Top five fighters in Vancouver Canucks history

3. Rick Rypien

Although many never considered him a true enforcer because of his 5’11, 190-pound frame, Rick Rypien could absolutely throw hands with the best of them. The thumbnail of this article features the Coleman, Alberta native about to feed his signature left hand to former Canuck, Brandon Prust.

Rypien had a well-documented and much talked about battle with depression, and unfortunately, took his own life prior to the 2011 season. Rypien’s battle with mental illness paved the way for the current Hockey Talks and other mental health awareness programs seen throughout professional sports.

When he dropped the gloves, everybody took notice. If you were at the game, you would shoot out of your seat to see what Rypien was going to do to the opponent who had lined up opposite him. Whether it was the 6’7, 243 pound Hal Gill or one of the league’s best fighters in Zack Stortini, Rypien never backed down from anybody.

There are many compilations of some of Rypien’s best fights all over Youtube, but I suggest you watch his fight against Boris Valabik to really grasp what kind of fighter and what kind of player Rypien was. In the video, the 6’7 245 Valabik looks at Rypien in disbelief after he seemingly asks him to fight. Almost as a “really? You’re sure about this?”.

Rypien took a few punches, but blocked a good amount and turned the fight in his favour after getting Valabik’s jersey over his head. He then proceeded to feed Valabik with a multitude of his signature left hands and that was that. Rypien truly is one of the greatest fighters in Canucks history.