Vadim takes Vancouver

Originally published on EuroReport.com in 2000

By Lucas Aykroyd

Pro hockey players know they may be told to pack their bags and take their stick and skates to a team on the other side of the continent at any time. Still, actually getting the news can come as a shock. And when you’re asked to step into an unfamiliar lineup after sitting out 15 straight games, it’s a challenge.

That’s exactly what Vadim Sharifijanov faced when the Vancouver Canucks acquired him from the New Jersey Devils on 14 January in exchange for a second round pick and swapped third round picks in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. The 24-year-old winger from Ufa, Russia came through in style in his Canuck debut after scoring just 7 points in 20 games for New Jersey this year.

In a 2-1 home loss to the Dallas Stars on 15 January, Sharifijanov was Vancouver’s best forward. Skating with intensity and debunking rumors he doesn’t like to shoot the puck, the 6-0, 205-pound Sharifijanov scored Vancouver’s only goal at 1:36 of the first period. After a bad bounce off the end boards eluded Dallas netminder Ed Belfour, Sharifijanov tucked a backhand into the empty net. Playing with Artem Chubarov and Peter Schaefer, he created so many scoring chances he could have had a hat trick. His best opportunities came on a 2-on-1 break with Schaefer, where Belfour slid across to foil him, and on a rush down right wing where his shot slipped through the goalie’s legs and was swept away at the last second by a Dallas defender.

“I felt great,” Sharifijanov told EuroReport afterwards. “I was happy to step on the ice and get back to hockey and play the game. Too bad we didn’t win tonight after I got a lucky goal.”

It wasn’t the first time Sharifijanov has scored on his first shift with a North American pro team. He pulled off that feat in his first game with the AHL’s Albany River Rats, where he suited up for a 6-2 win over Adirondack on 7 April, 1995. Originally chosen 25th overall in the 1994 draft, he spent three years in the minors before becoming a New Jersey regular last season. He totalled 27 points (11-16-27) in 53 games in 1998-99, which was enough to tie him for 10th in rookie scoring. Sharifijanov was named NHL Rookie-of-the-Month in December after notching 9 points. He hopes he can have a more consistent impact with Vancouver.

“It’s a great hockey town and I know it’s a fast team,” said Sharifijanov, who admitted he didn’t know a lot about Vancouver before the trade. “They play hard, they have fun, and there are a lot of nice players. Marc Crawford knew I haven’t played much lately. He just said, ‘Go out there and have fun.’ It feels like I’m alive again.”

Sharifijanov indicated he will enjoy living in the city of Vancouver as well. “Beautiful mountains and lots of sushi” were among the perks he named. It’s good he has something to cushion the shock of being traded, because when he first heard about the deal, he “almost fell on the floor. But then afterwards, I realized this is a good chance for me to play and I was happy about it.”

He wasn’t complaining about the number the Canucks assigned him either: 17. It was his “lucky number” when he played junior hockey in Russia. He was unaware Soviet legend Vladimir Krutov also wore 17 during his (rather disastrous) 1989-90 stint with Vancouver, although he idolized Krutov and Sergei Makarov of CSKA Moscow as a boy.

He spent most of the 1994-95 season with Central Red Army, following in their footsteps. But before that, he played two seasons for Ufa Salavat, his local club team. Ufa is not a household name among Russian hockey towns, as Chelyabinsk or Voskresensk are. But it’s a large city, with over 1,000,000 inhabitants. Lying in the shadow of the Ural Mountains, Ufa is the capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan. Sharifijanov’s task is to bring his hometown out of the hockey shadows.

Or at least to nail down a regular roster spot with the Canucks. Vancouver’s record of 3-6-1 in its last ten games doesn’t bode well for the injury-plagued squad’s post-season chances. Canucks GM Brian Burke picked up Sharifijanov to add some depth, and if the Russian continues to speak softly and carry a big stick, he may give the team the spark it needs to grab that eighth and final playoff spot in the West.

As a former AHL Calder Cup winner and world junior championship bronze medalist, Sharifijanov is accustomed to success. If the Canucks don’t get going, the Clash might sing about it this way: “The Sharif don’t like it: Rock the Garage! Rock the Garage!”

Hopefully everyone will be singing a different tune.