Desjardins enjoys chance to coach against Johnston

Saturday’s meeting between the Vancouver and Pittsburgh Penguins was more than just another game to Willie Desjardins.
The game offered Desjardins a chance to coach against his “real good friend” Mike Johnston after they both took several decades to become NHL head coaches. Desjardins and Johnston, both 57 and rookie NHL bench bosses, initially coached together in the mid-to-late 1980s at the University of Calgary under the guidance of George Kingston. From there, they wound their way to the NHL.
“He’s super-competitive and, for both of us, it was a long time to coach at this level,” said Desjardins. “So whenever we get a chance to coach at this level, I think it’s significant.”
Desjardins began his coaching career at the U of C while completing a master’s degree in social work. He then moved on to the Seibu Bears in Japan, briefly coached the Saskatoon Blades in the WHL as a mid-season replacement, and served as an assistant with the Canadian men’s national team under Johnston before moving to the Medicine Hat Tigers.
Serving as both general manager and coach over the years, Desjardins guided the Tigers to a pair of WHL titles as well as a Memorial Cup final berth before moving to the Dallas Stars organization, where he spent two seasons as an assistant with the NHL club and two more as head coach of their Texas farm club. After guiding Texas to the AHL championship last season, and earning coach of the year honours in the process, he took on his first NHL head coaching position with the Canucks.
Johnston, a Dartmouth, N.S., native, initially served as a head coach at the Augustana University College in Alberta and then worked with Desjardins as a U of C assistant while completing a master’s in coaching science. After leaving the U of C, Johnston took the helm at the University of New Brunswick, served as general manager and coach with the Canadian men’s national team, and then held assistant and associate positions with the Canucks and Los Angeles Kings before becoming GM and coach of the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks – a team he built into a powerhouse.
Along the way, both Desjardins and Johnston also coached Canadian squads in a number of junior and senior world championships. Ironically, Johnston received his first head coaching job last summer when Desjardins rejected an offer from the Penguins and joined the Canucks instead.
So did Desjardins put in a good word for Johnston with the Pens?
“No, he did everything on his own,” said Desjardins with a chuckle. “He’s good and he’s real capable.”

Dorsett's game against former Rangers club memorable even before face-off

Things just keep getting better for Derek Dorsett in his first season with the Vancouver Canucks.
Dorsett’s 2014-15 NHL campaign improved even before he faced his former New York Rangers team Saturday at Rogers Arena. A day earlier, he became a father for the first time as his wife gave birth to a baby boy, Dylan.
“(She) got pregnant when we were playing in New York, and it just so happens that (she) gave birth when New York is in town,” he said after the Canucks morning skate in advance of the game against the Rangers.
The Canucks acquired Dorsett, a 27-year-old Kindersley, Sask., native, in a June trade which sent a 2014 third-round draft choice to the Rangers. He was scheduled to help Vancouver assistant coach Doug Lidster with some pre-scouting Friday, but plans quickly changed.
“I got to the rink in the morning (for practice) and I was just getting undressed, and my wife called and said it was time to get to the hospital,” Dorsett recalled. “So I ran back home and we (welcomed) our baby in the afternoon. At about 3:30, we brought him into the world. I went back to hospital (later) and my wife was feeding him around midnight and I got her into bed and I then I went back home, got home around 1 (a.m.) and got a good night’s sleep.”
Along with other off-season acquisitions, Dorsett has helped Canucks fans sleep better as he and the team have enjoyed a strong start to the season following the disastrous one-season tenure of former coach John Tortorella, when they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008. Heading into Saturday’s contest, Dorsett had already exceeded the eight points that he mustered in 51 games with the Rangers last season.
The fourth-liner is on pace for a career high 28 points – and almost halfway there.
“It’s worked out for both sides,” he said. “I didn’t get as much playing time over there. We talked it out and I ended up moving. It’s part of the business that we’re in. I’m happy to be a Canuck now, and I really enjoyed my time as a Ranger.”
Dorsett was dealt to New York in 2012-13 from his first NHL club, the Columbus Blue Jackets, who drafted him in the seventh round (189th overall) after he excelled under current Canucks coach Willie Desjardins with the Medicine Hat Tigers.
“I had him in junior for three years,” said Dorsett. “So being familiar with the coach, obviously, has helped.”
The uber-pest helped the Tigers win a WHL championship and reach the Memorial Cup final, where they lost to the host Vancouver Giants in 2007. He was denied a Stanley Cup championship last season with the Rangers as they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in the finals. Although he is gone from the Rangers, he still cherishes the finals berth.
“It was a great accomplishment and, obviously, we fell up a little short, but it was a lot of fun,” he said.
According to Canucks captain Henrik Sedin, the winger, and other Vancouver newcomers, are also helping to create a more enjoyable atmosphere in Vancouver just by enabling Desjardins to roll four lines consistently. Although Desjardins juggled his forward trios Saturday for the first time this season, he has stuck to his plan of giving each line a fair share of ice time, and that makes a difference, said Sedin.
“(The atmosphere) was good last year, too,” he said. “We were in a good spot around this time as well, but I think everyone feels important to the team. You have to have the so called third or fourth-liners. They get a chance, each and every night, to make a difference and that’s really good, I think, for a team to have.
“It means, when you come in, you have a good feeling. If you didn’t get a chance to contribute or make a difference, I think it’s tough. But if you come in every day for a practice or a game and you feel that you have a chance to do something good for the team, it’s going to make you work harder.”
That situation also eases the burden on Vancouver’s star players, because everyone feeds of the success of the so called lesser lights.
“Dors and Bo (Horvat) and Jannik (Hansen) and (Shawn) Matthias, they’ve all been great,” said Sedin. “That’s what we need as a team to be successful.”