New candidate emerges for Canucks' coaching staff search
The Vancouver Canucks have their man behind the bench, but the rest of the coaching staff has yet to be determined.
Last week, the Canucks named Manny Malhotra the 23rd head coach in franchise history. He’s also the fifth head coach to man Vancouver’s bench in the last five years.
While Malhotra is now in charge, there are lots of vacancies still to be filled.
The 46-year-old doesn’t have any assistants on his NHL bench, and the Canucks still need to find a new bench boss down in Abbotsford.
On Wednesday, CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal namechecked one candidate whom the Canucks seem to have interest in.
“One good up-and-coming coach is Ryan Papaioannou,” Dhawail said on Wednesday’s edition of Donnie and Dhali. “A couple of people told me the Canucks have interest in Papaioannou.”
The 42-year-old has been one of the best AJHL coaches in modern history. During his 14 years as general manager and head coach of the Brooks Bandits, Papaioannou led the team to six championships.
Most notably, he coached defenceman Cale Makar for two seasons, who became the highest-drafted AJHL player ever when he went fourth overall to the Colorado Avalanche in 2017. Makar has since won a Stanley Cup and a Conn Smythe trophy.
After 14 seasons, Papaioannou left the AJHL and was hired by the Pittsburgh Penguins as head coach of their ECHL franchise, the Wheeling Nailers. During his first season on the job, he led the Nailers to the fourth-best record in the league and a Conference Finals berth.
Based on going from the AJHL to the ECHL, it sounds like he could be a person of interest for a head coaching position in Abbotsford.
“Ryan Johnson is so good at knowing everybody in the American League and the East Coast League,” Dhaliwal said.
Another name that was floated out there by Dhaliwal was Jim Hiller, who was recently fired as the Los Angeles Kings’ head coach.
“His name is out there,” Dhaliwal said. “He’s a guy with B.C. connections.”
Hiller, who hails from Port Alberni, B.C., was head coach of the Kings for just over two years before his firing on March 1. Before that, he’d worked as an assistant NHL coach for nearly a decade.
His name has also been linked to the Edmonton Oilers, and it’s worth noting that he was an assistant under Mike Babcock with both the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Dhaliwal also provided a brief update on Jessica Campbell, who became the first woman to work as an assistant NHL coach when she joined the Seattle Kraken behind the bench in 2024. She left the Kraken in April to “explore other coaching opportunities.”
“Elliotte [Friedman] dropped her name about a week ago, affiliated with Vancouver,” Dhaliwal said. “I heard it again this morning.”
Dhaliwal couldn’t confirm if Campbell was being considered for a job in Abbotsford or Vancouver.
However, much like Hiller, she does have B.C. connections. She previously called Kelowna home during the offseason, and she owned her own skating and skills coaching business out of the area as well.