Abbotsford Canucks Announce Additions to Development Staff

Abbotsford, B.C. – Abbotsford Canucks General Manager Ryan Johnson has announced that the club has hired Mackenzie Braid as Skating Coach and Yogi Švejkovský as Skills Coach for the team’s upcoming inaugural season.

Braid, 28, most recently served as a skating coach for the Utica Comets, working alongside several Vancouver Canucks prospects. Prior to beginning his coaching career, he played two professional seasons on defence split between the ECHL’s Brampton Beast and the Orlando Solar Bears.

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Braid also appeared in 133 OHL games, collecting 21 points (6-15-21) with the Barrie Colts, Soo Greyhounds, Windsor Spitfires, and Sudbury Wolves. His mother, Dawn Braid, became the first full-time female coach in NHL history when she was hired as the skating coach for the Arizona Coyotes in 2016.

Švejkovský, 44, joins the Canucks from the Delta Hockey Academy where he most recently served as Head Coach for the U17 Prep team. He was previously the skills coach for the Vancouver Giants in the WHL from 2006-2018 and served as Director of Hockey Operations for Seafair Minor Hockey Association from 2009-2014.

A native of Tabor, Czech Republic, Švejkovský recorded 42 points (23-19-42) in 113 career NHL games with the Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning and captured the Dudley “Red” Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL’s most outstanding rookie during the 1996.97 season. Švejkovský was originally drafted in the first round, 17th overall, by the Washington Capitals in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft