First things first—let's welcome the two newest members of the Vancouver Canucks family:
Looks like Sam Gagner's wife missed out on Scott Hartnell's wedding last weekend because she was days away from giving birth! According to Sam's Instagram, young Beckham was born on Wednesday, July 26.
Alex Biega is not very active on social media, so his baby news is more of a surprise. Like with Gagner, this new baby is his second son.
In other news, the Canucks announced a long list of personnel changes earlier this week.
Most notably, Ryan Johnson will be taking over from Pat Conacher as the general manager of the Utica Comets, in addition to keeping his title as director of player development for the Canucks.
Johnson was very visible during Development Camp here in Vancouver earlier this month, and is quickly becoming a star in the organization.
Johnson is very well-spoken and obviously has a ton of drive to succeed. He also has a good personal history to draw from in terms of development—he did the college thing for two years at the University of North Dakota and played on the Canadian National Team before turning pro in 1996, then spent the better part of three seasons in the AHL before he finally stuck with the Florida Panthers as a 23-year-old for the 1999-2000 season.
Patrick Johnson of
The Province also chatted with Johnson, who emphasized the importance of teaching players how to best spend their time when they're in the minor leagues, as well as developing the right mindset.
“The first step is learning a little humility. They think ‘hey I’ll be in the American League and I’ll score 30 and then I’ll be in the NHL. Instead they’ve scored twice and it’s February and they’re thinking ‘hey what’s wrong?'”
“All of a sudden you’re the fourth line left winger. It’s almost re-learning the game of hockey,” he said. “The real ones seem to get it by Christmas.”
“You’d be amazed how many guys don’t understand how to forecheck. It’s the ones who really want to get there that make it.”
Johnson gives props to Brendan Gaunce for showing the type of work ethic that has enabled him to make it to the NHL.
“He was all in from the time we said go,” Johnson said. “From skating to working out to learning the game. His commitment to his skating program.”
“Now he’s probably one of our best conditioned guys.”
As the talent level in Utica improves, it's crucial that the Comets deliver more players to the Canucks organization. Over their four-year history of the team, the only notable players that have made the jump after spending significant time in Uitca are Gaunce, Alex Biega and Jacob Markstrom.
Utica's former GM, Conacher, moves into the role of Director of Hockey Operations.
The Comets also added a new associate coach, Gary Agnew, to work with new head coach Trent Cull and returning assistant Jason King. Agnew, 57, had only a brief pro career at the minor-league level in the early 80s, but has amassed a lengthy coaching resume over the last 30 years. He spent more than a decade in the OHL with the London Knights and Kingston Frontenacs, then was head coach of the Syracuse Crunch for six years in the early 2000s before moving primarily to the NHL for the last decade—as an assistant with Columbus, St. Louis and Pittsburgh, as well as a single season as head coach of the Oshawa Generals in 2011-12.
Agnew worked with Ken Hitchcock during his time with both the Blue Jackets and the Blues. He was dismissed from the Penguins in December of 2015, when Mike Johnston was fired.
On the scouting side, we started hearing about some of these moves a few weeks ago. Here's the full rundown:
New director of pro scouting: Brett Henning, seven-year veteran of Canucks scouting department
New additions of pro scouting side: David Volek and Brian Chapman move over from amateur side
New additions on amateur scouting side: Todd Harvey was chosen ninth overall in 1993. Played 671 NHL games between 1994 and 2006. Has been an assistant coach with the Guelph Storm for the last four seasons. Paul Gallagher was a longtime amateur scout with the St. Louis Blues and Florida Panthers. Doug Gasper was the director of scouting with the Moose Jaw Warriors and Vincent Montalbano has been an amateur scout with the St. Louis Blues for the last seven years.
As previously reported, Lucien Deblois, Ken Cook and Mike Adessa are out from the scouting department, and longtime fan favourite Harold Snepsts is retiring after 12 years in the scouting department. A member of the Ring of Honour, 62-year-old Snepsts will remain with the Canucks as an ambassador.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»