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Monday, March 31, 1997. HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAVEL !! !!Pavel got a nice birthday surprise when his mother flew in from Moscow tor a brief visit yesterday. Likewise, his dad, Vladimir, who had been visiting Pavel's brother in Montreal for the past little while, likewise flew in for the big birthday party this evening. Ron Selcer, Pavel's agent also flew in from LA to attend the party. Should be a great bash. HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAVEL. Thursday, March 27, 1997. Girlfriend StatusIt has been confirmed by Pavel, that he has irrevocably broken up with his girlfriend Dahn Bryan. Friday, March 21, 1997. To read todays Vancouver Sun article on Pavel, click here To read todays Vancouver Province article on Pavel, click here Thursday, March 20, 1997 Pavel gone for the season ?It's beginning to look like the Vancouver Canucks will have to do without Pavel Bure for the rest of the season. The Russian Rocket skated on Wednesday for the first time since he left the Canucks' March 3 game in Denver after aggravating a whiplash injury that's been bothering him all season. But Bure reported he's still having physical problems. With barely three weeks left in the regular season and the Canucks' playoff chances slim-to-none, it's becoming clear that nothing short of a miracle cure will get Bure back into the lineup again before training camp. "I felt OK, but I've started having headaches again," said Bure, who suffered the origional injury in the Canucks' season opener on Oct.5 when Calgary defenceman Todd Simpson shoved him headlong into the endboards. "I'm going to go and see (club physician) Ross Davidson again tomorrow and he'll tell me what to do." Bure said the pain in his upper body has plateaued after some improvement initially. "It got better a little bit after the first week, but now it's kind of staying at the same level," said Bure. "I'm not even thinking about playing right now. You never know how long this is going to take. Three days, a week." Asked if he'd prefer to call it a year if the Canucks are eliminated from the playoffs, Bure said: "I don't want to talk about that. I think we're in pretty good position right now." Canucks head coach Tom Renney said a time frame for Bure's return is still very speculative. "He's still having headaches, he's still sore in the upper body," said Renney. "What that means in the long run, we're still not sure." Renney said the club wouldn't try to rush Bure back even if the Canucks somehow work themselves into playoff contention. "The only reason we'd bring Pavel back is because he's ready to play hockey," he said. "That decision is up to Pavel and our medical people. Just because we're desperate, we wouldn't jeopardize an outstanding career." Vancouver Province, March 20, 1997. To read the today's Vancouver Sun article on Pavel click here
Pavel on the cover of The Hockey NewsA small mugshot of Pavel appears on the cover of this week's The Hockey News, (March 21, 1997 issue).
Sunday, March 16, 1997. Pavel to appear at PLANET HOLLYWOOD opening tonight in Vancouver.There'll be Arnie, Bruce and Pavel and enough muscle to keep even the most ardent fan at arm's-length - and then some.
Wednesday, March 12, 1997. Pavel makes progressPavel Bure was examined on Tuesday by Dr. Ross Davidson, and is apparently feeling better, but has not progressed to the point where any time frame is being offered on a possible return to the lineup. Tuesday, March 11, 1997. Nemchinov waits for PavelHours behind his scheduled arrival Monday after his original flight from Toronto was cancelled, his evening ride to a downtown Vancouver hotel appeared to be a no-show. Nemchinov was in the process of bumming a ride and loading his gear into reporter's van when Pavel Bure pulled up in his black Mercedes S600 with the tinted windows and offered his fellow Russian a more relaxed and luxurious trip.
Vancouver Canucks' MOLSON CUP STANDINGSThe Molson Cup is awarded on the basis of game-by-game three-star selections. Points are awarded for first, second and third star - the player who accumulates the most points in a season wins the Molson Cup. Current standings:
Rocket featured on NHL web-siteThe NHL has featured Pavel Bure at their web-site. Includes photo of Pavel as a young toddler; photos of him at home and his girl-friend; photos of his home town. Click here to see this special feature. Saturday, March 8, 1997. Rocket riddled with doubtTo read the Vancouver Sun, Saturday, March 8, 199. article , click here.
Canucks trade away Tikkanen and CourtnallThe Canucks traded Esa Tikkanen and Russ Cortnall to the New York Rangers, for centre Sergei Nemchinov and right winger Brian Noonan.
Pavel Bure and an an unidentified fan at the recent Canucks' sponsored Family Carnival.
