Rick Tocchet barely had a chance to get accustomed to the Pacific time zone when the newly hired Canucks coach wondered what exactly he had just gotten himself into in late January 2023.
Four days and two games into his tenure, Tocchet recalled the feeling of dread he experienced standing on a Vancouver street corner at 3 a.m. after the team returned home from Seattle following a 6-1 loss, in which the coach referred to the Canucks being “soft.”
“I felt like I got hit by a bus,” Tocchet told The Associated Press this week. “And actually, my assistant coach, Sergei Gonchar, pulled me aside and said, `Listen, we just got here. You just got to relax.’”
The memory stands as a moment of validation for Tocchet, who at the time was second-guessing his decision to leave what he called “a nice comfy job” in broadcasting to take on a Canucks team on its third coach in three seasons.
Third person dies after a Connecticut fire that also killed a baby and has been labeled a crime
Int'l photo festival brings fusion of tradition and modernity to China town
Germany's Scholz calls for fair competition and warns against dumping during China visit
China issues stamps featuring UNESCO site Pingyao ancient city
Florida law discriminates against Chinese nationals trying to buy homes, attorneys argue
Shaolin Kung Fu competition enthralls martial arts enthusiasts in Oceania
Chinese judoka Guo collects bronze on opening day of Hangzhou Asiad
30 days to go, anticipation for impending Hangzhou Asian Games runs high across Asia
Action movie The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon stays atop China's box office chart
Debate over tight end value hovers over Brock Bowers' draft prospects
Ice lantern festival kicks off in Yanqing