Confirmed with Link: Canucks announce new hockey ops roles: Ian Clark as goalie coach, Cloutier as dir. of goaltending

mossey3535

Registered User
Feb 7, 2011
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Problem with comparison to Washington's structure is that they have an absolute legend as the director who is basically semi-retired.

I think Cloutier did a decent job here (good with Marky, not so much Nilly) but he's not at the level where he should be director of goaltending for us or anyone else.

Like a full time goalie coach is common now but it wasn't that long ago that it wasn't.
 

duplo

prince kasspian
Nov 4, 2010
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Vancouver
fb6b611881485176d3198afd16d817ba.png

Lol I forgot about this. Fun fact: it also cost us Martin Jones.

The Gillis regime had been following his development because Jones played hockey with Marc Crawford's son and his dad was in charge of Rogers Arena. They were convinced in the 11th hour to take Morgan Clark instead. Botchford had a Provies about it, but I can't find the link now. Here's a link hinting it:

Unmasked: Jones excited for bigger role with Sharks

"With his father, Harvey Jones, overseeing the construction of and then running Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Martin grew up with no shortage of technical goaltending instruction. He played minor hockey with the son of then-Vancouver Canucks coach Marc Crawford, who would later play a role in bringing him to the Kings as an undrafted free agent. It wasn't uncommon to see them taking shots on the NHL ice from the elder Crawford long after Canucks practice was over. They were joined by then-Canucks goaltending coach Ian Clark and sometimes his son, Morgan, who ironically was picked by Vancouver instead of Jones in the seventh round of the 2008 NHL Draft."
 

F A N

Registered User
Aug 12, 2005
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Problem with comparison to Washington's structure is that they have an absolute legend as the director who is basically semi-retired.

I think Cloutier did a decent job here (good with Marky, not so much Nilly) but he's not at the level where he should be director of goaltending for us or anyone else.

Like a full time goalie coach is common now but it wasn't that long ago that it wasn't.

Exactly. He’s not qualified for that position especially since the goalie coach is Ian Clark who is much more qualified and distinguished. They should have named Cloutier a consultant or a goalie development coach.

But I don’t expect Cloutier to be calling the shots. I think the Canucks want to have Cloutier still be involved which is great. But I don’t see him telling Clarke what to do. In reality it’s more or less Ian Clarke replacing Cloutier.
 

JuniorNelson

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Jan 21, 2010
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This hiring makes sense if you aren't adding a mentoring goaltender. Canucks are going to invest in coaching. It's a legitimate approach.

I suspect Demko gets another season in development in the AHL. Clark rides the bus with him.

Canucks go forward with Markstrom and Nilsson. This is consistent with the team's demonstrated agenda.
 
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M2Beezy

Objective and Neutral Hockey Commentator
May 25, 2014
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This hiring makes sense if you aren't adding a mentoring goaltender. Canucks are going to invest in coaching. It's a legitimate approach.

I suspect Demko gets another season in development in the AHL. Clark rides the bus with him.

Canucks go forward with Markstrom and Nilsson. This is consistent with the team's demonstrated agenda.
Yeppers. Makes sense, not sure what people are whining about here
 

RobertKron

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Sep 1, 2007
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This hiring makes sense if you aren't adding a mentoring goaltender. Canucks are going to invest in coaching. It's a legitimate approach.

I suspect Demko gets another season in development in the AHL. Clark rides the bus with him.

Canucks go forward with Markstrom and Nilsson. This is consistent with the team's demonstrated agenda.

You think Ian Clark signed on to be an AHL coach?
 

mossey3535

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Feb 7, 2011
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You think Ian Clark signed on to be an AHL coach?

Yeah, he could barely be a fulltime coach when we had a HOF goalie.

Plus the question is whether he's actually a good coach for Demko. That remains to be seen. I would have picked someone else.

But he's a Canuck now so we're stuck with him. Hopefully the rumours out of Columbus aren't true. If you think about it he is leaving a two-time Vezina winner. If Bob was that reliant on Clark, Clark would still be in Columbus. You don't pay a goalie $7.5M and then jettison his pet goalie coach.

