From Bulacan to the Big Leagues: A Full-Circle Moment for Ferdie De Guzman

On Canucks game days, Ferdie De Guzman is busy helping get the locker room ready, so the players have everything they need.

For the Canucks’ first Filipino Heritage Night, the longtime Game Dressing Room Attendant is preparing himself for a night that connects the team he loves with the culture that shaped him. He shares that he’s overwhelmed with emotion and gratitude.

“First of all, I would just like to thank the whole organization for doing this. I really appreciate that they recognize our contributions, not only in this building, but I would say in British Columbia too,” De Guzman said.

“I’m so proud. It’s going to be great to see a lot of my fellow Filipinos in the stands cheering for our hometown team.”

De Guzman came to Vancouver in May 1995 and got a job with Rogers Arena, formerly GM Place, in October. He started as a game-day attendant for the Vancouver Grizzlies locker room and helped prepare the basketball court for games.

“In the Philippines, we idolize all these NBA players, and here I am in front of Shaquille O’Neal, high-fiving with Michael Jordan and Dennis Rodman back in the day. It was a very cool experience,” De Guzman said.

When the Grizzlies left in 2001, De Guzman carried on his duties as a material handler for the building. Canucks Head Equipment Manager at the time, Pat O’Neill, had been trying to convince De Guzman to come over to the hockey side to work as a game dressing room attendant, but it wasn’t until 2009 when De Guzman got the opportunity to try working with the team, and he was hooked on day one.

He enjoyed the camaraderie among the staff and players, and equally with the game itself – the speed, the athleticism of the players, and the energy.

“I like the hockey atmosphere and being with the guys, I was just trying to fit in since day one,” De Guzman said. “It’s overwhelming for a kid growing up in the Philippines to be all of a sudden in the NBA locker room or in the NHL locker room, it’s really overwhelming, and I just try to fit in and contribute and do my part on a daily basis,” he said.

Now celebrating 30 years in the building, De Guzman says his work ethic from his parents – values he instills in his own children. Growing up in Bulacan, a province about an hour and a half north of Manila, he learned early what responsibility looked like.

“I started working at five years old, helping my mom at the markets. In poverty, everybody has to work at such a young age,” he said.

Those lessons he learned as a youngster have stuck with him and were instrumental in his success.

“My parents, especially my mom, when I moved here, she just kept reminding me to work as hard as I can, and always be fair and honest to everyone, especially to my loved ones, and I’ll be fine,” he shared.

His hard work allowed him to build a house in the Philippines, complete with a swimming pool with the Canucks’ stick-in-rink logo at the bottom. It’s his favourite sports logo, and he wanted to pay homage to the place that was able to help him build a legacy that will be passed down through generations.

“I wanted to put something in there that reminds me of all of my hard work and where it actually came from that I can pass it on to my kids and hopefully grandkids,” he said.

His siblings and nieces and nephews all reside in the Philippines and while they’re proud of his accomplishments, they’re also proud Canucks fans too.

“They stay up late just to watch the game online,” De Guzman said. “Every time I go home, I give them some swag. They’re so happy, and they’re so very proud of me being here with the team. They always tell their friends and relatives.”

After three decades inside Rogers Arena, De Guzman says the building is more than a workplace; it’s a defining part of his life.

“This building changed my life, and it’s been a hell of a ride to be honest,” he said.

“I value every single day, every single moment that I step into Rogers Arena and try to make a difference.”

As Filipino Heritage Night arrives, what moves him most is how much the Filipino fanbase has grown and how the community always comes together.

“There’s a lot of Filipinos [fans] now. When I’m in the store or in the mall, and I bump into them, and they’re wearing Canucks jerseys. I just kind of feel like the game is growing. Even with Filipinos that have no idea about hockey, it makes me so proud me being here and working with these guys and seeing my fellow Filipinos being big fans.”

It’s a full-circle moment for De Guzman, celebrating culture and community in a place he now calls home.