Players dealing with ticket requests

VANCOUVER – They'll be battling in the corners and in front of the net come Game 1 on Wednesday night. But at the moment, the Vancouver Canucks are battling to meet ticket requests.

Having not been to the big dance in 17 long years, Stanley Cup Final tickets are the hottest item in Vancouver and players are feeling the heat to lock down enough for friends and family before they go on sale to the general public Tuesday morning.

"I've been playing the travel agent the last few days," joked Canucks forward Alexandre Burrows. "I told my friends that was it (today), there wasn't anymore travel agent when I was picking up my phone. That's all over now. I'm able to put the blinders on and just focus on what we've got to do here for the next couple weeks."

For veteran Raffi Torres, who went to the Stanley Cup Final in 2006 with the Edmonton Oilers, the message to friends and family was simple.

"I just told everybody, 'If you want to come, there's room. You can come,' and that's it," Torres said. "There's no beating around the bush.

"I've got some family coming in. I've got my in-laws in right now. I've got my parents coming in and one of my younger brothers will be coming in. It is what it is. It's good to get that stuff over with."

Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic, who hails from East Vancouver, has not only been dealing with ticket requests.

"Three of my really good buddies from high school, they were able to make it out to Game 4 against Philadelphia. They wanted me to send some (Bruins gear) out so I sent them a bunch of t-shirts, and foam fingers – all Bruins gear. They're going to be rocking it around Vancouver for the next few weeks."

As for tickets, the former Vancouver Giant is in a similar boat as every other player.

"It's definitely difficult," he said, laughing. "It's really, really difficult. It's not like it's an easy ticket to get, and it's not a cheap ticket to get. Obviously, (I have to) get tickets for my immediate family, and whatever extra I can get, I can get."

For Canucks rookie Cody Hodgson, the ticket process is just another first on a growing list during his rookie season.

"I'm not really looking after it too much. My parents will look after their flights. I just looked after the hotel and tickets," said Hodgson.  "It's fun. It's been great getting this all sorted out. They've been great here. This is such a good organization, and everything's looked after ahead of time."