The Vancouver Canucks’ Dice & Ice Gala is back this week and in person for the first time since 2020.
The annual event, which takes place on Thursday, February 16, is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Canucks For Kids Fund, supporting the Canucks Autism Network, Canuck Place Children’s Hospice, and BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, as well as other charities. The gala features opportunities to interact with Canucks players, whether at photo opportunities or dealing cards at one of the casino tables.
It also features a silent auction, with fans able to bid online for a variety of items.
The items up for auction feature the typical sports memorabilia that you might expect from an auction connected with a professional hockey team, such as autographed jerseys, tickets to games, and signed sticks, pucks, and photographs. One of the hottest items is an Elias Pettersson stick from his appearance at the 2023 NHL All-Star Game signed by every member of the Western Conference All-Stars.
There are also vacation packages, concert tickets, restaurant gift cards and experiences, health and beauty packages, and even jewelry. It’s a veritable smorgasbord of bidding options, with funds directly supporting some fantastic charities.
There are also a few more unusual and interesting items and that’s what I want to focus on here.
1 | Caddy for a Canuck
“Spend all day on the golf course with one of your favourite Canucks players as they golf to raise money for charity at the Jake Milford Canucks Charity Invitational in September 2023!”
I get the appeal — you get to hang out with a Canuck and even get to give them golf advice — but it’s just amusing to me that you’re paying to do a job. Being a caddy is an actual job that people get paid to do and you’re instead paying for the privilege of doing that job.
Still, it would be a pretty neat experience but careful, this auction item has a requirement in the fine print: “Must be 14-18 years of age and have golf etiquette knowledge to participate as a caddy.”
If you don't know anything about golf, stay away. The Canucks need all the help they can get on the course.
2 | Timeless Trackless Train
“Enjoy four hours of fun and memory-making with Timeless Trackless Train!”
I love this so much. If you win this bid, you get a four-hour rental of a miniature train for whatever purpose, as long as it’s within 25 kilometres of Surrey, B.C.
Want to have a miniature train driving around your kid’s birthday party? This is the item for you. Is your local community having a carnival or similar event? Why not add a miniature train? Want to make your bachelorette party truly unforgettable? Rent a miniature train to drive the bride and all her friends around town.
As of this writing, the top bid for the Timeless Trackless Train is $200. A quick search online suggests that renting this type of train will typically run you $690 to $1395. You could get a steal of a deal.
3 | Tim Horton’s $50 Gift Card
It’s a $50 gift card to Tim Horton’s. That’s it.
I don’t know why it’s so funny to me that among all the luxury items up for auction there’s a $50 Timmy Ho’s gift card, but I can’t deny that I laughed when I saw it.
I also appreciate that the high bid is currently $55 for a $50 gift card.
The annual MCC Festival in Abbotsford holds a charity auction every year and the item that gets the highest bid is always a single loaf of bread, with the winning bid typically in the $100,000 to $200,000 range. It would be neat if this single Tim Horton’s gift card was treated in a similar way, with people running up the bid just to donate as much money as possible.
4 | Miniature Chevrolet Camaro
“Sleek, aggressive styling, rear spoiler, and Chevrolet badges will make heads turn.”
That’s right, you can bid on a real Camaro. Only, it’s a miniature one built for kids that goes a maximum of 5 mph. The perfect gift if your kid has a mullet and wears tiny aviators.
5 | Boeser’s Games Night Basket
The best category of items, in my books, is the player’s baskets. These are baskets donated by the players and their partners that typically reflect something they enjoy or are passionate about, so not only do you get a great item to bid on, you get a glimpse into the lives of your favourite Canucks.
For example, the Bear family donated a classy wine basket, Kyle Burroughs has a dog-themed basket, Conor Garland has a golf basket, Spencer Martin has a self-care basket — something he could probably use right now — and Sheldon Dries has a delicious-sounding charcuterie basket.
But I want to highlight a few of those baskets, I’m going to start with the one that sounds the most fun: Boeser’s Games Night Basket.
Evidently, Boeser and (girlfriend?) Bella Piovesan love board games: “Monopoly, Twister, Clue, Connect4, Telestrations, Catan, 100pc Puzzle, Yahtzee, Guess Who?, Battleship, Cribbage, Code Names, Uno, Jenga, and 9 Decks of Cards!”
That’s a decent mix of classic games with a couple of newer favourites. Not bad. Games night at the Boeser residence sounds like a good time.
6 | Delia's Family Favourites Basket
In a video of Conor Garland touring the Canucks’ plane, while other Canucks were watching movies, playing video games, or catching up on some shut-eye, Collin Delia was spotted in his spectacles reading a book. And not just any book, but a serious non-fiction book — "User Friendly," a book about how the principles of user-experience design have shaped the way we view the world, described as “an engrossing fusion of scholarly research, professional experience and revelations from intrepid firsthand reporting.”
That tells you something about who Delia is and his curated basket tells you even more.
“This basket includes all of the Delia Family's favourite things: a Chess board, New York Times table crossword puzzle, linen kitchen towels, glass mugs, earl gray tea, a note book, pens, flamingo estate olive oil, and the Tartine Bread Cook Book.”
