David “Rambo” Booth

Minutes after Canucks fans were celebrating their team’s win against the Wilds this past Saturday, GM Mike Gillis announced a surprising acquisition that delighted many Canucks fans. And once I saw his photo, I was delighted, too!

Is that a hot dog in your pocket or are you just glad to… Nevermind.

David Booth, formerly a left-winger with the Florida Panthers, will now be joining Vancouver’s team, along with Steven Reinprecht and a 3rd-round draftee who has so far remained nameless. The other part of the surprise was that, in return, the Panthers get Mikael Samuelsson and Marco Sturm from the Canucks.

But the news that really made my loins tingle is that, according to Mike Gillis, Booth will be joining the second line with Ryan Kesler and Chris Higgins! That’s quite a powerhouse trio talent-wise… and I’m not just talking about hockey talent. It’s the perfect gay boy’s hockey lineup: The Hunk (Kesler), The Jock (Higgins) and The Twink (Booth). With Kesler posing nude and Higgins frequently flashing his fit figure to frenzied fans, it will only be a matter of time until Booth starts parading around on TV in his Ginch Gonch.

This all-American trio has already been dubbed by Canucks fans as the “American Express” line, using the hashtag #AmericanExpress on Twitter. I think a more fitting name is the “Fuck Yeah!” line. In fact, I think the Canucks now have more Americans playing on their team than any American hockey team, so, perhaps they will officially become America’s unofficial hockey team, which, is great since they sure aren’t Canada’s!

While Booth may look more like a surfer dude than a hockey player, the six-foot 26-year old was the NAJHL “Rookie of the Year” in 2001, has had 3 seasons of 20+ goals and one season of 30+ goals with the Panthers, plus he has already achieved two career hat-tricks. In other words, he’s no slouch! Both he and Kesler are from Detroit, and it doesn’t hurt that they both played well together in junior leagues.

But Booth’s impressive performance on the ice was interrupted when he suffered two game-related concussions. The first one happened in 2009 while playing the Flyers, and then again in 2010 while playing the Canadiens which caused him to miss the remaining games left in that season. Since then, he hasn’t been able to achieve the numbers he did previously. But clearly Mike Gillis believes that Booth is now fully recovered and has a lot of potential with the right training and a strong partnership with Kesler and Higgins.

I do find it ironic that Booth plays the position of left-winger and was raised in a conservative Christian home. He told ESPN in 2009 that he takes the Christian values he was taught “very seriously” and goes to church regularly. It will be interesting to see how those values mesh with the more liberal and secular culture here in Vancouver. I wonder if Booth will join Roberto Luongo (who also played for the Panthers) in a quick pre-game prayer by the net while a rendition of Madonna’s “Like A Prayer” is played by the arena organist.

By the way, is that organ music live or pre-recorded? I can never figure it out.

When Booth isn’t playing hockey or praying for another hat trick, he likes to hunt. And I’m not talking about bunny rabbits and quail. He likes to hunt antelope and alligators! With his BOW GUN!! Yes, Canucks fans, we’ve just acquired RAMBO! Who looks like Tarzan!

It’s likely that we’ll get to see Booth play with the Canucks in their next game on Tuesday against the Oilers. I would dearly love to see how the Kesler-Higgins-Booth line plays against the Nuge-Hall-Eberle line that has been incredibly effective for the Oilers so far. And it will be great to see how Booth performs when the Canucks play the undefeated Washington Capitals next week.

I hope Rambo lives up to his new nickname and gives our team the extra firepower they need. Booth could be just what the Canucks need to kick things up a notch. Or at the very least, he should be able to make antelope-sized defenseman Zdeno Chara think twice about hacking away at the twins, when he brings his cross bow to the next Canucks v. Bruins game.