Tyson Barrie and Matt Irwin both enjoy their time back on the Island during summers and working out at PISE.
But when you are an NHL player, you don鈥檛 want that moment to come too soon.
Barrie is packing up in Denver and readying for his annual excursion back to Victoria. Irwin, meanwhile, has his ticket stamped to another provincial capital. He has a date with the Winnipeg Jets in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs after his Nashville Predators dispatched Barrie鈥檚 Colorado Avalanche in six games in the first round. The Preds host Game 1 on Friday.
Both are blue-liners but that鈥檚 about all they have in common in terms of style and route taken. Barrie, out of the Juan de Fuca youth system, was always rated higher and selected by the Avalanche 64th overall in the third round of the 2009 NHL draft.
The five-foot-10, 190-pounder continued his emergence as one of the more dangerous undersized but mobile, puck-moving defencemen in the league with 14 goals and 57 points in the regular season and four assists in the playoffs.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to be 27 [in July] and it鈥檚 time to really start making my mark,鈥� said Barrie, from Denver.
鈥淭he year previous was a setback for both me and the team. I thought things rebounded well [for both] this year and we were back in the playoffs. I just want to get better every year.鈥�
Brentwood Bay鈥檚 Irwin, meanwhile, is from Peninsula minor hockey and was undrafted out of the BCHL鈥檚 Nanaimo Clippers and NCAA UMass-Amherst and worked his way up to the NHL the hard way. The six-foot-one, 210-pound rearguard is more of a defensive-zone stalwart, although he does have a good breakout first pass. Irwin was certainly considered less of a natural in junior than Barrie, who had a high-profile and starry WHL career with the Kelowna Rockets.
鈥淢att has done a good job of forging a career despite being undrafted,鈥� said Barrie.
鈥淢att had to prove himself. And he has. And now he is getting rewarded for that. We had a good chat after the series.鈥�
The one thing Irwin has over Barrie is the experience of a deep run into the playoffs as Nashville made it to the Stanley Cup final last year after Irwin also had some good post-season runs with the San Jose Sharks. That background showed against Colorado as Irwin, a former Saanich Braves Junior B player whose No. 44 jersey is retired and hanging from the rafters of Pearkes Arena, had a strong series and played all six games after getting in only 50 in the regular season for Nashville.
鈥淚 contribute any way I can. I am hard-nosed in the defensive zone and help out on offence when I can,鈥� said Irwin, from Nashville where the Predators host Game 1 against the Jets on Friday.
鈥淐olorado used that underdog, no-pressure attitude well and gave us a battle,鈥� added Irwin.
鈥淏ut we built off our experience from last year鈥檚 playoffs.鈥�
As a case-in-point: Irwin has played in 41 Stanley Cup playoff games, and counting, compared to Barrie鈥檚 nine, of which six were against the Predators this spring.
鈥淭he playoffs are such an emotional ride and that experience goes a long way in navigating that ride,鈥� said Irwin.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 teach it. It only comes with time and having gone through it. The experience we gained last year is vital for us this year.鈥�
The Avs are slowly gaining that much-needed experience, but in bits and bites, as Barrie has only been to the Stanley Cup post-season twice and never past the first round.
鈥淚t鈥檚 good to get a taste of it, and it makes you realize how hard it is to win in the playoffs and advance deeper,鈥� said Barrie.
The Avs are hoping these small nibbles start adding up to a banquet.
鈥淥ur team has a bright future with a young leadership group that includes Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog,鈥� said Barrie.
He could throw in Mikko Rantanen, Alexander Kerfoot, Matthew Nieto and Tyson Jost, all of whom are also 24 or younger.
For the much older Predators, including the 30-year-old Irwin, the Stanley Cup window is wide open now. There could be a second run into June, although a trendy and talented Jets team awaits Irwin and his Preds.
鈥淲e have home ice-advantage throughout the playoffs and our building is the hardest building to play in for opposing teams,鈥� said Irwin.
ICE CHIPS: Barrie has twice represented sa国际传媒 at the world championship when the Avs missed the playoffs, winning gold in the Czech Republic in 2015, and being sidelined late in the tournament by a freak off-ice injury last year in France after co-leading sa国际传媒 in points. Barrie said he has not heard from Hockey sa国际传媒 regarding the 2018 world tournament, which begins May 4 in Denmark.