Chess, The New York Times crossword puzzle, and tea. Seems likely that Delia is the smartest player on the Canucks and also the most chill.
7 | Cooking with Quinn Basket
Here’s something you might not know about Quinn Hughes: he likes to cook.
The star defenceman basically taught himself how to cook when he returned to the University of Michigan for his sophomore season, challenging himself to live on his own in anticipation of how he would need to navigate the waters of the NHL in the near future. Since then, he’s become adept at a number of dishes, typically protein-heavy to serve the needs of a professional athlete.
That’s why I love this basket, which is all about cooking in one pan. You get the pan — from a brand that shares Quinn's name, natch — the utensils, a cookbook of one-pan meals, and a gift card for groceries: it’s everything you need to cook like Quinn.
8 | Joshua & Lockwood Gaming Basket
I don’t really have much to say about this basket that features an XBox Series S console and some other goodies. I just like that Dakota Joshua and Will Lockwood went in together on it.
9 | Miller Family Favourite Things
“This Miller Family Favourite Things Basket includes a throw blanket, marble meat and cheese board, scented candle and soap, autographed Canucks camo hat, retro Canucks coffee tumbler, Macallan 15 scotch, and a $250 lululemon gift card.”
The basket itself seems very nice, plus I appreciate how the $230 bottle of premium scotch and the $250 lululemon gift card are just tossed in at the end, as if they’re not the real draw of this basket.
But you don’t just get the basket. You also get “two (2) tickets to a regular season home game and meet & greet with J.T. Miller.”
The implication in the name of the basket is that one of the Miller family’s favourite things is to spend time with J.T. Miller and I think that’s really special.
10 | Myers' Margarita Night Basket
“Make the perfect Marg right at home! This Myers Margarita Night Basket includes Don Julio Tequila, glasses, a bar tool set, margarita mix, margarita rum, cocktail nuts, and an appetizer tray.”
Hell yeah, Tyler Myers, let’s party.
11 | Petey's Vinyl Collection Basket
In case you weren’t sure who the coolest Canuck was, here’s Elias Pettersson with a vintage record player and a selection of incredibly cool vinyl: classic records from The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, and Pink Floyd, and hip modern selections from Harry Styles and Childish Gambino.
Flawless taste. Flawless.
12 | Stillman's Summer at the Cottage
“Perfect for a summer day at the cottage, this Stillman Family Basket includes a Maelstrom Camo Cooler, $50 Bass Pro Shop gift card, an autographed crib board, tackle box, 50x60 plaid fleece blanket, Viper sunglasses, Vancouver Canucks 4-piece Golf Set, and Titleist golf balls.”
A solid theme for a basket but what tickles me here is that it includes an autographed cribbage board.
I have never before considered whether I wanted to own a cribbage board signed by an NHL player but now I kind of do.
13 | Clarkie's Legends of the Crease Basket
“Perfect for the up-and-coming goaltender, this Legends of the Crease basket includes a one-on-one goaltending session with Vancouver Canucks goalie coach Ian Clark, two autographed goaltending books, a knee-hockey net, and autographed hats from some of the NHL's best: Luongo, Markstrom, Bobrovsky, Merzlikins, Korpisalo, and Demko!”
This is an incredible package. I cannot emphasize enough that this includes a one-on-one goaltending session with Ian Clark, which is worth its weight in gold all by itself. Everything else is just the whipping cream and cherry on the top.
14 | Custom Lizzo Autographed Canucks Jersey
This is wild. This might be the most unique Canucks jersey I’ve ever seen.
Lizzo played at Rogers Arena in November but I can’t find any evidence that she wore this jersey or where it came from. But it is signed by Lizzo.
“This one-of-a-kind Vancouver Canucks Custom Autographed Lizzo Jersey is decked with a sparkly primary logo, pink frilled sleeves, and Lizzo's signature flute on the sleeve.”
It has fringe, y’all. Fringe! I love it and I really hope whoever wins this auction is a season ticket holder who wears it to every Canucks game.
15 | Toronto Blue Jays Autographed Rogers Arena Jersey
I’m confused. I don’t know why this exists.
“This Toronto Blue Jays Jersey with a custom Rogers Arena namebar was autographed by Santiago Espinal, Jordan Romano, Adam Cimber, Tim Mayza, and Danny Jansen during the TBJ Winter Tour when they visited Vancouver!”
Yeah, that doesn’t answer the main question I have about this jersey. Why does it have a Rogers Arena namebar? Who is this for?
Maybe it’s for you. Maybe you’re the one person who wants to simultaneously celebrate their love of the Toronto Blue Jays and the corporate sponsor of the arena the Vancouver Canucks play in. More power to you.
16 | Richard Brodeur Gino Odjick Tribute Painting
Canucks goaltender Richard Brodeur turned to painting in his retirement, focusing on both landscapes and scenes that capture the joy of playing hockey as a kid on the streets and frozen lakes of Canada.
This tribute to Gino Odjick painted after his passing is definitely one-of-a-kind and truly a special piece.