Bure's return date is unknownInjured Vancouver Canuck Pavel Bure said he couldn't afford to sit out because his team was locked in a tight playoff battle. But could the Canucks afford to let him keep playing ? The toll of Bure playing hurt will be determined in the coming weeks as the Canucks announced Tuesday that the $5 million US-a-year winger is out indefinitely due to whiplash-like injuries that deteriorated badly since early January. An examination Tuesday morning by Dr. Ross Davidson confirmed Bure is suffering from whiplash and must allow his neck and right shoulder to heal. Bure said he hopes to return in two weeks. But medical trainer Mike Burnstein confirmed the nature of whiplash injuries makes it impossible to set a firm target date for Bure's return. "He was fine playing with what he had before," Burnstein said. "He was comfortable. We never pushed him in any way. Nobody can describe the kind of pain he felt the last little bit... but there comes a point where he's just too sore." Canuck coach Tom Renney said: "He didn't indicate to us it was a major concern and ultimately you listen to your athlete. All he wants to do is contribute to this team and go out and win games. His body is telling him to go to hell." Bure insisted it was his decision to continue playing, although Burnstein said the club was monitoring the Russian's condition and would not have allowed him to stay in the lineup if it meant risking more serious injury. Bure finally took himself out of the lineup after the second period of Monday's 5-1 loss in Denver against the Avalanche. "They {Canuck organization} told me all the time: 'You can have a couple of weeks off,' " Bure said. "It was my fault. I said I missed the whole year {last season}, no way was I going to miss another game. As long as I could play I was playing, even if I wasn't 100 per cent. The last five, six, seven weeks, the pain increased and got really bad. "No matter what I do, even if I lay down in bed, I can still feel it. Even if I go to a restaurant and have dinner, I can't sit {still} for more than 15 minutes. I've got pain 24 hours a day." Bure missed most of last season to a knee injury that required reconstructive surgery. In the season-opener on Oct. 5, Bure was driven head-first into the boards By Calgary defenceman Todd Simpson. He has recurring headaches and been in almost constant pain since. About two weeks ago, Bure underwent an MRI examination of his spine and the test revealed no structural damage. Burnstein said there are therapeutic treatments Bure can undergo but there is no way to know when the right winger will be able to return. Bure said he went into the Avalanche game at about 60 per cent and doesn't want to play again until he is at full strength. "Nobody knows," Bure said of when he will play again. "Even Ross Davidson - usually he can tell you five days or three days - but even he doesn't know. I just have to wait. It's like {after} a car accident. You just have to wait." As recently as Friday, both Bure and Burnstein vehemently denied there was anything wrong with the player's health, refuting a Vancouver Sun story, citing unidentified source, that the Russian Rocket was playing hurt. Burnstein said Tuesday he was uncomfortable about discussing the cover-up and would not confirm that he was under orders not to disclose the extent of Bure's injury. "I didn't want it to be a big deal," Bure explained Tuesday. "The biggest reason is when you play hockey and other teams know what's wrong with you... lots of people will go harder on me. Now it's not a secret anymore." "We could only work with the information Pavel gave us," Renney said. "And being a team player, he wanted to play. It was his choice how much he wanted to share. He was probably trying to protect his team as much as anyone else, including himself." Bure admitted in November and December that he was suffering from the Simpson hit, but since then he said little about his condition. by Iain MacIntyre, The Vancouver Sun, Wed. March 5, 1997.
NO ROCKET SCIENCE. - Why wasn't Bure told to rest injury ?Pavel Bure wandering around the ice looking ordinary all this time begins to make sense. The quiet whispering all this time has been that the Russian Rocket never got over his knee injury and had become scared to get involved for fear of reinjuring it. Numerous seasoned hockey observers shared this opinion and some were even wondering whether he would ever get over the fear he had developed. But this is all hogwash. It turns out the corageous Bure has been playing hurt all season ever since Todd Simpson decided to try to fossil him into the boards on opening night. He aggravated that Nov.23 when Alexander Karpotsev nailed him again. Now it all makes sense. He's been staying on the outside and out of traffic for fear of taking a big hit that would make his back and neck scream in pain. Now it all makes sense, save one thing. Who allowed him to play all these games looking like an average player when he should have been recovering ? Where is the leadership in this organization? What does it matter whether he sits out the first 20 or first 40 games of the season if he isn't 100 per cent ? The Canucks played the entire season without him last year so what's a few more games ? The tendency is to blame the player, especially when he takes all the blame. He must make the ultimate call as to what the right course of action is after he's received medical advise. He was told it was up to him, including the option of taking a couple of weeks off. "Nobody forced me to play," he said Tuesday, although there was subtle management pressure last year to come back from the knee injury in the playoffs. "I didn't want to make a big deal. Normally people get over it in a month or two. They told me all the time it was up to me. I could take a couple of weeks off if I'd wanted. It was my fault." You can imagine the thought process in October. Here he is making $5 million US a season and now he's got to tell management, the coaches, his teammates and the fans he can't play again after he hurt himself on opening day. This after sitting on his butt the previous season collecting all that money while he was hurt and likely feeling guilty as hell. No way. So he decides to play with the pain. But one bonehead decision doesn't mean other people should be making the same call. Why didn't somebody, anybody who knew what he was going through and how ineffective he'd become go in and break up this little celebration of macho courage for the good of the organization ? It's been obvious to everyone he wasn't right. You can understand if he'd been hurt five games before the playoffs and decided he'd try to tough it out through the postseason. This is done all the time. You only have to remember back to the run to the '94 Cup final and remember Gerald Diduck with his fractured foot and Cliff Ronning's shoulder in the final. But opening night ? "If there's any need to point fingers, I'm as much to blame as anyone," said team doctor Ross Davidson. "The question he always asked was, "Am I risking further injury ?" and the answer was always no. When you asked him how he felt, he always minimized it. In retrospect, maybe we should have had him out. But it was his call and it says a lot for his attitude and courage. the good news is the tests have turned up nothing, so he could get better and recover fully." "There was nobody pushing him," said team trainer Mike Burnstein. "It was his pride in wanting to play." Yes, but why wasn't somebody taking the leadership role here and insisting the right course of action be taken immediately, given what was going through his mind. ? Clearly courage was crossing the boundary into poor judgement. Anyone who knew this was going on should be looking at himself in the mirror this morning. By Tony Gallagher, Vancouver Province, Wed. March 5, 1997.
RUSSIAN'S ROULETTE -
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