Oh wait, that happened here with Luongo...
 

LeftCoast

Registered User
Aug 1, 2006
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Vancouver
I think this is probably a positive. Most organizations have a legitimate #1 goalie who in terms of coaching just needs the occasional consultation and a pep talk / sport psychology session and 1 or 2 developing goalies who need to work on all aspects of their game from technique and positioning to mental approach.

We have a yet to really prove himself goalie in Markstrom who is athletic, but has both mental and technical lapses with soft goals and poor positioning on sharp angled shots. We have Nilsson who is huge and relies on good positioning, but runs hot and cold because when his reading and tracking of the puck fails, he lacks the athleticism of Markstrom to recover. We also have a highly rated young goalie in Demko, who has dominated against AHL competition but is untested at the NHL level and DiPietro coming off a promising junior career and turning pro.

The work load of a goalie coach in the Canucks system right now is probably going to be very high. So a goalie coaching staff of Clark (NHL) and Sanford (AHL) with Cloutier overseeing the coaching program makes a lot of sense.
 

Peter10

Registered User
Dec 7, 2003
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So many options...

Jay Beagle - Director of Faceoffs
Brandon Sutter - Director of Foundations and Leadership
Derek Dorsett - Director of "Playing the Right Way"
Erik Gudbranson - Director of Compete
Michael Del Zotto - Director of Hitz
 
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Siludin

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Dec 9, 2010
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Henrik Sedin - Director of Offseason Training - Sweden Branch
Daniel Sedin - Assistant Director of Offseason Training - Sweden Branch
 

Melvin

21/12/05
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I think this is probably a positive. Most organizations have a legitimate #1 goalie who in terms of coaching just needs the occasional consultation and a pep talk / sport psychology session and 1 or 2 developing goalies who need to work on all aspects of their game from technique and positioning to mental approach.

We have a yet to really prove himself goalie in Markstrom who is athletic, but has both mental and technical lapses with soft goals and poor positioning on sharp angled shots. We have Nilsson who is huge and relies on good positioning, but runs hot and cold because when his reading and tracking of the puck fails, he lacks the athleticism of Markstrom to recover. We also have a highly rated young goalie in Demko, who has dominated against AHL competition but is untested at the NHL level and DiPietro coming off a promising junior career and turning pro.

The work load of a goalie coach in the Canucks system right now is probably going to be very high. So a goalie coaching staff of Clark (NHL) and Sanford (AHL) with Cloutier overseeing the coaching program makes a lot of sense.

How does it make any sense for Cloutier to be kicked into a directors job after one f***ing season as a goalie coach?
 

tradervik

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Jun 25, 2007
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Friedman reported that Clark was leaving Columbus back in May. See items 13 to 15 for his May 11th column

Here's the most interesting part for me:

Finally, Clark on the next “big thing” for the position: “In North America and Sweden, there is so much emphasis on technical play that there’s not enough development of competitiveness, or instinct to discover what you can do when your technique breaks down. The Finns, Russians and Czechs have a more athletic way of the game. You have to be creative, not just butterfly and nothing else. This generation of shooters knows to go up and away, they’ve all seen the butterfly and know how to beat it. You need a more effective reaction. Not leaning just on structure, not just athletics. A blend.”

edit: pasted the wrong link
 

LeftCoast

Registered User
Aug 1, 2006
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Vancouver
How does it make any sense for Cloutier to be kicked into a directors job after one ****ing season as a goalie coach?

Because facts matter. He was a goal tending consultant with the Canucks from 2012 to 2016 and a goalie coach since june 2016. So by my rudimentary math skilz - that would be 6 years with the organization; 4 as a consultant and 2 as a coach.
 

Melvin

21/12/05
Sep 29, 2017
15,198
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Montreal, QC
Because facts matter. He was a goal tending consultant with the Canucks from 2012 to 2016 and a goalie coach since june 2016. So by my rudimentary math skilz - that would be 6 years with the organization; 4 as a consultant and 2 as a coach.

