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Former Capitals forward Yogi Svejkovsky promoted to assistant coach of Vancouver Canucks.

The Vancouver Canucks are adding to head coach Rick Tocchet’s staff with the addition of another former Washington Capitals forward.

Jaroslav “Yogi” Svejkovsky has been promoted to assistant coach of the team after spending the previous two seasons as a skills coach with the club. The former first-round draft choice by Washington in 1996 has been an assistant in the WHL before but this will be his first time taking up the duties at the pro level.

Svejkovsky and Tocchet briefly crossed paths while members of the Capitals during the 1996-97 NHL season. Washington acquired Tocchet from the Boston Bruins toward the end of Svejkovsky’s rookie campaign in North America.

“Since I arrived in Vancouver, I have been very impressed with Yogi’s work ethic and willingness to do anything and everything to help us become a better team,” Tocchet said in the team’s press release.

The Czech native recorded 42 points (23g, 19a) in 113 total NHL games for the Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning. Yogi memorably scored four goals in the Capitals’ final game of the 1996-97 season — an 8-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.

Svejkovsky also received the 1996-97 Dudley (Red) Garrett Memorial Award as AHL rookie of the year after posting 66 points (38g, 28a) in 54 games for the Portland Pirates.

Yogi spent 12 years with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants as an assistant and skills coach before transitioning full-time to the Delta Hockey Academy in 2020 where he served as head coach for their U17 prep team. From there he was hired by the Abbotsford Canucks ahead of the 2021-22 season and has worked with Canucks players in both the NHL and AHL since then.

Along with the news of Svejovsky’s hiring, the Canucks revealed that franchise legends Daniel and Henrik Sedin will “be more involved in the day-to-day coaching activities in both Vancouver and Abbotsford.”

The Hall of Fame siblings retired in 2018 after playing 17 seasons for the Canucks. They were brought into the Vancouver organization as members of the hockey operations department in 2021 before moving to a more on-ice role as player development coaches the next year.