Linden Vey, 26, said it’s a pretty special feeling as he gears up to make hockey history at the 2018 Winter Olympics this month.
Hockey Canada announced in January that 25 players without NHL contracts would represent the country in men’s hockey in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Vey was among those players and said he’s a little nervous for the first game.
“A little bit, obviously. It’s a big stage and a great opportunity, but once the puck drops, the nerves will calm down and at the end of the day, it’s another hockey game and we got to make sure to do the best we can,” Vey said over the phone to Global News.
“It’s kind of been a whirlwind trying to get everything prepared … so I haven’t really had a whole lot of time to think about it, but when we arrive in PyeongChang, I’m sure I’ll really come to life then.”
The forward was born and raised in Wakaw, Sask., which is a town approximately 85 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.
Vey is the only player from the province named to Team Canada this year.
“It’s pretty special. I was just looking at the stats and I think there’s only like seven or eight people from Saskatchewan for Team Canada at the Olympics,” he said.
“For me, the support has been awesome from my hometown of Wakaw. Obviously, I don’t get to spend a ton of time there anymore with me being busy playing hockey but they’re so supportive. Everybody’s been decorating the town.”
“Saskatchewan for me, when I think about me as a young guy, it was all about playing road hockey, playing on the pond, going to the rink and just enjoying it. Saskatchewan people have so much passion. You look at all the support for the teams in Saskatchewan,” Vey said.
He learned the game of hockey in the province and even played the 2006-07 season with the Beardy’s Blackhawks in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League.
Vey was later selected 96th overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. For the majority of his time in the NHL, he was with the Vancouver Canucks during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.
These days, he plays professionally in the National League in Zürich, Switzerland, for the ZSC Lions.
“It’s a totally different game than back in North America. Obviously, the ice is much bigger, a lot more room, a lot more of a puck possession game. Having been over here all year, this year, playing in a couple different leagues now, it gives you that style of play that will be played at the Olympics,” he said.
Vey will be joining an elite group of Canadian hockey players – such as Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby – who have donned the Maple Leaf at the Olympics, but said he doesn’t give it too much thought.
“You don’t think too much about that, but it’s a pretty special feeling any time you can represent your country,” Vey said.
“When the Olympics are on, everybody’s glued to the TV. I know in past years that my family and I were supporting whatever sport Canada was a part of. It’s such a great tradition.”
WATCH: Wakaw celebrates local Olympian by declaring Vey Day
Head coach Willie Desjardins, of Climax, Sask., along with assistant coach Dave King, who hails from Saskatoon, will be behind Canada’s bench in South Korea.
Desjardins also coached Vey during their time with the Vancouver Canucks.
“(Desjardins is) a good coach. I had him a few years in junior and a couple years in Vancouver … he’s a guy who cares about all his players … always been supportive, when you’re going through stuff, he’s a guy that’s in your corner,” Vey said.
Canada will be looking to repeat as gold medallist for the third straight time at Olympic Winter Games, having won back-to-back tournaments in 2010 and 2014.
Team Canada opens its Olympic schedule on Feb. 15 when they take on Switzerland in Group A. The gold-medal match is scheduled on Feb. 25.
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