Hiring of Rachel Doerrie represents the beginning of a new age in the Vancouver Canucks’ front office
2 years ago
Yesterday, the Vancouver Canucks made their first big hiring for the Hockey Ops Department since assistant GM Derek Clancey back in December, and even though it wasn’t a general manager, the wait was more than worth it.
Yesterday the Canucks hired Rachel Doerrie as an analyst in their Hockey Analytics Department, where she’ll be joining the likes of Aiden Fox, Ryan Biech and Miles Hoaken on a growing roster of brilliant hockey minds. The 25-year-old Doerrie comes to Vancouver with a hefty resume, including two seasons working as an analyst in the New Jersey Devils organization and two and a half years as the Director of Advanced Performance for the York University hockey program in Toronto, as well as jobs with Hockey Canada and the Sudbury Wolves.
According to The Athletic’s Thomas Drance, the Canucks were one of a number of teams vying for Doerrie’s services, but she chose Vancouver out of that mix. Doerrie herself confirmed that fact on her show, The Staff and Graph Podcast, in her final appearance yesterday announcing the move.
“I’ll be pretty honest: I’ve wanted to work for the Canucks for a long time,” Doerrie said.
“I was not just going to accept any hockey job… I chose Vancouver because I think that the direction that the franchise is going is off the charts fantastic, and I’m so excited to be a part of it.”
For anyone who’s been consuming hockey media over the last few years, Doerrie is likely not a stranger to you. Along with co-hosting Staff and Graph since 2019, she’s had her work featured on outlets like The Hockey News, EP Rinkside and even right here on Daily Faceoff.
Doerrie’s also been incredibly active on Twitter during that span, and while a number of her past tweets have since disappeared — a very common practice by any person joining a pro sports organization — Doerrie never shied away from giving her opinion on the Canucks’ operations over the years.
Doerrie made appearances on a number of local hockey programs to discuss the Canucks in recent years, including Canucks Conversation, Point Shot Hockey, and The Broadscast, and always had an opinion to offer on where the team could go if the right people were calling the shots.
Starting today, she’ll be one of those decision-makers, and the franchise is better off for it.
Ever since being hired as President of Hockey Ops by the Canucks in December, Jim Rutherford has made it no secret how much he values hiring people from different walks of life, with different ideas and different backgrounds. Doerrie undoubtedly fits that mold, having taken a long detour between NHL jobs since leaving the Devils in April 2019.
“There was a long, long time where I thought I was not going to get a chance to work for an NHL team again after what happened in New Jersey,” Doerrie said yesterday on Staff and Graph. “To have [Rutherford] believe in me, I can’t even put it into words what it means.”
Doerrie’s career path has been a crazy one, but her dedication to the sport and her goal of working her way back into an NHL front office has never wavered. The type of drive and commitment she’ll bring to the Canucks’ hockey ops instantly puts the team on the cutting edge of roster and franchise construction.
If Doerrie is the metaphorical sign of things and hirings to come from Rutherford and the Canucks, the team is in increasingly good hands. Putting together a collaborative front office that brings different strengths and skills to the table from across the sporting landscape is so valuable in today’s NHL, and for the Canucks it’ll bring a breath of fresh air that the franchise hasn’t seen in a very long time.
And if Rachel Doerrie has her way, this will mark the start of something even bigger.
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