It’s been a very busy last couple of days.
Your agent was in Kamloops watching the B.C. Lions go through a morning training camp practice at Hillside Stadium when news broke that Rick Tocchet had been hired by the Philadelphia to become 22nd head coach in the history of the NHL franchise.
Shortly thereafter, Vancouver named Adam Foote as Tocchet’s replacement thus becoming the 22nd coach in the history of the Canucks.
And this comes on the heels of the Lions announcing that Snoop Dogg will headline the Concert Kickoff home opener on June 7th when the Edmonton Elks visit BC Place.
With that in mind, here we go!
CANUCKS HIRE FOOTE:
The Canucks head coaching job came down to two candidates – Foote, who was an assistant under Tocchet the last two-and-a-half seasons — and ex-Canuck Manny Malhotra, currently the head coach of their Abbotsford AHL farm team.
Most speculated Malhotra would get the gig based on having more experience than Foote as a coach. Malhotra has a year under his belt as a head coach in Abby to go along with seven seasons as an assistant at the NHL level.
Foote, by contrast, did spend four seasons as a development coach with his former team the Colorado Avalanche but wasn’t behind the bench during that time. His role as an assistant with the Canucks is the only time he has spent behind an NHL bench. He also had a two-year stint as head coach of the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets.
So why did the Canucks choose Foote?
First off, Foote already has a good read on the personnel and the personalities in the Canucks room. So some stability will be maintained but I believe that Foote got the nod is because this hockey club desperately needs a stronger leadership group. It’s something that the organization is aware of and Foote’s hard-nosed approach will be beneficial in that regard.
Throw in the fact that star defenseman Quinn Hughes is a fan of Foote and Canucks President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford’s choice makes sense.
I’m curious to see what Malhotra does. If Malhotra stays in the organization, he will be a potential successor to Foote if things go sideways. If he departs, you can strike through the previous sentence but I’m betting he doesn’t change area codes.
All the reasons that drove Tocchet out of Vancouver and kept Grade ‘A’ candidates to view the Canucks coaching vacancy with trepidation are still there.
Does star defenseman Quinn Hughes leave Vancouver as a free agent in two years or perhaps even in a trade beforehand? Can enigmatic centre Elias Pettersson regain the form that earned him a whopping $92.8 million dollar contract? And can goaltender Thatcher Demko stay healthy enough to play 50 or so games at an all-star level? And what’s going on with ownership?
Foote has his work cut out for him. If this team flounders and is forced into a rebuild, Malhotra could be the man to lead that rebuild.
LIONS CAMP UNDERWAY IN KAMLOOPS:
The Lions continue their workouts in preparation for the season opener versus the Elks on June 7. To say that players are excited is an understatement, particularly when it comes to those on the offensive side of the ball.
Quarterback Nathan Rourke looks rejuvenated and the scheme that new head coach Buck Pearce is putting in has players like veteran receiver Keon Hatcher beaming. When I asked Hatcher about the new playbook being installed, he had a one-word response: fire.
During his time as the offensive coordinator in Winnipeg, Pearce was known to keep defences on their toes by attacking them both vertically and horizontally with plenty of misdirection and pre-snap motion to confuse defenders. Those were some of the facets that had been lacking in scheme employed by previous OC Jordan Maksymyk.
The only negative in camp thus far has been that prized trade acquisition Dejon Allen has yet to practice. The 2023 CFL’s Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman with Toronto Argonauts has been sidelined with a back issue but the team is hopeful that the big tackle will be able to start the season.
As far as newcomers go, receiver Charles Gipson is turning heads early in camp on the offensive side of the ball while defensive end Kemoko Turay, a former second-round pick of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, has stood out on defense.
All the newcomers will get the chance to show what they got when the Lions host the Calgary Stampeders in Langford this upcoming Monday at 1 pm.
SCOUTING GURU? YES. SCOOP REPORTER? NO:
As the news broke at practice that the Canucks had hired Foote as their new head coach, myself along with Lions color analyst Giulio Caravatta were chatting on the sidelines with newly-promoted Lions assistant GM Rob Ralph. Ralph is based in London, Ontario and still keeps on an eye on CIS talent for the Lions – something he did for the last four years as the Leos’ top Canadian scout in charge of evaluation for the CFL Draft.
Ralph mentioned to us that Foote was on the same flight from London to Toronto and then from Toronto to Vancouver on Monday. Ralph said he was somewhat puzzled that Foote would be leaving London given the legal proceedings taking place in that city with Cal Foote – Adam’s son – and four other members with Canada's 2018 World Junior hockey team.
It all made sense when the news of Foote’s hiring broke. Now if he had only told me on Monday….
Veteran B.C. sports personality Bob “the Moj” Marjanovich writes about the B.C. sporting scene for Efteen. This column is brought to you by:
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