Alex Edler is taking over Sedins' old job with Vancouver Canucks
The eagle has landed.
The longest-tenured defenceman in Vancouver Canucks history, Alex Edler is coming back to the team in a player development role.
Rumours of his return surfaced in late May, when HockeyNews.se reported that Edler would be joining the Canucks at development camp. They followed that up by writing, “he will also get a part in the organization,” in an article translated from Swedish.
Turns out, they were right.
“Alex knows first-hand what it means to be a Vancouver Canuck,” general manager Ryan Johnson said in a press release.
“His past experience in the NHL will really help in our players’ development,” Johnson continued. “He understands the demands of what it takes to be a good pro both on and off the ice, while his skill set and communication will be a big plus when it comes to coaching and mentoring our prospects.”
Edler was one of the on-ice coaches at Canucks development camp, and Johnson praised his work during the sessions.
“We saw Alex’s hands-on approach at our Development Camp in Abbotsford, and the feedback we received about the job he did was excellent.”
Ironically, Edler is replacing the Sedins’ role in Player Development. According to both the Canucks website last year and Elite Prospects’ listing of Vancouver’s staff, Henrik and Daniel Sedin were the only two people listed as full-time Player Development coaches.
Jason Krog was also involved as a skills and skating coach, and seemingly helped out in a similar capacity during on-ice sessions. However, he has now been promoted as one of the assistant coaches on Malhotra’s staff.
Don’t be surprised if the Canucks seek out another player development coach alongside Edler before the offseason concludes.
But more importantly, the Canucks still need to find themselves an AHL head coach. Apparently, they were close before the deal fell through, according to CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal.