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Adam Foote's Replacement Opens Up For the First Time Since Being Hired by the Vancouver Canucks
A new Vancouver Canucks Assistant Coach has opened up in an interview recently for the first time since the club hired him earlier on this summer.
The Vancouver Canucks will have some fresh faces behind the bench this coming season after the the departure of now-former Head Coach Rick Tocchet, along with Assistant Coach Yogi Svejkovsky, both of whom were brought in by the Philadelphia Flyers.
Replacing Rick Tocchet as Head Coach is long-time NHL defenseman Adam Foote, who previously served as an Assistant for the Canucks since January 2023.
Once Foote was officially promoted by the club in May, he began an extensive search for new Assistants to complete his staff, with three new coaches being hired less than a month later, including 56-year-old Kevin Dean, who recently spoke about his decision to join the Vancouver Canucks.
Vancouver Canucks Assistant Coach Kevin Dean opens up about decision to join the club
During an interview with Vancouver Canucks Senior Writer Chris Faber on the Canucks Insider Podcast this week, new Assistant Coach Kevin Dean, who will focus on the team's defensemen, shared that he is excited to get to work with the group they've put together in British Columbia, which includes Quinn Hughes.
Dean also touched on wanting to help his players get better from an individual standpoint and wants them to feel comfortable enough to come to him with ideas and have open communication.
"You're looking at Tyler Myers, Quinn Hughes is an elite defenseman, [Derek] Forbort's been around a long time, Marcus Pettersson has been around a while now. So that experience, it's going to be a totally different ball game for me. From what I've heard, they're great people. Every one of these guys is just an awesome person, so I'm excited to dig in and work." Dean said.
He later went on to add, "Everyone's a little bit different, how they want to be approached, and how they want to be coached. I want to convey to them that if you want a lot of video, I'll give you a lot of video. If you don't want a lot of video, but you want me to be hard on you, I'll be hard on you.
"I want them to feel comfortable and say, 'Hey, Kevin, can we do more of this? Let's do less of this,' and try to have good, open communication so that I know where they stand, they know where I stand."
He later went on to add, "Everyone's a little bit different, how they want to be approached, and how they want to be coached. I want to convey to them that if you want a lot of video, I'll give you a lot of video. If you don't want a lot of video, but you want me to be hard on you, I'll be hard on you.
"I want them to feel comfortable and say, 'Hey, Kevin, can we do more of this? Let's do less of this,' and try to have good, open communication so that I know where they stand, they know where I stand."
The Madison, Wisconsin native spent parts of seven seasons as a player in the NHL and brings eight years of big league coaching experience to the Canucks, most recently with the Chicago Blackhawks, which is great for rookie Head Coach Adam Foote.
Dean will make his Vancouver Canucks coaching debut on Thursday, October 9th when the team opens up the 2025-26 campaign on home ice against their Western Canadian rivals, the Calgary Flames.
Source: Vancouver Canucks/Chris Faber
Kevin Dean on Canucks Insider Podcast: 'I'm Excited to Dig in and Work'
Kevin Dean on Canucks Insider Podcast: 'I'm Excited to Dig in and Work'
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| POLL | ||
AOUT 8 | 1231 ANSWERS Adam Foote's Replacement Opens Up For the First Time Since Being Hired by the Vancouver Canucks Do you think Kevin Dean was a good hire by the Vancouver Canucks? | ||
| Yes | 504 | 40.9 % |
| No | 211 | 17.1 % |
| Too early to say | 516 | 41.9 % |
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