The near-constant rain in Vancouver during the month of October hasn't dampened Erik Gudbranson's enthusiasm for life in his new city.
"I had to get myself, obviously, a nice raincoat," the Vancouver Canucks' summer blueline acquisition admitted after practice last Thursday at Rogers Arena. "But that'll do. It's a beautiful city, amazing backyard and I'm happy to be here."
Vancouver weather is worlds away from the sunshine that Gudbranson enjoyed as a member of the Florida Panthers for the first five seasons of his NHL career. It's just one adjustment that the third-overall draft pick from 2010 is making as he gets his first opportunity to play for a Canadian team and experience life on the West Coast.
"I like how active people are," Gudbranson enthused about the local lifestyle. "I like walking places. It's nice to be able to just step out and walk everywhere you need to go."
On the ice, the 6'5", 220-pound blueliner is embracing nuances of playing in the Western Conference.
"Yeah, it certainly is different," he agreed. "The East is kind of more wide open a little bit. I don't want to say more skill because the NHL's so skilled nowadays. But it's a little more wide open, a little more speed through the neutral zone.
"(In the Western Conference), seems to me it's tougher to get pucks to the net from the point, tougher to get through the neutral zone. It's a little bit more systematic and you know, there's the common stigma of having bigger guys out here and that runs true. There's definitely bigger guys out here; they're more physical and whatnot so it's certainly a different style of play but it's a lot of fun."
That physical element was on display Friday against the Edmonton Oilers, when Gudbranson logged his first fight as a Canuck against Zack Kassian.
Gudbranson says it has taken him some time to get used to a brand new system, playing with the Canucks. "You have to kind of re-train your instincts and your second nature to act a different way. Recently, I've felt much more comfortable with what I'm doing and gotten used to what we've been doing as a group."
The bottom line, though—his role on the team hasn't changed much from the what he did in Florida.
I played a very defensive role with the Panthers and I played against a lot of top lines and played in my end for mostly every game so that was my job. Now I'm paired with Hutty (Ben Hutton), who's obviously an offensive guy that we want to get up in the play as much as possible and get him involved.
I guess from that standpoint yeah, it's changed, but my job remains the same. I have to be solid in my own end and create those turnovers and separate men from the puck so that we can get on offense as soon as possible. There's little changes but at the end of the day, I'm still playing the same game.
Gudbranson's pleased that he and Hutton have stuck together to start the season.
He's great. Hutty and I have become really good buddies—pretty easy to get to like him. On the ice, obviously, those things take time, getting used to a new D partner. They've given us the opportunity to get to know each other every day. We practice with each other every day. We play no matter what, we play together.
I think the last three games (before last weekend's games against Edmonton and Washington), we've really stepped up and we've played really well together. We've become a lot quicker. Without talking, we know where each other is and we've become much more effective. We need to continue to grow that way and push ourselves to be a good pair.
"We've been having a lot of fun together," agreed Hutton. "I thought we've played well from the start of the season and I'm just looking forward to getting to know him more and more on and off the ice. It's been going well so far."
One surprise about Gudbranson's personality? "He's actually...he's a jokester," Hutton reveals. "I thought he was more serious and mean just from playing against him. I never really knew him, but now off the ice I know he's goofy, likes to have his fun and stuff like that. Which is good—a good mix for me."
Gudbranson knows that in order to endure the Canucks' heavy travel schedule, he will need to be serious about taking care of himself. "There's going to be a lot of miles put on by this team—I knew coming in here that's something that we're going to have to pay attention to and manage throughout the year.
"It is what it is, there's nothing you can do about it. Just getting the proper rest when you can, eating well, drinking lots of water and (I) should be fine."
The 24-year-old got the inside scoop on Vancouver's culinary scene from his former defense partner with the Panthers, ex-Canuck and B.C. resident Willie Mitchell.
There's so many good restaurants here, you can step out and find a really good meal basically anywhere, and a reasonably healthy meal too. It's cool. It's a destination spot for chefs; there's a lot of good restaurants here.
Right now, my favourite spot is that Greek place in Yaletown—(The Greek By) Anatoli. That's a good spot, I really enjoy that place; been there a couple times. Hawksworth is a great restaurant. Only been there once, with Mitchie—that's a Willie Mitchell favourite.
Gudbranson also wields his own knives and pans. "I try to cook as much as possible. There is a difference. The restaurant food as I said is good but whatever you put in your body that you make yourself is quite a bit better."
Along with Mitchell, Gudbranson also played two-and-a-bit seasons with Roberto Luongo in Florida. "They're two great competitors. Two really great leaders in the room—I was very fortunate to play with them."
As a rookie, Gudbranson learned his craft from another bruising former Canucks defender. "I played with Ed Jovanovski for two years too, lived with him for a little while. He was the one that grabbed me first and sort of showed me the way and how to be a pro.
"I was groomed by some longtime Canucks. All three of them are true professionals and I was fortunate to learn from them."
Gudbranson and his teammates embark today on their first six-game Eastern road trip of the year. The Canucks will visit the Panthers in Sunrise on December 10.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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