LaBarbera gets top seat for first NHL playoff series
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/04/2009 (6339 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
JASON LABARBERA has pretty much maxed out on new experiences.
The first, was being involved in an NHL trade — from the Los Angeles Kings to the Vancouver Canucks — just prior to Christmas.
The second was experiencing life in a Canadian NHL city. Amping that up is the fact Vancouver is at least as much his hometown as Prince George, since the 29-year-old goaltender was born in Burnaby, B.C.
The third new trail is his first trip to the NHL playoffs, where he’ll serve as backup to established starter Roberto Luongo.
Roll it all together and it might add up to one of the best days of his life. That was the birth of his first child, son Ryder, on Feb. 26.
LaBarbera, who played his last years of minor hockey in Prince George before advancing to the Western Hockey League with the Portland Winter Hawks, and fiancee Kodette are now the proud parents of a baby boy who checked in at eight pounds, seven ounces at Vancouver Women’s Hospital.
"It’s been amazing, and I’ve never been through this before so it’s definitely been a pretty cool experience," said LaBarbera, who plans to go from fiance to husband in the summer of 2010. "It was kinda cool that we were able to come back to Vancouver and he was able to be born where I grew up."
The new arrival hasn’t left LaBarbera with much time to rest when the Canucks have been at home. So it’s likely a blessing in disguise that LaBarbera, who started just one game after Feb. 13, has mostly viewed Vancouver’s late-season hot streak from the bench.
That’s exactly where LaBarbera will be as Luongo is the key figure if the Canucks are to claim the franchise’s first Stanley Cup. That began Wednesday night at General Motors Place with the opening game of the best-of-seven series against the surging St. Louis Blues, who had the NHL’s best second-half record.
— The Canadian Press
The NHL playoff game between the Vancouver Canucks and St. Louis Blues was still in progress at press time. For details see www.winnipegfreepress.com