Keppen Blog 1

Hi Canucks fans! Ethan Keppen here. The Canucks asked me to write a couple blogs this week and even though blogging isn't my favourite thing to do, here we are!

I can't even believe I'm sitting here typing this wearing Canucks colours. Everything is such a blur since I got to Vancouver for the NHL Draft last Wednesday. I knew the Canucks were interested in me, their amateur scout Chris MacDonald and I had a great one-on-one meeting at the end of the season and he told me how interested they were.
I was very nervous during the draft, just waiting to hear my name. I trusted their process, they need some big forwards out there and that's who I am, I'm a big power forward who plays a 200-foot game, that is really gritty and wins puck battles. When I heard my name and it was by the Canucks, Rogers Arena erupted - what a special feeling. Throwing that jersey on for the first time was a feeling I'll never forget for the rest of my life. I think this is a really great fit for me.

Development Camp started Monday with testing and medicals, then Tuesday things got intense. The day started with a five-mile all-out ride on an Assault AirBike and wow that was a challenge. Other bikes are not like that! I had never done an Assault bike ride before; I thought I did pretty well because I've been focusing on my cardio this off-season, but I'll take that as an example of something I can improve on. I liked that test, I think it was great for the players.
It was a quick turnaround after that - I had maybe 20 minutes and then I was on the ice with the other forwards for practice, so that bike ride was a pretty good warm-up. It was a great skate Tuesday, we did a lot of puck battles and I love that.
The on-ice part of my day didn't start out great though. First drill I took a puck to the face off a deflection from a point shot. But whatever, that's hockey. At the end of the day I'm the type of player that is going to have a lot of bumps and bruises and cuts, so I'm fine.

A big part of camp is getting to know a lot of new guys, but I didn't come in totally new. I know Michael DiPietro, Keegan Stevenson, Mitch Eliot and Lucas Peric. My roommate is Carson Focht, he's a good guy for me to room with because he's a great player and a great guy. He's a year older than me and he's a gritty guy too. I hope he likes watching Family Guy! When I get some downtime to chill, that's my go-to show.
Thanks for reading and if you have any questions, let me know. I'd be happy to answer them.
Ethan