Just a day after they gained one assistant coach, the Vancouver Canucks have lost an assistant coach. According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, Canucks assistant coach Yogi Svejkovsky will be joining Rick Tocchet’s coaching staff in Philadelphia.
Tocchet and the Canucks promoted Svejkovsky to assistant coach last year, and Svejkovsky was responsible for running the power play, which finished 15th in the league at 22.5%. Tocchet spoke glowingly about Svejkovsky at multiple points this past season, and while many assumed that he’d be a part of Adam Foote’s staff next season, the 48-year-old is heading to the Flyers.
Prior to his promotion to Canucks assistant coach, Svejkovsky spent two seasons as the skills coach for both the Vancouver and Abbotsford Canucks. At the time of his promotion, this is what Canucks GM Patrik Allvin and Tocchet had to say about Svejkovsky:
Allvin: “After exploring all of our options, it became clear very quickly that the best candidate was already in our organization. The ability to promote from within will help us in the transition, as Yogi has a great understanding of our systems and the way we want to play.”
Tocchet: “Since I arrived in Vancouver, I have been very impressed with Yogi’s work ethic and willingness to do anything and everything to help us become a better team,” Tocchet said.
Svejkovsky was a former first-round draft pick of the Washington Capitals in the 1996 draft and had a four-year NHL career, scoring 23 goals and 42 points in 113 games. Unfortunately, his career was cut short due to post-concussion syndrome in 2002.
On Tuesday, reports emerged that the Canucks would be adding Kevin Dean to Foote’s coaching staff to run the defence. Shortly after, the club announced the signing of Derek Forbort, who was coached by Dean in Boston.
