Ex-Canucks winger Sven Baertschi begins coaching career
One year after retiring from pro hockey at age 30, former Vancouver Canucks winger Sven Baertschi has decided to get into coaching.
The Portland Winterhawks have introduced the native of Bern, Switzerland, as their new assistant coach. It’s a homecoming of sorts for Baertschi, who starred for Portland in junior for two seasons.
Baertschi will work under newly-promoted Winterhawks head coach Kyle Gustafson, who is also a former member of the Canucks organization. Gustafson was an assistant/special assignment coach of the Canucks in 2021-22 before returning to Portland as an associate coach in 2022-23.
“Sven has played the game at the highest level, knows our culture, and is eager to work with our group,” Gustafson said in a media release.
Something about @SvenBaertschi in PDX š
After an 11-year pro career, Sven is back with the Hawks to serve as an assistant coach! pic.twitter.com/PGq7CosdYZ
ā Portland Winterhawks (@pdxwinterhawks) August 14, 2024
Drafted 13th overall by the Calgary Flames in 2011, Baertschi looked like he would have a long career after establishing himself as a top-six winger on an admittedly weak Canucks team in 2015-16.
Baertschi scored career highs in goals (18), assists (17), and points (35) in 2016-17 while skating on a line with Bo Horvat. He had 14 points (9-5-14) in 26 games in 2018-19 before a head injury changed the course of his career.
Baertschi was a surprise training camp cut prior to the 2019-20 season and went on to play just seven more NHL games the rest of his career, which included one game with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2021-22.
āIt was hard to go through… There were some mental health issues that came along with it,” Baertschi said last year, describing what he went through with post-concussion syndrome in an interview on Donnie and Dhali.
“I felt like I was depressed, and that was like a new thing to me. I was dealing with a lot of anxiety issues and all that I had never had before. Like it shows up and itās there, and I donāt really know what to do with it.ā
The Swiss winger returned home for one season in 2022-23, playing for Bern SC, before announcing his retirement.