Caprice, who died last week, made 102 appearances for Vancouver during his six-year tenure with the organization. He is the 12th most-played goaltender in team history.
Frank Caprice’s best game in the NHL might well have been his first full one.
Caprice, 21, made 26 saves and was chosen the first star of the game as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 on December 10, 1983, at the Pacific Coliseum.
The Canucks had Richard Brodeur and John Garrett in net, but Caprice was brought up from the AHL’s Fredericton Express just before the Oilers’ home game because coach Roger Neilson believed the club needed a spark. The Canucks had one win in their previous seven games (1-4-2) and were 11-15-3 overall heading into the matchup. The Oilers, who were on their way to their first Stanley Cup championship, entered the night 21-5-3.
The lone NHL experience on Caprice’s resume to that point was third period mop-up duty in an 8-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings the previous February.
Caprice would play in another 18 games with the Canucks that season, totaling 102 appearances in his six-year career with the organization. He is the franchise’s 12th most-played goaltender in history.
“He was a cherished teammate and valuable part of our company, and he will be deeply missed. “We send our heartfelt condolences to Frank’s friends and family,” a Canucks team statement said.
In his stint with Vancouver, Caprice was a backup to Brodeur (377) and then Kirk McLean (516), who are third and first, respectively, among Canucks goalies in games played.
The Vancouver Sun’s Gary Mason covered the Western Professional Hockey League for several days in the 1998-99 season, offering up a look at life in the minors. He talked to Caprice, who was 36 then and was a goalie and assistant coach with the Corpus Christi IceRays.
Mason defined Caprice as follows in a Jan. 4, 1999 article: “The NHL meant everything to Frank Caprice. He recalls skating around the ice before games and seeing himself in the mirror of the glass. Do you know what he likes to do, boss? He had turned his shoulder to view his name on the back of the shirt in the glass. Isn’t it wonderful? He played in the National Hockey League. He wanted to be sure he wasn’t dreaming.”
In a Dec. 3, 1991 Vancouver Sun story, Caprice told Mike Beamish that then-Canucks coach Tom Watt had stated the summer before the 1987-88 campaign that Caprice would play 30-35 games that coming season, and that he “felt 10 feet tall,” when Watt said that to him.
Sure enough, the Canucks ousted Watt as bench boss that off-season and made a trade with the New Jersey Devils to land a 21-year-old McLean.
In that same story, Caprice talked about how Watt had left him in to go the distance in a 13-0 loss to the Oilers on Nov. 5, 1985. It remains the most lopsided loss in Canucks history.
