The Abbotsford Canucks have looked to a division rival for a new general manager.
The club announced the hiring of longtime Ontario Reign general manager Richard Seeley as both the Abbotsford general manager and an assistant manager for the Vancouver Canucks.
The team shared the news on Thursday (June 11) late-afternoon and Seeley becomes the second general manager in team history.
The 47-year-old Powell River product has spent the last eight seasons as the Reign’s general manager and this past season helped that team win the Pacific Division. Ontario posted a franchise-best record of 47-20-3-2. Ontario has made the playoffs for six consecutive seasons and advanced to the Pacific Division final round in 2024. Ontario swept Abbotsford in that season’s division semifinal round. The team won three playoff series’ under Seeley.
“Rich is someone I have admired and respected for a long time, after watching him run the Kings AHL team in Ontario,” stated Vancouver Canucks general manager Ryan 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.”
Prior to his time in Ontario, Seeley spent three seasons as the head coach and director of hockey operations for the ECHL’s Manchester Monarchs. That team posted a record of 117-73-26 over those three seasons and qualified for the playoffs every year. The team advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2017.
Seeley played junior hockey for his hometown Powell River club starting back in 1995-96 and then had stints in the WHL with the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Prince Albert Raiders. He scored a career-high of 58 points with the Raiders in 1998-99. He served as team captain in his final year with Prince Albert.
He was then drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the sixth round (137th overall) of the 1997 NHL Draft. Seeley went on to play 399 games in the AHL with the Lowell Lock Monsters, Manchester Monarchs, Bridgeport Sound Tigers and Norfolk Admirals. He was a captain in both Manchester and Bridgeport. Seeley scored an AHL career-high 18 points and recorded 127 penalty minutes with Manchester in 2002-03.
Seeley then moved to Europe and played professionally in Germany, Austria, Croatia and Ireland before moving into the hockey operations field following his retirement in 2011.
The next big item on Seeley’s to-do list is to hire a head coach. The Canucks also will have a busy few weeks with the NHL Draft occurring later this month in Buffalo. Vancouver has four picks in the top-50 this year, including the third overall selection.