Vancouver Canucks add four new coaches on Manny Malhotra's staff
Manny Malhotra’s coaching staff has been finalized with today’s announcement by the Vancouver Canucks.
The team named Ryan Mougenel, Jordan Smith, and Jason Krog as assistant coaches, and Andrew Shaw as video coach. The group is short on experience, as all four coaches are stepping into roles they’ve never held at the NHL level before.
Canucks GM Ryan Johnson said the team was looking for “good teachers” who have “intelligent hockey minds” for these roles, and that certainly makes sense for a rebuilding team. But the move goes against the belief that Malhotra, as a first-time head coach in the NHL, needed an experienced assistant.
Mougenel comes to the Canucks from the Providence Bruins, where he served the past five years as their head coach. The reigning AHL Coach of the Year, this is the 50-year-old Scarborough, Ont. native’s first NHL gig after 13 years in the AHL and another eight in the ECHL.
Mougenel is the only external hire, as the Canucks opt for three in-house promotions to join him.
Smith worked with Malhotra for the past two years as an assistant coach with the Abbotsford Canucks. The 40-year-old Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., native spent two years as an assistant coach with the Springfield Thunderbirds before joining Abbotsford.
Krog played 202 NHL games during a 17-year pro hockey career, which included four with the Canucks during the 2008-09 season. The 50-year-old from Fernie, B.C. was a skills and skating coach with the Canucks the past two seasons, working with players in both Vancouver and Abbotsford.
Not to be confused with the former NHL player that shares the same name, Shaw is a 36-year-old from Chilliwack who spent the past two years as a video coach in Abbotsford.
“Finalizing our coaching staff is another important step for our organization. When we started this process with Manny, we wanted to find quality people first and foremost, who are good teachers and have intelligent hockey minds,” said Johnson.
“We have assembled a group that can help us build a solid foundation, connect with both our veterans and younger players, and put in place the system and style of play that Manny wants to see on the ice. We are excited to welcome Ryan, Jordan, and Andrew to Vancouver, and I am very happy to see Jason get a much-deserved promotion.”