The Vancouver Canucks have come up with the perfect name for their new team dog, paying tribute to a beloved former teammate.
In September, the Canucks announced they would be partnering with BC Guide Dogs to sponsor a litter of puppies and raise a service dog this season. The pup and the rest of his litter needed names and the Canucks reached out to their fans to solicit ideas.
The name they landed on is "Ryp," paying tribute to Rick Rypien, who passed away in August, 2011.
"To us, the name Ryp represents the ultimate teammate," reads the Canucks website. "Ryp is courageous, kind, determined and supportive. He is a helper. We know Ryp will make a tremendous impact on the life of his forever teammate following his training."
Rypien was beloved by both fans and his team. He was known for his willingness to defend his teammates and drop the gloves with anyone despite his smaller size than most fighters. When he scored a rare goal, it was usually a pretty one, with an explosive wrist shot that surprised goaltenders coming from a fourth-line forward.
While Rypien was winning fans on the ice, he was dealing with serious mental health issues off the ice. After a long battle with depression, Rypien took his own life.
Rypien had confided in Kevin Bieksa, who became close friends with Rypien when they were both on the Manitoba Moose, working their way up to the NHL. According to Bieksa, Rypien had wanted to share his story, but it had never felt like the right time. Hockey has historically prized being "mentally tough," which often forces those dealing with mental health issues to bottle them up and not talk about them — it made it tough to open up.
In Rypien's memory, Bieksa has worked with Rypien's family to promote mental health awareness and initiatives designed to decrease the stigma of mental illness. The Winnipeg Jets and Manitoba Moose started Project 11 in Rypien's honour. Combining Rypien's desire to tell others about mental health and his love for kids, Project 11 provides resources and programming for schools to teach kids about mental health.
The Canucks worked with Mind Check, now FoundryBC, to provide resources for youth struggling with mental health, and have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to mental health initiatives through the Canucks for Kids Fund, helping Rypien's legacy live on.
It seems incredibly appropriate, then, that a service dog who could go on to help someone dealing with mental health struggles would be named after Rypien. According to the Canucks website, Ryp could go on to work with a veteran or first responder living with OSI-PTSD, though other possibilities could be someone who is visually impaired or a child with autism.
Ryp will also have teammates of his own — the rest of his litter, who will also be raised as service dogs. They all received hockey and Canucks-themed nicknames of their own, though none of them resonate quite as much as Ryp.
