By Alvaro Olaguera

HOW DOES one of Vancouver's most influential athletes and generous givers to the community see the city's upcoming 2010 Olympics?

"It's a time to really enjoy and take it all in, that's how I'm looking at it," said Trevor Linden.

These are truly fitting sentiments from a man whose professional sports career spans 19 seasons in the NHL, 16 of them playing a dynamic role in the Vancouver Canucks. The man whose contribution in the rink has earned him high esteem among hockey fans and players everywhere was one of those picked to take to the streets this February -- not with a stick in his hands, but carrying the Olympic Torch.

"It's obviously a big thrill, a real honour. I'm a big sports fan and a huge Olympic fan, so it's something I'm really looking forward to."

A curious mixture of excitement and serenity were visible on Linden's face as we chatted in his Granville Street office at Linden Capital. I got the feeling I was speaking with a man who, already having Olympic experience under his belt, was still eager for more.

Linden's first official encounter with the Olympics was in 1998. He took part in the Nagano Olympics men's hockey tournament, as a player for Team Canada. His highlight of that year?

"Experiencing the camaraderie of the Olympic Village and being part of Team Canada: talking and living with speed-skaters like Catriona Le May Doan, bobsledders like Pierre Lueders, downhill skiers and other athletes. The bottom line is that we're all sports fans; to talk about our craft, and the general Olympic atmosphere itself, was a big thrill for me."

For Linden, it is clear that sports are a craft like any other, and require equal parts passion and hard work.

"In Nagano I was living in tunnel vision. We were totally focused and not really taking the whole thing in." Despite a knee injury, Linden played in all six games and helped Team Canada reach fourth in the world after Finland.

This year Linden is taking a break from the sports side of things so he can enjoy the events as a spectator. "As a fan, I'll get a better sense of things; and it's very special that I'll have the Games come to what I consider is my home town."

Not only are the Olympics coming to his neighbourhood, Linden was chosen for the additional honour of bearing the Olympic Torch February 11, for 300 metres down Vancouver's Main Street. When asked how he prepared for this position, Linden was characteristically light-hearted.

"I wish I could say that I've been running around . . . with my arm in the air holding a five-pound weight, but that's not true."

Behind the easy laugh is a man who approaches this responsibility with as much seriousness as he does all his life's activities. Why is the position of the torchbearer as sobering as it is exciting?

Linden sees the Flame and the Olympics in general as less about sport and more about the world coming together.

The Flame, he stressed, "has come from Greece and zigzagged across Canada, so in that sense it's really united our country. For me, the Flame is more than fire at the end of a stick; it's certainly got significance for the country and in particular for Vancouver."

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There are certainly inconveniences from having an Olympics in one's back yard, and Linden believes it is hard to justify the Olympics from a cost standpoint. However, he said, "you have to look at the intangibles that they bring to the community, to the children of the community, to your country. I think the timing's great."

Although he has been retired from professional sports for more than a year, Linden still takes time to give a hand to community initiatives that see athletics as more than just sports and teamwork.

The PuCKS program, piloted from Langley, helps underprivileged children achieve personal goals otherwise out of their reach. By combining hockey and literacy, among other virtues, PuCKS has developed an ambitious program (begun in 2005) that focuses on building personal capacity, friendship, academics and the positive aspects of sport.

"I'm so impressed with the program and the difference it makes to kids' lives; but PuCKS is not all about hockey. Hockey is a vehicle to motivate and create, and to instill those virtues we all aspire to have. It's a program that encourages high grades and community work. It gives the gift of sport to kids who would never have had that opportunity, and combines that with having a good education and community base. I'm very impressed with the program."

Linden considers hockey and athletics arenas in which many virtues such as dedication, hard work and determination can be learned and cultivated. The best thing is tha these virtues can lead to a multitude of aspirations.

"Athletics is like anything else, whether you're working in a boardroom or an office or within a family. Many things in life take teamwork, unselfishness, and dedication; all the things that make a successful athlete also make a successful family person or business person."

In other words, athletics must form part of a balanced and complete life -- and when illumined by faith, the connection becomes even clearer.

"Athletics and faith are intertwined. The virtues we practice in sport shouldn't change, whether we're working, or in family life, or wherever. They're part of who you are; there should be no distinction between your conduct in the rink, in the office and at home."

A recent convert to Catholicism who was baptized in 2004, Linden's upbringing in a loving and hardworking family prepared him and his older brother Dean well for the faith.

"We didn't practice any faith, but growing up I saw a lot of unselfish community initiatives being done. We were always encouraged to try and make the community a better place."

Linden considers community spirit what makes Vancouver special. "There are a lot of people doing a lot of good things out there. Where I came from, [parents and coaches] expected a lot on the ice; but they expected us to be contributors off the ice too.

"When you have a gift to make a difference, I really feel that it's your obligation to use it."

There is reason for optimism about Vancouver's capability to host an event like the Olympics, that will put the city in the spotlight of the global community, Linden said.

"To be able to welcome the world to our city is really fortunate. We have so much to offer here, in terms of multiculturalism and diversity. It will be another stepping-stone to making Vancouver a real world-class city."

February 11/2010