VANCOUVER — For a guy who is still younger than most coaches just starting out in professional hockey, Jeremy Colliton has been through a lot.
The former Chicago Blackhawks’ head coach, left to answer publicly all the difficult questions about the organization’s disgraceful handling of the 2010 sexual assault by former video coach Brad Aldrich on prospect Kyle Beach, was fired in November when what was left of management emerged from hiding after the team’s 1-9-2 start.
Colliton’s first day of his new job was Monday when the Vancouver Canucks’ summer development camp opened at the University of B.C.
On July 1, general manager Patrik Allvin, who spoke with Colliton over a period of months, named the 37-year-old the Canucks’ minor-league coach in Abbotsford.
“I feel good about moving on and am excited about this opportunity,” Colliton said after Day 1. “But you should take (getting fired) personally, right? Taking a step back, like, it was hard (in Chicago). It was a hard situation. There were a lot of challenges every year, right from Day 1 until the end. It was a lot.
“But in saying that, I feel like I developed a lot from going through it. You develop a lot more from adversity than you do when things are going smooth. And we had a lot of that, so I feel like I’m quite prepared for the next thing.”
The former Prince Albert Raiders junior star, who spent most of his eight seasons as a pro playing for the New York Islanders’ farm team, coached for just over a year in the American League before the Blackhawks fast-tracked him to the NHL in 2018 to take over from Joel Quenneville.
He was an NHL head coach at age 33 – younger than some of the players on the aging team he inherited.
Colliton said there were other coaching opportunities he could have pursued but chose to move back to the AHL with the Canucks.
“I was willing to wait and just spend time with my family,” he said. “I wanted to make sure that it was the right thing. It wasn’t so much the position as the people and feeling that they really believed in me, and I trust that I can make an impact here. Talking to Patrik, particularly, about his long-term vision for the Canucks, that was really interesting. It felt like a good fit.”
It should be a better fit, at least.
TWO POINT OH, THANK GOODNESS
New Canucks draft pick Elias Pettersson, call him 2.0 because the original Elias Pettersson already plays in Vancouver, wants the English-language pronunciation of his first name to be used in North America. So, that’s Ely-us, not Illy-us, which will help everyone from confusing them if the Petterssons end up in the same lineup.
“My friends call me EP,” he said.
Yeah, that’s probably not going to work with the Canucks. But there’s no mistaking the Petterssons as players. The new one, who appears bigger than his draft listing of six-foot-two and 185 pounds, is a physical defenceman who still skates well and can handle the puck. Just 18 years old and three days removed from his selection at No. 80, Pettersson’s competitiveness was noticeable among the 37 players at development camp.
“I’m trying to be tough and play hard out there,” he explained. “I think that’s one of my strengths also in the game.
“Last year, I was playing with in the SHL with the big guys. My coach told me I need to be hard out there. I learned so much last year. . . stand up for myself and be tough out there.”
Pettersson is under contract with Orebro of the Swedish Hockey League for the next two seasons and there is an option to move to North American for the 2024-25 campaign.
He said he has not spoken with the other Elias, aka Petey, but did respond to the Canucks scoring star’s social-media meme of two Spidermen facing each other.
“I have seen it so much,” 2.0 explained. “I said thank you. It was fun.”
BOBBY ORR? WHO’S THAT?
Top draft pick Jonathan Lekkerimaki, the goal-scoring winger selected 15th on Thursday night, found his first Canucks’ jersey with a No. 4 on it. He offered no response when the name Bobby Orr was mentioned to him by a reporter.
Lekkerimaki wears No. 88 for Djurgardens in Sweden, where he’ll be returning under contract next season despite the Vancouver Giants having claimed his junior rights in the Canadian Hockey League import draft.
His coaches at camp include Swedish legends and newly-elected Hockey Hall-of-Famers Daniel and Henrik Sedin, whom Lekkerimaki met on Sunday.
“Special,” he said. “Very special.”
STANDOUT
The Swede who stood out the most on the opening day of development camp was forward Linus Karlsson, which was understandable.
Many of the prospects in Vancouver, including 13 non-drafted invitees, are attempting to start their journeys in professional hockey. Karlsson, 22, has spent the last four seasons in professional hockey and last year was named rookie of the year in the SHL after scoring an impressive 26 goals and 46 points in 52 games for Skelleftea.
A 2018 third-round pick of the San Jose Sharks, Karlsson was traded to the Canucks in 2019 in exchange for Jonathan Dahlen. Karlsson is considerably stronger and faster now, according to Canucks staff, and the team signed him in May to a two-way NHL contract that will likely have the winger playing in Abbotsford next season.
“It hasn’t been easy at all,” Karlsson told reporters, displaying maturity off the ice as well as on it. “I played in the Swedish second league for, like, three years. My last year was in the highest league. So it’s been a tough way, but I’m proud of that way. I still have a bit to go. I want to play in the NHL. I want to work on the same things. . . and try to do everything better.”
No one suggests Karlsson will turn out to be the best NHLer from this batch of prospects, but he may be the nearest to playing in Vancouver.
