Abbotsford Canucks Assistant Coach Harry Mahesh’s path to coaching pro hockey has been unique.
They say you choose your hard and the bigger your goals, the more accomplished you feel when you achieve them.
Mahesh knew when he got into coaching it wasn’t going to be an easy road and that there would be a lot of stops along the way. There was no pre-determined path, it was more of a put your nose to the grindstone and choose your own adventure, but he wouldn’t change anything because it led him to where it he is with Abbotsford.
The Vanderhoof, B.C. native grew up cheering for the Canucks, but because of the twists and turns in his career, he never expected to come back to B.C. when he did.
“I’m extremely excited. You have goals as you’re moving up through hockey when you’re a kid and then realize as you get older the way hockey works doesn’t always mean you get the option to choose where you want to go. The fact that all roads led back here kind of feels surreal,” Mahesh said.
He will continue to work with Abbotsford Head Coach Manny Malhotra as Malhotra was an Assistant Coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs last season and Mahesh spent last season as a Coaching Development Associate for the Leafs.
Mahesh feels comfortable stepping into this role because he knows how Malhotra sees the game and vice versa. The two sat together to watch Leafs’ home games last season and would talk strategy.
One of the things he learned from Malhotra was the amount of preparation that goes into every game at the NHL level. Coming from Junior and college hockey where there’s more time to prepare between games, he learned a new cadence to be able to stay ahead of game planning in the NHL.
“I like the fact that Manny’s very detailed and he’s very professional. He’s really good at working when it’s time to work and that’s the one thing I saw from Manny is when there was a job to be done, he would do it, there wasn’t much side-tracking him,” said Mahesh. “He wouldn’t get caught in the extra dialogue, he would always do the work first and then bounce ideas, restructure, reshape on what he was working on based on that.”
Mahesh has coached at every level across Canada before reaching the pro ranks, including the Alberta Minor Midget Hockey League (AMMHL), Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL), British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), the girl’s hockey through Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL).
He broke barriers as the first General Manager of South Asian descent in Canadian Junior A hockey when he was hired as both GM and Head Coach of the MJHL’s Winnipeg Freeze in 2021. He’s also been affiliated with the NHL Coaches Association BIPOC Coaches Program since 2021.
He’s gained invaluable experience through all the different levels he’s coached and has been helping prepare the next group of up-and-coming players for the last few years through junior and pro hockey.
There were times when he didn’t know if all the hard work would pay off, but he kept pushing because he loved the game and he learned the art of persistence from his parents.
“That became a little bit of a personal goal so when I look back at my career I can say ‘hey, I’ve been involved in every level,’” said Mahesh. “I knew I wanted to get to professional hockey but different than playing, there’s no timeline, you don’t age out or miss opportunities by being too old or too young. So, I just wanted to make sure that when I got to this level I was as prepared as I could be and that meant taking a lot of different roles in a lot of different leagues.”
“I think it was good to get a good base of all the levels that lead into the NHL because now the guys I’m going to be coaching I’m familiar with how they were taught the game and what they prioritize in terms of their skill.”
The role where he made the biggest leap in professional development was the first year he started coaching girl’s hockey as head coach of the Pilot Mound Hockey Academy. It was his first full-time coaching job, and it was just a second-year program.
He had to flip his mindset from coaching boys – all of whom wanted to make it to the NHL – to coaching players (some who wanted to be doctors, lawyers and teachers) who needed to be motivated differently and reach their fullest potential even if they didn’t want to pursue pro hockey.
Coaching the U17 team developed his communication skills and ability to coach to the individual.
“Some of them liked hockey and they just need that motivation to love it and pursue it a little bit more. Some girls were really talented, but it wasn’t their dream to play professionally but it could open other paths if they found a good school and a good program. It was attacking not just hockey, but life at all angles,” said Mahesh.
“I couldn’t believe how much of an impact it had on me. We had an awesome season, we did a good job recruiting, the girls all bought in, and we had nine of the 20 girls go to either Division I or U Sports schools that following year."
It made him look at life as more than just hockey, which he feels made him a better coach as well.
“If the game’s on your mind all the time you tend to burn out, overthink, second guess yourself. The girls taught me I have to worry about things other than the game away from the rink and then when you get back to the rink, you’re more energized and more re-focused,” he said.
It helped him make a bigger impact on players he coached thereafter by employing a philosophy that Vancouver Canucks Head Coach Rick Tocchet champions as well: developing relationships with his players to meet them in the middle.
Another instrumental piece in his development has been his involvement in the NHLCA BIPOC Coaches Program. He saw it as an opportunity to broaden his network, share experiences, learn and hopefully help others on their journeys.
Playing hockey in a small town in Northern B.C., Mahesh admits he wanted to fit into the Canadian culture and didn’t fully embrace his South Asian background until recently. He looked up to Ryan Johnson and Malhotra as players and to Malhotra as a role model for the South Asian community.
“As a player I went through it by myself thinking it’s me vs. everybody else and I realized I had such a hard time, and I kept this huge chip on my shoulder. I feel like I’ve got to a certain level where I can be of help to minorities in hockey and people who are in similar shoes.” Mahesh said.
“From the time I joined in 2021 until now has had a huge impact on my hockey career. I presented one of my first years to the group and sat in the coaching meetings. You get access behind the scenes of professional hockey, and they really do a good job to connect us with pros.”
Over the last year and a half, he’s held coaching positions that make all the “hard” worth it. He knows he has a lot to learn and he’s ready to get to work in Abbotsford.
He says a little bit of that chip on his shoulder is gone and he’s excited to prove to people who believe in him right.
“For the first time I feel like I have a job I’m fighting to keep rather than a job I’m trying to leave to move up,” Mahesh said. “It’s the first time in my career I’m exactly where I want to be.”
