Sunday evening's Canucks Dice & Ice Gala will be a lot less awkward after Saturday’s win.
The annual gala raises money for the Canucks For Kids Fund by allowing donors to rub shoulders with Vancouver Canucks players. Typically, you can get your picture taken with the likes of Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser, get dealt cards at the blackjack table by Tyler Myers, or watch the team’s rookies bust a move on stage.
Even those not at the event, however, can get in on the fun and help raise funds for CFKF’s core beneficiaries, the Canucks Autism Network, Canuck Place Children's Hospice and BC Children's Hospital Foundation. The gala features an online auction with dozens of items up for grabs.
There are your typical prizes — autographed jerseys, concert tickets, vacation packages, and the like — but then there are some more unusual and unique prizes, which are a lot more fun. Let’s take a look at the most unique items available, then get your bids in; the auction closes at 9 p.m.
Weezer Autographed Moon Boots and Poster
There are a few autographed concert posters available, presumably signed by bands when they visited Rogers Arena on tour. But only one band also signed a pair of bright blue Moon Boots, which is as ridiculous as it sounds.
Room Design by Natalie Miller Interiors
I have no taste, so I’m not the right person to assess design, but it’s my understanding that Natalie Miller — also known as the wife of Natalie Miller’s husband, J.T. Miller — does some really lovely work. But part of me thinks it would be really funny if a huge J.T. Miller fan won this auction for her to redesign their mancave around the focal point of a signed Miller jersey.
One of a Kind "Captain's Jacket" from The Dirty Denim Shop
This is legitimately sick: a handpainted jacket featuring the Vancouver skyline and the signatures and numbers of some of the great Canucks captains over the years, including Quinn Hughes. Regrettably, it only comes in a women’s small.
eSports Coaching Session with a Surge Player
Want to get really, really good at Call of Duty? Well, you’ll probably need more than one hour with a professional Call of Duty player but it can’t hurt.
Electric Kids Mini Car - Cadillac Escalade
Your kid can have the sickest ride on the playground. Aviator sunglasses not included.
Quinn’s Library Gift Basket
The gift baskets donated by the Canucks players are always a lot of fun, as they typically pick things that they love, so it gives you a little bit of an insight into who they are as a person.
Quinn Hughes has the best basket, in my opinion, as he picked a bunch of his favourite books. His love of reading was put in the spotlight in Prime Video’s “Faceoff: Inside the NHL” docuseries.
The basket includes a Kobo e-reader, as well as eight paperbacks signed by Hughes, including Dune by Frank Herbert, which is one of my favourites. “Each title in this curated collection is one of his all-time favorites, thoughtfully chosen to reflect his love of gripping stories and thought-provoking narratives.”
Sherwood’s Peak Performance Basket
The contents of this basket aren’t particularly interesting — just some quality health and wellness items — but it says a lot about Kiefer Sherwood. “What are my favourite things? Two words: Peak. Performance.”
Myers' Ultimate Party Host Basket
Fans sometimes wonder whether the players actually have anything to do with putting these baskets together or whether someone else does it for them and then slaps the players name on it. No, the players actually do put these together — or, more often, their significant others do with their input.
Take Myers’ basket, for example. He came up with the theme of the basket and his wife, Michela, put the items together.
“A big inspiration for the basket was that my dad is a big Scotch guy, and he loves playing the guitar, so we thought a guitar decanter was a perfect gift for him and the Dice and Ice gift basket, so it worked out for both,” said Myers. “Hopefully, there's some other lovers of music and Scotch that would enjoy a gift like that.”
Joshua’s Espresso Martini Essentials
The website says that the espresso martini is “Dakota Joshua’s go-to cocktail.” A man with sophisticated tastes, I see.
Boeser’s Pizza Party vs Petey’s Pizza Night
There are two different pizza-themed baskets in the auction: one donated by Brock Boeser, the other by Elias Pettersson. Who has the better pizza prize?
Petey’s basket contains more of the ingredients you’ll need to make pizza, including specialty pizza flour, but Boeser’s includes an actual pizza oven. The winner of Petey’s prize will have to make do with a pizza stone. Tough call, but I’ve got to give the nod to Boeser and the pizza oven.
Pius Suter Swiss Sweets & Spirits Selection
It may just be some chocolate and wine but I love that Suter went full Swiss chocolate for his gift basket. The Swiss sure do love their chocolate.
“It’s a little Swiss chocolate starter package,” said Suter. “It’s a bit of dessert wine in there too because what goes better with chocolate? I had to hit a few spots to find certain kinds, but it ended up being a good mix in there.”
Vinny’s French Canadian Feast
I know that this package includes a $200 gift card to the Michelin-starred St. Lawrence Restaurant, but the first impression presented by the picture is that a “French Canadian Feast” is a couple of bottles of booze and some maple syrup.
Blueger’s Cozy Canucks Collection
In this basket, you get a robe and a blanket, along with some cozy items. Teddy, much like the bear that bears his name, likes to get cuddly.
Garland's Movie Night
Conor Garland is a movie lover, so this basket makes sense. It includes a projector, screen, and all kinds of snacks, but I’m kind of disappointed it doesn’t include a blu-ray of Jaws.
Brännström’s Bark & Bites Basket
The chocolate is for the human, the other stuff is for the dog. Don’t get the two confused, as that could be dangerous for your dog.
Brännström has a maltese poodle named Lexi, for whom he famously had to hold an umbrella over as she pooped after he scored his first goal as a Canuck.
Hronek’s Hole In One Basket vs Heinen’s Tee Time Golf Basket
We’ve got two different golf-themed baskets here, with each of them including a signed jersey.
While Hronek’s jersey is probably worth a bit more, Heinen’s basket outshines Hronek’s. It includes a round of golf at Redwoods Langley, which is a nice touch from the Langley native, while Hronek’s gets you some nice gloves and golf balls, but no tee time.
Lankinen’s Finnish Favourites
Kevin Lankinen put a bunch of his favourite things in this basket, from his favourite goalie glove, to his favourite Finnish chocolate, to his favourite book. Lankinen signed pretty much everything, including the chocolate and the box of cans of Finnish long drink, which Google tells me is a carbonated cocktail made with gin.
Of course, the name of this basket also implies that the picture of himself is one of his favourite things and that is very funny.
