From the Vancouver Giants to BC Minor Hockey to working with local pro players in the summer, Yogi Švejkovský feels like the Vancouver Canucks’ bench is a familiar and comfortable spot even if he hasn’t coached a game yet.
Švejkovský has been a hockey coach for what seems like forever, and after being promoted to a full-time member of Rick Tocchet’s staff this off-season, all that hard work has paid off.
“It’s kind of full circle,” said Švejkovský. “In some ways, this started in 2006 when I was on the bench with the Vancouver Giants. I've been on the bench for eight years, many, many years ago. I'm asked now to do so with the Canucks but it's not any different. More than anything, I just feel like a more mature coach.”
Švejkovský won the Memorial Cup in his first year on the bench with the Giants as a spry 30-year-old coach and now, an energizer bunny at 48, he brings a wealth of coaching experience to the Canucks bench.
He called it a moderate progression to where he is currently in his coaching career. It’s rare that a coach doesn’t need to move all around North America, or even internationally to find a destination in the NHL, but Švejkovský has been able to stay in the Lower Mainland since the early 2000’s to reach his goal.
Coaching is in Švejkovský’s blood, as his dad was a professional goaltender and a long-time coach in Czechia. Yogi took a lot of advice from his dad in terms of coaching and one of the best lessons he learned was about how players can find the next level in their game through skill work.
“Winning starts with intensity,” said Švejkovský. “The next part is about if you can actually do what you’re trying to accomplish. You get your X's and O's, you get your systems and structure in place, but then to go to the next level, you need to be very good in that structure. What I was always in love with in coaching is finding the requirements that a player needs to take the next step.”
One thing that Canucks Head Coach Rick Tocchet has been most impressed with from Švejkovský has been his ability to generate new drills and find skill-specific one-on-one workouts with players.
We asked Švejkovský if he wakes up in the middle of the night and writes down a drill idea or if he keeps a note on his phone and just jots down drills when they come to him.
“Well, this might sound crazy, but I was part of minor hockey when I was on the Giants staff and in the summers, I work with plenty of pros. There were years where I had over 1200 practices,” said Švejkovský.
“So, in some ways, you do so many different drills that eventually you begin to find variations and I look at every area of the ice and how a drill can focus on a certain area of a certain skill.”
With Švejkovský’s skill-focused coaching being his strength, he is beyond excited about continuing to work with long-time NHLers like Tocchet, Adam Foote, Sergei Gonchar, and the Sedins. That experienced group is always looking to develop plans to help the players improve their game as the season progresses.
Švejkovský called the staff a triangle, where Tocchet sets the standard and the rest of the staff helps support the group by using their strengths as coaches.
“At the very start of this group coming together, Rick had a great meeting, and I loved it. It still sticks with me today; it’s stuck with me right from the start. He said we just cannot have egos. That’s what we have here, there are no egos on our staff. My job is to listen and bring ideas that are my expertise, but really, just listen and see the footprint,” said Švejkovský.
“Rick is outstanding at giving the footprint, and we're trying to fill the footprint with ideas and work together to achieve our one goal of winning the Stanley Cup.”
With the combination of skills that the Canucks have built through the help of their staff along with the commitment to hard work, the coaches feel they are in a great position to get the best out of their players and build on what was accomplished last season.
Insider Extra
Rick Tocchet spoke about Švejkovský doing a lot in terms of setting up the camp and executing the drills.
“I thought he was terrific,” said Tocchet. "We spent a lot of time setting the drills, it’s a collaborative [effort] but Yogi takes a lion’s share. He's terrific and he's done a hell of a job. I thought the drills were great, and I thought the coaches were on point. I'm a big stickler when it comes to all of that, and I thought it was running really well. I give Yogi a lot of credit for that. He's come a long way, and he deserves to be where he is.”
