BUILDING BLUE - CDC 14

We have officially hit the second half of the 2024-25 season and Vancouver Canucks development coaches Mike Komisarek and Mikael Samuelsson are in town for meetings to discuss the prospects’ development and evaluate what the organization can do to best support these young players.

The group is also assembled to begin planning this summer’s development camp and have a face-to-face check-in with Patrik Allvin and Jim Rutheford about the development in their prospect pool.

Allvin and Rutherford have Samuelsson and Komisarek travelling all around the world in the past six months. From development camp to Örebro, Sweden – these two have been there for Canucks’ prospects to lean on.

A focus for the two development coaches in the first half of the season is building relationships with the new draft class. The Canucks selected Melvin Fernström, Riley Patterson, Anthony Romani, Parker Alcos, and Basile Sansonnens in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft and the coaches want to make a strong impression with the teenagers.

Question: Relationships are something you two are always talking about. How did you begin to develop that with a new draft class?

Mike Komisarek: “Starting at development camp, having a smaller, more intimate camp allowed more opportunities to build those bonds, relationships, and that trust. Trust is a core piece for us. And then going into the season, it's not a blanket approach to everyone. You have different situations for everyone. Some guys are a little bit more outgoing; some guys are quieter and keep to themselves. Working with the different personalities and players, you find those little specifics that help these kids focus on improvement. It's a lot of phone calls and texts. We always talk as a group about not getting caught up in the short term, whether it's a bad shift, a bad game, a tough weekend, we're thinking long term.”

“Ultimately, we are trying to get these young players to Abbotsford and Vancouver and eventually on a Stanley Cup-winning team. The things we do with the kids right after they are drafted are like little drops of water in the grand scheme of things. It’s about building trust in the first few months of meeting them.”

Q: Almost all the prospects mention the lunches and meetings being the thing they enjoy most about working with you two. How do you approach a meeting with a prospect?

Komisarek: “I’ve learned from Sammy, you go into these meetings with points, a message, and some nuggets that a kid could walk away with and feel good about themselves. We want them to know that we’re there for them, we support them and have resources for them. Sammy has also taught me about the listening component. In a lot of these meetings, you listen more and speak less to just see where a kid is at.”

Mikael Samuelsson: “They have to figure some things out by themselves. We’re not going to tell them everything we know but we are going to steer them in the right direction.”

Q: What did you think of Tom Willander’s performance at the World Junior Championships?

Samuelsson: “I spoke with Tom, and first of all, it's a fine line because it is such a quick tournament. But I told him that obviously, this is not the ending that you wanted, but hopefully, you can feel proud about your tournament. And yeah, he should be proud, he played a good game.”

“One thing I think all three players realized was how hard it is to win. Learning how hard it is to win is a good thing to be able to realize at an early age. For a tournament like the World Juniors, we want them to learn and take away good things from such a short tournament.”

Q: All these prospects want to play pro hockey and the step from junior to pro is such a big jump, how do you try and help the prospects prepare for the day they move into pro hockey?

Komisarek: “You start with habits. We talk about it all the time, but habits make you a pro. These kids are all smart. They follow the big club, and they have questions about everything. You try to redirect their attention and focus on the details that matter. You want them to know about the things that will give them success at the pro level.”

Samuelsson: “It sounds so cheesy, but habits and consistency are so impactful. You have a foundation of skill, but the habits and consistency are what you have to build on to become a pro. Talent alone can get you drafted but it is about getting your intensity to another level and being consistent with it.”

Komisarek: “Yeah, you want to work backwards from the results. Check with a player how their week of practice went, how was their execution in drills that week, how was their intensity level in the gym – these types of questions. These are tangible things that you can control. If you can gain control of that, results will come.

“At the end of the day, we get excited when these kids are coachable or eager to learn and look at their game and development in an honest way. It takes a certain level of confidence and vulnerability to expose yourself to your weaknesses and from there, we can improve on them.”

Samuelsson: “Exactly that. You must be brave to have fun with your vulnerability but that is where we see the magic happen.”

Q: You two are two and a half years into being development coaches with the Canucks, what have been some of the most important things that you have learned about this job?

Komisarek: “You carry around a lot of the same ideas that you did when you were a player, right? So, I think having an openness to let in what you don't know. For example, I think that's where our [Samuelsson and my] relationship complement each other. We have different skill sets, and different personalities, and are different people, but having an openness to understanding that you don't have all the answers. That's where we get on these Zoom calls and have Cammi Granato, Ryan Johnson, Scott Young, Alex Trinca and all these bright people on a call and dissect challenges, different situations, and different perspective ideas.

“We've all been around the game for 30-35 years, maybe a little bit more for Sammy because he is a little bit older, but I think you're constantly evolving. That’s what we preach to our players. We’re trying to live it and develop [ourselves] too. The best thing is that we have a wealth of knowledge within our development group, and we are trying to tap into that by being around or communicating with these folks every day, it's just very energizing to everyone.”

Samuelsson: “When I started, I was so eager to get things done quickly. So, I will say, like, patience comes into place. I'm eager. I always want to see progress, and I still do, but I know now that we need to be patient with these young athletes, both on and off the ice, probably more so off the ice. And actually, sometimes we have to hold them back too. That's one thing. I learned to not lean into details too much in the beginning. We zoom out and take a look at an overhead perspective. I’ve learned to take a step back and not be in their face too much. It’s going to be such a roller coaster, so that’s why we zoom out. If I have a message to deliver, I’ve learned to be patient to deliver the right point.”

As the second half of the year goes along, Samuelsson and Komisarek will continue to build their relationships with the Canucks’ draft picks and support the young players as they develop through important years of their budding careers.

Insider Extra: Jonathan Lekkerimäki’s work with Mikael Samuelsson

Jonathan Lekkerimäki is only 20 years old but is now up to 10 games in his NHL career. Samuelsson has been impressed with Lekkerimäki’s ability to adjust to the NHL and looks back on the past couple of years when the two Swedes worked with him on improving his game so that he could be successful in the NHL.

Samuelsson knew that Lekkerimäki was highly motivated to get to the NHL and spent a lot of time building a solid relationship so that he could earn Lekkerimäki’s trust.

When Samuelsson felt he earned that trust, it became time to challenge Lekkerimäki to get the best out of him.

“We talked a lot, I mean, off the ice and on the ice too. Sometimes he's hard, but he's right too. I learned a lot from him,” said Lekkerimäki.

“I’ve been hard on him,” said Samuelsson. “I remember telling him that I wanted his feedback too and I asked him for two good things about me and give me a couple of things to work on. One of the things he mentioned was that I am never satisfied. He told me, ‘No matter what I do, you’re never satisfied’ and I’m not going to defend against that because that’s me as a person. I told him that he put a high standard on himself and that’s what we’re aiming for."

Samuelsson said he challenges all the prospects he works with but recognizes that he needs to gauge the temperature and know where they are at and what they need that day. Sometimes he talks to a player about what they are doing right and sometimes he tries to light a fire in them too.

Lekkerimäki spoke highly of Samuelsson and the work they did together in Sweden and how that relationship is still strong even with Lekkerimäki now in the NHL.

“He played a lot of games here in the NHL, so I want to take everything [I can] and learn from him,” said Lekkerimäki of Samuelsson. “He’s a really good person.”