The Vancouver Canucks made some front office moves on Thursday, naming Stan Smyl their new Director, Collegiate Scouting and adding Dave Gagner as their new Director, Player Development.
"The expansion of Stan's role and the addition of Dave to our staff are a significant step in our continued efforts to enhance the way we develop and evaluate young players," explained general manager Mike Gillis.
"In today's NHL, evaluating players and supporting their growth as young professionals is imperative to a club's success," said Gillis.
All of Smyl's professional hockey career has been in Canucks organization. He spent 13 seasons as a player and moved on to a coaching role before taking his current position.
The 50-year-old will oversee scouting and evaluation the collegiate ranks in Canada and the USA.
Gagner joins the Canucks from the OHL's London Knights where he spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach. The Canucks have made him responsible for helping their young player's progress as professionals.
Gagner played 946 career NHL regular season games, scoring 318 goals and adding 401 assists.
