Kevin Bieksa News: Pro Sports Daily

Canucks not in 'letdown' mode as Bieksa poised to return to lineup

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March 13

Vancouver Sun

"The worst of their schedule is behind them. The epic 14-game road trip is done. They have 10 of their final 15 games at home. They're in first place. The Vancouver Canucks, it would seem, are ripe for a big, fat letdown. Just don't bring it up. Especially with feisty centre Ryan Kesler. "We're not going to think negatively," Kesler stated Friday following the team's first practice at GM Place in more than six weeks. "We're going to think positively. We're at home, we're good at home, we're going to continue to feel good, we're going to bring our road game home and keep trucking along." The Canucks were outstanding at the Garage prior to the Olympic break, posting a 23-7-1 record. On ..."

Pain-free Bieksa shifts focus from rehab to return

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March 11

Vancouver Sun

"Kevin Bieksa couldn't wait to go on the road. The rest of the Vancouver Canucks couldn't wait to come home. The National Hockey League team completed the final six-game leg of its 14-game road odyssey here Wednesday, and Bieksa did not play once. But the trip was as much a success for him as it was for his team, as the key defenceman who suffered a gruesome leg injury in Phoenix on Dec. 29 practised without pain. Bieksa said he actually feels quicker on the ice since surgery to repair the two peroneal tendons on the outside of his ankle that were severed by Petr Prucha's skate 10 weeks ago. The Canucks open a five-game homestand on Saturday, and Bieksa could return to the lineup before the ..."

Canucks' Kevin Bieksa on the road to recovery

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January 20

Vancouver Sun

"The grieving process is over for defenceman Kevin Bieksa, who says he has stopped feeling sorry for himself and is now fully focused on recovering from his second serious leg cut in the last two years. "I think the first week is always the toughest and that's when I went home (to Ontario) and dealt with it at home with family," Bieksa, wearing a walking boot, said today after watching the rest of the Vancouver Canucks practise at General Motors Place. Bieksa had two tendons on the outside of his left ankle sliced by the skate of Phoenix Coyotes forward Peter Prucha in a Dec. 29 game in Arizona. He admits going through a brief period where he spent a lot of time asking himself, why me? Two ..."

Turns out Bieksa news not all bad

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January 5

Vancouver Province

"In the search for silver linings following another freak injury and surgery that will keep Kevin Bieksa sidelined for at least three months, and possibly the remainder of this NHL season, the Vancouver Canucks defenceman can take some solace in the following: The Province has learned that Bieksa suffered two severed tendons above his left ankle when cut by the skate of Coyotes forward Petr Prucha last Tuesday in Phoenix. Ligament tears would have been worse because there are five that support the fibula and tibia and recovery time can be considerably longer. Montreal defenceman Andrei Markov suffered a severed tendon of his left foot when cut by the skate of teammate Carey Price in the ..."

Turns out Bieksa news not all bad

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January 4

Vancouver Province

"In the search for silver linings following another freak injury and surgery that will keep Kevin Bieksa sidelined for at least three months, and possibly the remainder of this NHL season, the Vancouver Canucks defenceman can take some solace in the following: The Province has learned that Bieksa suffered two severed tendons above his left ankle when cut by the skate of Coyotes forward Petr Prucha last Tuesday in Phoenix. Ligament tears would have been worse because there are five that support the fibula and tibia and recovery time can be considerably longer. Montreal defenceman Andrei Markov suffered a severed tendon of his left foot when cut by the skate of teammate Carey Price in the ..."

Bieksa waits, fears the worst over skate-cut ankle

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January 1

Vancouver Province

"Kevin Bieksa had an MRI exam done on his skate-cut left ankle here on Wednesday but was still waiting for a medical diagnosis as he prepared to fly home to Vancouver. Bieksa suffered his second such freak accident in three seasons during Tuesday's 3-2 shootout loss to the Coyotes, when Petr Prucha's skate blade sliced into the outside of his left ankle late in the second period. The Vancouver Canucks defenceman is unsure how serious the damage to his leg is, but he fears the worst. He missed 47 games two years ago when Nashville's Vern Fiddler stepped on the back of his calf causing major damage. "I know how it feels and it feels similar," said Bieksa, who'd gone from one crutch postgame ..."

Bieksa needs to learn lessons on D

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December 27

Vancouver Sun

"Iain is 100-per-cent correct, the Nuck's D was superb last night. Did anyone else notice Shane O'Brien played almost two more minutes than Kevin Bieksa? That seems to be the ticket for Alain Vigneault, to keep Bieksa well under 20 minutes. Salo said it best: "if you're on the top pairing you should focus on stopping them from scoring.""

Bieksa reads between the lines of ice-time reduction

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December 22

Vancouver Province

"His minutes have been chopped, his penalty-kill time has vanished and his ego has been bruised. Kevin Bieksa mirrors what has collectively confounded the puzzling Vancouver Canucks — an inconsistent shift or a poor period — but it's the blueliner who has been put in the coaching crosshairs. And the trigger has been pulled. Five fewer minutes in each of his last two outings — 16:22 and 17:18 respectively compared to a season average of 22:14 — and only a combined 24 seconds on the penalty kill. Is Bieksa being singled out for a 19th-ranked penalty kill that has surrendered goals in three of the last four games? "You read between the lines," Bieksa suggested Monday. "I haven't been told ..."