Like Sesame Street's Bert and Ernie before them, Vancouver Canucks road roomates Ryan Kesler (left) and Kevin Bieksa formed a friendship that was based on routine and proximity. Photograph by: Vancouver Sun photo illustration , .

EDMONTON — As longtime roommates on the road, Kevin Bieksa and Ryan Kesler had a routine and it went something like this:

Bieksa was always up first and would hit the shower, then head downstairs to order breakfast. Not just for himself, but for Kesler as well.

So when Kesler walked into the hotel restaurant each morning after his shower, his breakfast was on the table waiting for him.

“We had a great routine going there,” Bieksa says, almost wistfully. “He got oatmeal with a side of berries. We both basically got the same thing, the only difference was I’d get rye toast and he’d get wheat toast. He would like orange juice and water. I’d like orange juice and coffee.”

Sadly, those days are over now. Kesler has to order his own breakfast.

“I kind of miss it,” he said right after finishing breakfast Tuesday in the Canucks’ Edmonton hotel.

The players made some concessions in the latest collective bargaining agreement that was hammered out after a lengthy lockout. But one of their wins was a stipulation that all players, except the young greenhorns on entry-level deals, get their own rooms on the road. Previously, that luxury was only afforded to players with 10 years in the league or 600 games, as well as goaltenders.

“It figures it finally comes along when I am less than two seasons away from actually earning it,” laughs Canucks winger Chris Higgins. “I wasn’t too psyched about that. I’d like to see the younger guys earning it a little bit more, but maybe that’s only because I’m in the position I’m in.”

As much as they are enjoying their new single digs, there are things that some of the players miss.

Alex Burrows, for example, misses his alarm clock, otherwise known as Mason Raymond.

The two Canuck forwards were roomies for the past three or four years and Burrows says Raymond saved him from being late for many team buses and meetings.

“Mason’s a farm boy and I’m more of a city kind of guy who likes to go to bed a little bit later and get up a little bit later, where he likes to go to bed pretty early and wakes up at the crack of dawn,” Burrows says. “We had some moments on days off when I’d like to sleep in at least past 9 o’clock and he’s up at 7:30 and he’s ready to go and saying, ‘let’s go for breakfast right away’ and I am still feeling tired from the night before.”

Without Raymond to rely on, Burrows has had to make some adjustments.

“Mason was my alarm clock,” he says. “You could never be late for anything. We’d always be early for meetings or the bus. Now I have to make sure I’ve got a wakeup call set up, I’ve got my phone set up, I even have my wife sometimes calling me to make sure I don’t miss a meeting or something.”

Raymond smiles when Burrows’ comments are relayed to him.