|
Vancouver Canucks lose a legend with passing of P.A. voice John Ashbridge |
|
|
|
|
|
I was crushed to learn of the passing of longtime Vancouver Canucks' P.A. announcer John Ashbridge on Tuesday night.
When I was growing up in North Vancouver, Ashbridge was the Voice of God, anchoring the flagship 8 a.m. newcast on then-broadcasting behemoth CKNW. My parents never turned the dial on the clock radio in our kitchen—Ashbridge set us up for the day every morning.
When I went to broadcasting school at BCIT, Ashbridge was the gold standard that we were taught to aspire to in our announcing classes. He received a lifetime achievement award from the Canadian branch of the Radio Television Digital News Association when he retired from radio in 2005 after 45 years of service.
Ashbridge became the arena announcer for the Vancouver Canucks at the Pacific Coliseum in 1987, the same year Pat Quinn took over as team president and general manager. He was a master at setting the mood—and nailing pronunciations as NHL rosters began to be dotted with more and more European players.
Pavel Bure's arrival in Vancouver was the impetus for my family to sign up for season tickets beginning in 1992-93. For seven seasons, I went to nearly every home game, including the 1994 Stanley Cup run. Ashbridge's announcing was as much a part of the game experience as Bure's speed, Gino's brawn, Quinn's bold ties and AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" as the pump-up music when the Canucks skated onto the ice.
In 1995, the move to what was then General Motors Place heralded the notorious downturn in the Canucks' fortunes that eventually led to us giving up the tickets at the end of the 1998-99 season. By then, Pat Quinn was gone, Trevor Linden was gone and Bure was gone—but Ashbridge was still behind the mic, bringing it every night.
He stuck it out until the West Coast Express brought in the next brief period of prosperity and through the dominant years of Daniel and Henrik Sedin.
He was also welcoming to a nervous stat-taker when she first landed in the press box in January of 2010.
At that time, mainstream media still ruled the roost. Iain MacIntyre told me this year that at their peak, PostMedia had nine writers on the Canucks beat across the Vancouver Sun, the Province and the National Post. I think that's right around the time that I showed up.
Nobody was too interested in what I was up to, so it was a thrill to discover that Ashbridge would regularly come out of his booth and down along press row between periods to let everybody—even me—know about scoring changes or other newsy tidbits.
I probably cared more about these nuggets than anybody else: after all, my job is to update game stats in real time. So I offered genuine appreciation, especially because these moments were even better because the info was being shared, one-on-one, in *that* voice—and with an air of authority I knew I could trust.
After the beat reporters had dashed downstairs to get their player quotes at the end of the game, I'd often find myself waiting for the elevator with Ashbridge a few minutes later. Win or lose (mostly 'win,' in those early days), he'd be quick with a quip or an observation. Kind, yes, but his dry wit was very much on display when the microphone was turned off.
I heard that he didn't shy away from dropping a well-placed F-bomb on the game presentation department's in-arena communication system.
Ashbridge was the voice of the 2010 Olympic hockey tournament here in Vancouver, and the Canucks' 2011 Stanley Cup run, but his health became fragile around that time and he began to transition away from the game.
It was a gradual process so as the years went by, I was always thrilled to see him at games, especially as his appearances became more and more infrequent.
As the Sedins ride off into the sunset, the loss of John Ashbridge is another sign that we're at the end of an era.
I'll give the last word to Milan Lucic, who speaks as a true Vancouver kid here:
RIP, Ash. 😢
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»