Yeah, basically nothing coming close to earning a directors seat.
 

RobertKron

Registered User
Sep 1, 2007
15,410
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So many options...

Jay Beagle - Director of Faceoffs
Brandon Sutter - Director of Foundations and Leadership
Derek Dorsett - Director of "Playing the Right Way"
Erik Gudbranson - Director of Compete
Michael Del Zotto - Director of Hitz

Malhotra is director of faceoffs. Beagle is assistant to the director.
 

F A N

Registered User
Aug 12, 2005
18,626
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Yeah, basically nothing coming close to earning a directors seat.

That depends on your point of view. I made a post a while ago questioning Cloutier's coaching ability in terms of the technical aspects of the game. According to Botchford, Cloutier is highly regarded. And I can believe that. Like Malhotra, there are some guys who just seems to connect with people. Cloutier was known as a popular teammate. I can believe that he connects well with our prospects.

Straight up, in terms of accomplishments and pedigree, it makes no sense that he is directing Ian Clarke. But stepping back a bit, it depends on what the job entails. Washington named Mitch Korn director basically because Korn wanted to retire. Clouter is given the title because he wants to free up his schedule essentially. But besides the day to day work which Clark will be taking up, what has changed? The previous regime hired Cloutier to work with the team's goaltending prospects as well as to do a bit of scouting. Previously, Linden entrusted Cloutier to basically hire Melanson's replacement and has input in terms of scouting goalies. Cloutier and Sanford are Clark's proteges. I can't see Cloutier forcing Clark to coach a certain way. Rather, I see Cloutier giving Clark free reign to coach as he see fits. But in reality, there should be unity in thought/philosophy in terms of the goaltending coaches.

According to Botchford
Cloutier's ideas on a goaltending coach's duties extend beyond just coaching the goalies. They also support the scouting staff. I can't say I disagree with this and I bet Cloutier was instrumental in getting Clark back into the fold. Like scouting, you can be a super scout and not be a good scouting director. Like I said before, the "promotion" is really more or less keeping Cloutier in the fold which to me is a good thing.
 

Melvin

21/12/05
Sep 29, 2017
15,198
28,055
Montreal, QC
That depends on your point of view. I made a post a while ago questioning Cloutier's coaching ability in terms of the technical aspects of the game. According to Botchford, Cloutier is highly regarded. And I can believe that. Like Malhotra, there are some guys who just seems to connect with people. Cloutier was known as a popular teammate. I can believe that he connects well with our prospects.

Straight up, in terms of accomplishments and pedigree, it makes no sense that he is directing Ian Clarke. But stepping back a bit, it depends on what the job entails. Washington named Mitch Korn director basically because Korn wanted to retire. Clouter is given the title because he wants to free up his schedule essentially. But besides the day to day work which Clark will be taking up, what has changed? The previous regime hired Cloutier to work with the team's goaltending prospects as well as to do a bit of scouting. Previously, Linden entrusted Cloutier to basically hire Melanson's replacement and has input in terms of scouting goalies. Cloutier and Sanford are Clark's proteges. I can't see Cloutier forcing Clark to coach a certain way. Rather, I see Cloutier giving Clark free reign to coach as he see fits. But in reality, there should be unity in thought/philosophy in terms of the goaltending coaches.

According to Botchford
Cloutier's ideas on a goaltending coach's duties extend beyond just coaching the goalies. They also support the scouting staff. I can't say I disagree with this and I bet Cloutier was instrumental in getting Clark back into the fold. Like scouting, you can be a super scout and not be a good scouting director. Like I said before, the "promotion" is really more or less keeping Cloutier in the fold which to me is a good thing.

Whats important is that you have found a way to rationalize a benning decision, even though it originally seemed at odds with your prior posts. Good for you.
 

black ace

Registered User
Jul 4, 2006
384
10
Vancouver
Ian Clark is at least a top 10 goalie coach. Adding him to help out with our young group of goalies is a huge move.
 

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