[Report] Assistant coaches Scott Walker & Kyle Gustafson, and video coach Darryl Seward won't be back next season

[-Vintage Canuck-]

The Canucks are now looking for at least one new assistant coach:

 

More changes are coming — as expected — to the hallways of Rogers Arena.

 

Vancouver Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau revealed Friday morning that assistant coach Scott Walker won’t be back.

 

He made the comments on the Bob McCown podcast, where John Shannon is a contributor.

 

Walker was the first person Boudreau contacted after he was offered the head coach’s job by Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini in early December and he agreed to return to the Canucks, where he’d worked previously in player development and where he’d broken into the NHL as a player, as an assistant coach.

 

Canucks GM Patrik Allvin told Postmedia on Thursday he and Boudreau were still reviewing staff.

 

“Bruce and myself are working, working on those things, you know, looking at the team and looking at the staff,” he said.

 

Asked whether a change was imminent, he paused, then replied: “I think we need some more time.”

 

https://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/canucks-scott-walker-wont-be-back-as-assistant-coach

 

Update:

 

 

[King Heffy]

Disappointing as I loved him as a player and he is a very promising hockey mind.  I think he'll be a head coach in the NHL one day and continue Pat Quinn's legacy.  Wish him the best.

[JM_]

huh. Wasn't it his ideas that brought the PK back to life? 

[Baratheon]

That's too bad.  With Shaw here perhaps it was too many cooks in the kitchen?

[IBatch]

5 minutes ago, King Heffy said:

Disappointing as I loved him as a player and he is a very promising hockey mind.  I think he'll be a head coach in the NHL one day and continue Pat Quinn's legacy.  Wish him the best.

Damn that sucks.   Not sure what the issue would be - our special teams rapidly improved along the stretch and can't see given our personnel actually doing much better on the PK ... maybe a little.   That's too bad considering we became one of the best defensive teams in the entire league post Green. 

[DSVII]

That's sad to hear. Was it his choice? Maybe had has something else lined up. His special teams were just what we needed

[NUCKER67]

That's too bad, I'm sure Bruce isn't too happy about that.  I thought the issues were mainly D zone breakouts etc?  Wouldn't that be Brad Shaw under the microscope?

 

Maybe they move Shaw to coach the PK and then bring in Housely to be the D coach?  Wild guess

[King Heffy]

4 minutes ago, IBatch said:

Damn that sucks.   Not sure what the issue would be - our special teams rapidly improved along the stretch and can't see given our personnel actually doing much better on the PK ... maybe a little.   That's too bad considering we became one of the best defensive teams in the entire league post Green. 

Could have been that he didn't particularly want the job and took it as a favour for a friend.  He won't be out of work long as he was overqualified for the job.

Edited May 20, 2022 by King Heffy

[4petesake]

Say what??

I was under the impression that he was innovative and brought a new look to the pk.

 

 

[BCNate]

I'm guessing he wants to explore taking on a bigger role elsewhere.  He was the #3 coach here, i'm guessing he will have bigger opportunities elsewhere.

[Gnarcore]

[NUCKER67]

Is Jason King (PP) next?

[spook007]

Wonder if that was in the offering, and the reason for not giving Bruce a longer extension...

 

Edited May 20, 2022 by spook007

[Mike Vanderhoek]

25 minutes ago, JM_ said:

huh. Wasn't it his ideas that brought the PK back to life? 

I think Boudreau started utilizing Shaw properly in that department which is where he should have been all along when hired. Being that he was the one behind the Blues top PK and solid defense for years. Interesting to see who else comes in now.

[JM_]

11 minutes ago, BCNate said:

I'm guessing he wants to explore taking on a bigger role elsewhere.  He was the #3 coach here, i'm guessing he will have bigger opportunities elsewhere.

maybe he's being interviewed by WPG?

[Provost]

I guess Boudreau wanting more power over his assistants didn’t get very far.

 

Too bad, Walker seems like a guy on the way up in the coaching world.  Maybe we will hear that he has a head coaching gig in college or another lower level and it was his choice to do that.

[JM_]

Just now, Mike Vanderhoek said:

I think Boudreau started utilizing Shaw properly in that department which is where he should have been all along when hired. Being that he was the one behind the Blues top PK and solid defense for years. Interesting to see who else comes in now.

I'm not concerned, there's a lot of good bench talent out there. 

[WHL rocks]

Wild thing!!!

 

 

[Harvey Specter]

I too am disappointed to hear that Boudreau's go-to assistant coach is not returning behind the bench for us in the upcoming season. 

 

I wish him all the very best in his future career endeavors if he continues on to a new coaching role. 

 

However, could this (personal) decision be linked with Walker being struck by an errant puck in the Jan 21st game against Florida. 

 

Struck in the head by a puck on January 21 in a game against the Florida Panthers, Walker has been away from the team ever since.

 

“He had vertigo,” Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau told reporters. “Talking to him last night, he sounded a lot better, but he still gets a little lightheaded and stuff, so I’m hoping they find what’s wrong.”

 

https://canucksarmy.com/2022/03/08/miss-terribly-canucks-head-coach-bruce-boudreau-provides-update-assistant-scott-walker/

 

I recognize that Walker rejoined the team on Mar 16th but could there be lingering effects? I hope not 

[BureBurrito]

he had vertigo...but seems odd leaving only after a few months being hired.