No Dog Days Of Summer For Canucks' Video Coaching Staff

The classic European summer vacation involves beaches, living at a slower pace, and unplugging.

Canucks Video Coach Dylan Crawford had a getaway to Greece and Italy this summer for his honeymoon and cousin's wedding, but even in the summer when there's no games to clip and log, there's always work to be done.

Crawford says it's in his nature to want to stay locked in for any requests while he's away, but he and Assistant to Video Coach, Greg Houde, work in tandem to make sure the coaches have everything they need.

"I'm lucky that we have understanding and really inclusive and collaborative staff," Crawford said. "Greg's been great, I couldn't have asked for anybody better."

Crawford says the trip was a nice way to recharge after his first season with the Canucks.

The demands of the season are steady, but the end of the season is the busiest time of the year for Crawford and Houde.

After the Canucks' last game against Arizona, the duo spent the plane ride back feverishly compiling profiles and stats to provide a snapshot of every player's season. Working with the analytics department, they provided all the information to the coaching staff to compliment the eye-test, all of which is used in year-end meetings.

"The unique thing we had this year, with the coaching change, we had two different sets of information that we had to go through, so it was more about piecing together what Rick and his staff wanted," Crawford said.

Throughout the playoffs, the video team keeps a close watch on trends and things that can be implemented next season. Crawford is in constant communication with the coaching staff, but Development Camp is usually the next opportunity everyone is together, and he can present what worked for teams in the playoffs.

"We're collecting video on Vegas' defensive zone coverage, we were looking at what other teams were doing on their forechecks, and why some teams were more successful than others at denying entries," he said.

The video team also balances offseason requests from players alongside compiling video for the coach's symposium mid-August which is the prequel to finalizing the upcoming season's strategy. Crawford and Houde send coaches an extensive package of clips showing various offence, defense, and transition plays from last season to discuss over the three-day conference.

Once coaching staff finalizes their approach for the upcoming season, they collaborate with the video team to send players individual and team video packages to look over before Training Camp. Skills Coach Yogi Svejkovsky and Henrik and Daniel Sedin go through film with the players for their development before camp and during the season.

"It's not like you're coming into your first day of school without really knowing what the curriculum is," Crawford said. "You're going to have an idea of what we expect and how we're going to play."

Recharged and ready, Crawford and Houde are currently gathering clips for the mid-August meetings and taking any other requests that come their way. They're doing everything they can this summer to help the team hit the ground running when Training Camp starts.