Daren Hermiston and Richard Seeley, the Canucks' new Director of Player Development and Abbotsford Canucks GM respectively, will bring a fresh perspective to the organization as those familiar with BC.
For the most part, the Vancouver Canucks’ changes to their management team have been relatively familiar. Ryan Johnson, Daniel and Henrik Sedin, and Manny Malhotra have all spent a fair duration with the Canucks organization both in other roles as well as players. Their two recent hires, Director of Players Personnel Daren Hermison and Vancouver Assistant and Abbotsford Canucks GM Richard Seeley, come from outside the organization and will bring a fresh, new perspective to the team.
At the heart of their journeys to Vancouver, however, there’s familiarity.
Hermiston, a former player-agent, was born and raised in Kamloops and played out the bulk of his hockey career in BC. The BCHL-alum studied business at Thompson Rivers University and took on many BC-based clients as an agent including Abbotsford forward Arshdeep Bains.
Independent from the career-perspective is the fact that the Canucks are the organization Hermiston grew up with — something that ultimately led him to taking on his new role.
“I’m thrilled for the opportunity. It’s why I made this decision, which was not an easy decision. I’m thrilled with it being this city and this organization because it is, without a doubt, the organization I grew up idolizing when I was a kid,” he told CFJC Today in an interview.
“I watched a lot of games with my father as a kid, I paid very close attention during the 2011 run, just from an age perspective. I can remember those times very thoroughly,” he added. “I’m thrilled for the opportunity and I’m thrilled for the prospect of helping this organization get back to what made it great.”
A similar story goes for Seeley, who is also from BC, having come from Powell River up north. The former Ontario Reign General Manager didn’t play in BC for long during his hockey career, having played with the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Prince Albert Raiders while in the WHL before making the jump to the AHL. At the end of the day, however, all roads have seemed to lead home for the Canucks fan-raised Seeley.
“They were a huge part of growing up for me,” he told Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet. “I remember going to the old Coliseum at the PNE. To be honest, like it was yesterday, I can still see in my head Jeff Brown hitting Pavel Bure for a stretch pass through the Calgary D and going forehead-backhand on Mike Vernon. That ‘94 playoff run... you understand the significance and how important the Canucks are to, obviously the City of Vancouver, but the province as a whole. I grew up a Canucks fan, for sure.”
“I can finally have my son wear the Canucks jersey he would get at Christmas every year from his grandfather, and not give him a hard time,” he added.
Apr 14, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Fin the mascot and the Vancouver Canucks celebrate their victory against the Los Angeles Kings at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn ImagesThe biggest component to these hires, of course, is Hermiston and Seeley’s commitment to the culture and process that the Canucks’ GM and co-Presidents have emphasized since their introductory press conference.
“To do this as fast as possible, we’ve got to be very careful and go slow. I think that’s the fastest way to get to where we want to be,” co-President Henrik Sedin said at the time. “We’ve got the full support from ownership. They are putting in and giving us all the resources to whatever we want and need to make this as fast as possible, but to not do it too fast. So that means whatever helps us do this with the right timing, they’re going to support.”
“There’s a lot of work to do, but there’s a lot of great people involved,” the Canucks AGM said. I think that’s a big portion of making it successful here — having some patience, doing things the right way, trying to look at all aspects.”
The addition of Hermiston and Seeley brings two BC-products back to Vancouver in hockey operations roles. With more hires to be made, including new assistant coaches and a head coach in Abbotsford, more BC-based gems could find themselves returning to Vancouver to help create a new culture for the Canucks.
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