Canucks name Dan Cloutier as goaltending coach; Melanson now goalie coach, player dev.

It was announced today that the Vancouver Canucks have promoted Dan Cloutier to goaltending coach with the big club, while Rollie Melanson moves to goaltending coach, player development.

The announcement isn’t surprising as it had long been rumoured that Melanson was looking for a role on the east coast, and Cloutier was the logical successor to the role with the Canucks.

This move accomplishes both of those with the two coaches essentially switching roles.

Dan Cloutier was hired in September 2012 as a goaltending consultant, to work with Canucks prospects, with then AHL affiliate Chicago Wolves. He has continued that role since and by all reports has done extremely well. Look no further than Jacob Markstrom, widely regarded as the best goaltending prospect for years, Markstrom was starting to look like a bust when he was acquired from the Florida Panthers. He was placed on waivers to start the 2014-15 season, and hoped to rebound.

With the help of Dan Cloutier, Markstrom rebound and rebuilt his game to the point where he appears to be back on track of being an NHL goaltender. Adding Cloutier to the Canucks coaching staff will help to foster this relationship and hopefully will the allow continued development of Markstrom. 

Cloutier has been developing as a coach for the past four years, and looks poised to make the next step.

The huge part and slightly unexpected of today’s news, is that Melanson will be staying within the organization to work with the Canucks goaltending prospects. As mentioned, it had long been rumoured and reported that Melanson was looking to move out east for personal reasons. By having him handle the prospects in Utica, he will still have a large part in their development. Thatcher Demko and Michael Garteig are turning pro this summer, so having Melanson there to help with their transition is huge news.

Melanson has a proven track record with the goaltenders in the organization, so given the circumstances, keeping him within the organization in any capacity should be viewed as a win

It is also mentioned that he will help Canucks goaltending prospects in College and junior ranks, which at this time, the Canucks don’t have any. I would suspect that changes this draft.

This is the best case scenario for the Canucks, as they still keep Melanson in the fold and allows Demko and Garteig the chance to work under his guidance. While allowing Cloutier move into the role that he has been working towards.