Vancouver, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks General Manager Ryan Johnson announced today that the club has named Richard Seeley General Manager of the Abbotsford Canucks and Assistant General Manager of the Vancouver Canucks.
“Rich is someone I have admired and respected for a long time, after watching him run the Kings AHL team in Ontario,” said Johnson. “Besides knowing the game of hockey inside and out, he is a great communicator, goes to work every day with an open mind and sets his players up for success by creating an environment that tries to eliminate any excuse that would stop them from making progress. Rich understands our values and vision, and I believe his mindset and mentality will fit in nicely with what we are trying to establish with our organization in both Abbotsford and Vancouver.”
Seeley spent the past eight seasons as the General Manager of the Ontario Reign (AHL). Last year was a historic season for the Reign who captured the Pacific Division regular season title, finishing with a franchise-best 47-20-3-2 record and 99 points. In addition to setting records in regular season wins (47) and points (99), Ontario recorded franchise-highs in winning percentage (0.688), home wins (26) and longest point streak (11 games).
Prior to joining the Reign, Seeley spent three years as Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations of the ECHL's Manchester Monarchs. With Manchester, he compiled a record of 117-73-26 and qualified for the Kelly Cup Playoffs in his three seasons. Seeley's Monarchs went 3-3 in the postseason, including a run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2017.
Seeley was originally selected by the LA Kings in the sixth round of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. The Powell River, BC native, appeared in 340 games in the Kings system and served as captain of the AHL's Manchester Monarchs during the 2003.04 and 2005.06 seasons.
