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Curtis Douglas knows what people expect of him when he steps on to the ice.
The six-foot-nine, 242-pound centre says he's more than just a big body and some dangerous fists, though, as he joins the Vancouver Canucks.
"I'm really excited to be able to go out there and show that I can actually play and that I can do more than just go out there and be mean, and add some other aspects to my game," Douglas said Monday.
Vancouver plucked the 26-year-old forward off the waiver wire from the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday. He was the club's lone roster addition ahead of Friday's NHL trade deadline.
Douglas, who hails from Oakville, Ont., joined his new teammates in Winnipeg on Saturday — a city he'd just left with the Lightning.
"It was pretty crazy," he said. "We were in Winnipeg, and then we flew to Toronto with Tampa, and then I got claimed and flew back to Winnipeg. So it was pretty fun.
"I got to spend the day with my family a little bit in Toronto, so that was cool. Hadn't seen them in a while, so we got to catch up. And then I get the call that I was coming (to Vancouver). So I was pretty excited. And from then on, it was kind of a blur, just kind of trying to get myself mentally ready and ready to play and help the group as much as I can."
Douglas comes to the Canucks (19-36-8) having logged 29 games in his rookie season, with two assists and 92 penalty minutes across the stretch.
Last season, he amassed 10 goals, 26 points and 117 penalty minutes over 63 regular-season games with the American Hockey League's Tuscon Roadrunners.
He adds some insurance to a Vancouver lineup full of young talent, general manager Patrik Allvin said Friday.
"With our young guys in the lineup, I want the players to feel safe," he said. "I don't want them to get beaten up. And we've been looking for a player like this, with more size and physicality."
The new addition could slot into the lineup Monday night when the Canucks host the Ottawa Senators.
Head coach Adam Foote said after morning skate that he was waiting to make a final decision until hearing more about wingers Evander Kane and Brock Boeser.
Kane was not on the ice Monday morning, while Boeser briefly participated before heading to the locker room.
Both players are "taking care of a couple of things," Foote said.
When Douglas does don a Canucks jersey for the first time, he knows what his role will be.
"It's pretty simple for me — it's getting on the forecheck and making sure that if the another team want to go back and get the puck, they're going to pay a price," he said. "And just bringing that toughness and some passion. And hopefully the fans will like that too."
For a large athlete, Douglas moves around the ice pretty well, said Foote.
"He is a bigger body. He can move pretty good for his size," said the former NHL defenceman. "He's an honest guy, as far as he runs a hard forecheck finishes checks plays the right way. We want to get bigger, too, we want to want to get faster. … He's young, but he's a nice piece for us to see what he can do here this last part of the season."
Vancouver won't put pressure on Douglas to produce offensively right away, the coach added, but it's something the team believes could be added to his game.
"He's got a good shot, good hands, and a knack to score some goals, too. That'll come. We'll talk him through it," Foote said.
"Just play the right way and forecheck. He's real disciplined in structure, being under Tampa. Watching his shifts, I liked what he does when he doesn't have the puck. So that other stuff will come."
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