[Report] Canucks enhance player development department

[-Vintage Canuck-]

Canucks enhance player development department:

 

Vancouver, B.C. - Vancouver Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin announced today that the club has made multiple additions to its Player Development staff to support the growth of Canucks prospects at all levels.

 

After spending a season gaining knowledge and experience in the club's Hockey Operations department as Special Advisors to the General Manager, Daniel and Henrik Sedin will transition to new roles within Player Development, working daily on and off the ice with young players in Vancouver and Abbotsford. Joining the club are former NHLers Mikael Samuelsson and Mike Komisarek who will primarily work with Canucks prospects throughout the organization.

 

Assistant General Manager Cammi Granato will continue to oversee the Player Development department alongside Senior Director, Player Development and Abbotsford Canucks General Manager Ryan Johnson, while Chris Higgins remains in his current position as Assistant Director, Player Development.

 

"We're pleased to have solidified our Player Development department for next season with the additions of Mikael Samuelsson and Mike Komisarek, as well as Daniel and Henrik Sedin," said Allvin. "Cammi Granato and Ryan Johnson led an extensive search to find the individuals with the right attributes, winning pedigrees, and who fit the overall strategy of the Vancouver Canucks moving forward."

 

Samuelsson, 45, most recently served as general manager of Södertälje SK in the HockeyAllsvenskan league for parts of three seasons from 2019.20 to 2021.22. Previously, he spent three seasons as a European development coach for the Chicago Blackhawks from 2017.18 to 2019.20.  

 

Prior to his coaching and management career, Samuelsson appeared in 699 career regular season games over the course of a 13-year NHL career split between Detroit, Florida, Vancouver, Pittsburgh, New York Rangers, and San Jose, collecting 346 points (149-197-346) and 370 penalty minutes. The right winger played 155 games with the Canucks from 2009.10 to 2011.12, during which he recorded his two highest offensive outputs of his career, tallying 30 goals and 53 points (30-23-53) in 2009.10, followed by another 50-point season (18-32-50) in 2010.11 to help the Canucks earn their first ever Presidents' Trophy.

 

A native of Mariefred, Sweden, Samuelsson is a member of the Triple Gold Club, having won a gold medal at the Olympic Games (2006) and World Championship (2006) in addition to a Stanley Cup Championship with the Detroit Red Wings in 2007.08. He played in 104 career playoff contests, including 23 with Vancouver, registering 60 points (23-37-60).

 

Komisarek, 40, joins the organization after spending three seasons as a player development coach for the Buffalo Sabres from 2017.18 to 2019.20. Previously, he spent two seasons as an undergraduate assistant coach with the Michigan Wolverines at the University of Michigan while he completed his degree in Sports Management and Communication.

 

Selected by Montreal in the first round, seventh overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, Komisarek played 551 career regular season games over 11 seasons in the NHL as a defenceman with Montreal, Toronto, and Carolina, recording 81 points (14-67-81) and 679 penalty minutes. He also collected three points (1-2-3) and 56 penalty minutes in 29 career playoff games.

 

Originally from West Islip, New York, Komisarek also represented the United States on multiple occasions, including two times each at the World Junior Championships and the World Hockey Championships.

 

https://www.nhl.com/canucks/news/canucks-enhance-player-development-department/c-334381328

[Mustard Tiger]

Oh damn nice to see some quality ex players joining!

[Alflives]

What were we not doing before?  

[Nucker 67]

Love Samuelsson

[Kuzy]

Great to see how much emphasis they are now putting on drafting and development. Really liking how deep and diverse the management team is looking right now. Far cry from the Benning/Weisbrod days.

[higgyfan]

19 minutes ago, Alflives said:

What were we not doing before?  

 

Spending ++++++$ on player development.

[Miss Korea Bob.Loblaw]

The article says a lot about that Samuelsson and Komisarek guys, but what about Henrik and Daniel Sedin?  Who the heck are they and why should the Canucks trust them?

[Miss Korea Bob.Loblaw]

5 minutes ago, Stech said:

Great to see how much emphasis they are now putting on drafting and development. Really liking how deep and diverse the management team is looking right now. Far cry from the Benning/Weisbrod days.

The best thing for the long-term development of a Canucks draftee was to get traded.

[CRAZY_4_NAZZY]

Love that Allvin is bolstering the player development department.

 

Hopefully having Cammi Granato and Ryan Johnson head this department together along with some good hockey people, will propel our development of our prospects forward. Its been sorely lacking for the past 8 seasons. 

[Chronic.Canuck]

Sedins pretty much as skill coaches? Those guys are pretty good at hockey.

 

Petey gonna blow up next season.

[250Integra]

Mikael “Sweden can go F*** themselves” Samuelsson is back 

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

Seems like some good new hires.
 

Beyond them being former NHL players, Samuelsson and Komisarek have already proven themselves very capable staff members with other organizations and they bring some pretty impressive post-playing work experience in player development, coaching, and management.
 

Nice to see Komisarek has also completed a sports management degree.

 

Both of these guys should also bolster the team’s overall connections and contacts, particularly when it comes to European and college hockey, with Samuelsson having previously GM’d a Swedish team and Komisarek having coached in the NCAA.

Edited May 30, 2022 by SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME

[JamesB]

19 minutes ago, Stech said:

Great to see how much emphasis they are now putting on drafting and development. Really liking how deep and diverse the management team is looking right now. Far cry from the Benning/Weisbrod days.

 

12 minutes ago, CRAZY_4_NAZZY said:

Love that Allvin is bolstering the player development department.

 

Hopefully having Cammi Granato and Ryan Johnson head this department together along with some good hockey people, will propel our development of our prospects forward. Its been sorely lacking for the past 8 seasons. 

Now all we need are some actual prospects to develop.

 

I hope Allvin can add significantly to the prospect pool this summer. Signing Bains and Karlsson was a start, and obviously the draft is coming up.It is too bad the Canucks do not have a second round pick as, while this year's draft is thin at the top, apparently there are a lot of good prospects in the 25-50 range. It will take a while for JR and Allvin to undo the messed up prospect and contract structure left by Benning. 

[48MPHSlapShot]

Sounds good. Our player development under Benning has been pretty atrocious, so it's nice to see that facet of the organization getting a face-lift.

[BabychStache]

This is exciting news. Great diverse crowd and all had leadership roles as players. Mentorship is a key driver to success. 

[Nucker 67]

Daniel and Henrik providing on-ice development to the prospects?  Invaluable!  I think Linus Karlsson could develop into a Top 6 NHL player, how cool it'll be for him to be working with the Sedins.

[JM_]

42 minutes ago, NUCKER67 said:

Love Samuelsson

I suspect he's got a really good read on Euro picks for this draft as well. Loved him here as a player. 

[DeltaSwede]

I mean, what better way to get young hockey players excited and motivated for their future careers than to work with that group of former players. 

[DrJockitch]

Too much credit is given to scouts when players develop.  This is the most complicated and most important thing the team can do. Hard when having to tailor degree of involvement to the league they are in. 
‘Glad to see lots of investment going on here. 

[aGENT]

Noice!