Vancouver Canucks forward Rick Rypien addressed the Vancouver media today for the first time since grabbing a Wild fan last Tuesday and being suspended six games for the action.
Below, I present you with Rypien's comments, courtesy of an email I received from the Vancouver Province's Ben Kuzma.
RYPIEN:
(the apology) "I obviously want to apologize to the league with what happened and the coaching staff and the whole Canucks organization. I want to thank my teammates for their support with what happened here. It's something I don't want to re-visit again or go back to. I play the game probably with more emotion than others and I think that was out of my character to do something like that. I don't have a history of doing things like that. It was inexcusable what I did, and if you could take that moment back, you take it back.
"I apologized to the NHL, I apologized to Gary Bettman and Mike Gillis, Alain [Vigneault] and my teammates. I'm not proud of what happened."
(what happened) "I just got caught up in the moment. It's something I can learn from and obviously, it's not going to happen again. It was in the heat of the moment and everybody kind of got caught up in it.
(to Bettman) "Those guys were really good for me. I told them my part of it and they were pretty supportive and I take full responsibility for what I did out there and they were more than respectful towards it."
(what happened on ice with Staubitz) "Oh yeah, but I'm not going to make excuses for what happened with Staubitz at the start.
(feel threatened with not enough protection from fans) "No. Like I said, it was me who did it and I'm not taking anything away from what happened out there and I'm not going to look for excuses. I'm going to live with what I did and get better from it."
(fan getting legal rep) "That's something we're going to deal with privately."
(happy incident didn't go further) "I knew as soon as it happened it was a big no-no.
(emotions) "It's something you don't want t get noticed for. You want to get noticed for the way you play the game and how you play it. I'm more of a guy who likes to play the game and let the talking do itself on the ice. Obviously, the decision I made at the moment is something I'd like to take back.
(support?) The guys are in my corner and they understand. It's part of the game and at the moment got a little emotional and the decision the league made is something I've got to live with.
(lean on guys in room to talk about it) Not one guy in this room I can't go to and my teammates know what kind of character I am and type of person I am. They know me probably better than anyone and know it's not like me to do what I did.
(family help, cousin Mark Rypien) Not right now, I'm not reaching out to people. I've been overwhelmed with what's going on and the end of the day a huge learning experience for me. I'm going to take the time ahead of my to focus on really getting back to playing. I just want to play and have fun doing it.
(six games) "Going in, I didn't know what to expect with what was going to happen and just knew with anybody having to tell me the punishment I was facing. The exact moment I did it, I wanted to take it back. I don't think I have any room to comment on how many games. Whatever they dealt me I knew I had to overcome it.
(stain resume) No. Not my character. One bad judgment in a split second and I don't see myself doing anything like that again.
(wrong perception of you quiet guy) I think that can happen because I keep quiet and to myself. But family, friends, teammates and people in the organization see me for who I am. I'm a simple guy and play the game with high emotions and high emotions at times. It's comforting for me to know me the character I have
(never a previous incident) Nothing at all.
(pay back loyalty, last couple of years) The fact they're in my CORNER and helping me out, I'm very thankful for that. My mindset is to make them proud and make it up to them. And the best way is the way I represent myself off the ice and the way I play.
(worried about team loyalty) "Always worry in different areas, but they know my real character and know me long enough and comforting to know who I am
(talked to anybody outside the organization professionally) "People make mistakes all the time and I know I made a big one there, but at same time know never happen again
(lose roster spot) Frustrating, because you never want to miss any games or be away from the game at all. Anytime taken away from atmosphere it's frustrating. That's what I play the game so hard and train so hard
(from here career goes where) "Learn from this and it's a real eye-opener for me. I'm going to come back stronger, better than ever and more focused and determined to play the game I love the most.
(let yourself down) "For sure. If you take the overall picture of who I am — and not just judging me on one incident — that's not me what I did. I'm not going to beat myself up too much, but at the same time I'm not too happy with what happened with it and I don't want to dwell on it. I've got to make the positive out of it."
Lastly, I wanted to let you know that on startribune.com/wild, there's now a link created where you can get in-game updates, three stars and game previews, as well as box scores.
It has a previous day/next day button, as well as a calendar to get to all other games. There's also an in-game feature called "at the rink" that you might like.
It's located right below the 5 main stories on the page at startribune.com/wild.
