000-01 | Bowling Green Falcons | CCHA | 35 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 90 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2001-02 | Bowling Green Falcons | CCHA | 40 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 68 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2002-03 | Bowling Green Falcons | CCHA | 34 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 92 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 2003-04 | Bowling Green Falcons | CCHA | 38 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 66 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2003-04 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2004-05 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 80 | 12 | 27 | 39 | 192 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 52 | ||
| 2005-06 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 23 | 3 | 17 | 20 | 71 | 13 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 38 | ||
| 2005-06 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 39 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 77 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2006-07 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 81 | 12 | 30 | 42 | 134 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | ||
| 2007-08 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 34 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 90 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2007-08 | Manitoba Moose | AHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| NHL Totals | 154 | 14 | 46 | 60 | 301 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | ||||
[edit] References
- ^ Vancouver Canucks (9 July 2007). "Canucks sign defenceman Kevin Bieksa to a three year extension". Press release. Retrieved on 2007-09-26.
- ^ MacIntyre, Iain. "A spell of success for Kevin Bieksa", The Vancouver Sun, 16 January 2007. Retrieved on 2007-09-26.
- ^ "Baby sidetracks Bieksa", The Province, 24 October 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-30.
