It’s no secret that Rick Tocchet was very well-liked by his former Vancouver Canucks players. Captain Quinn Hughes has spoken at length about the impact Tocchet has had on his growth as a player. One record that will also be coming to a close following Tocchet’s departure is his time as Conor Garland’s coach.
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Tocchet coached the Arizona Coyotes from 2017 to 2021, having been let go of by the team at the end of the 2020–21 season. The same year Tocchet was dismissed was the same year that Garland, who was drafted 123rd overall by the Coyotes in 2015, was traded to the Canucks alongside Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Prior to his move, Garland spent all three of his NHL seasons under Tocchet’s coaching.
“I had Rick as a rookie in Arizona, missed him for a year, and then he came back and joined me in Vancouver again at a different stage in my life and career,” Garland told NHL Network on Wednesday. “I was very fortunate to have him. I was a young player, I really didn’t understand the details of the game and what it took to win. I was more just relying on scoring and producing points, and he taught me the other side of the game and really filled out the rest of my game, and I’ll be forever grateful for that.”
With their time in both Arizona and Vancouver combined, Garland has spent 363 games being coached by Tocchet — around six seasons in total. Having spent so much time together, Garland noted that he views Tocchet more like a friend. “It’s weird to say that he’s a coach. To me, I kind of look at him as another father-figure.
“Whether he wins another 10 more Jack Adams or doesn’t win another game, those guys’ll go through a wall for him, he’s that type of coach, and any team will be lucky to have him.”
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