There is now even more local flavour with the Vancouver Giants.
The Western Hockey League (WHL) club has announced Tsawwassen’s Brent Seabrook has joined the team as a volunteer/interim coach. He will join Keith McCambridge behind the bench while head coach Michael Dyck is away at the upcoming World Junior Hockey Championships with Team Canada.
Seabrook made his debut behind the Giants bench in Wednesday’s game at Kelowna.
The Giants train out of the Ladner Leisure Centre where Seabrook grew up playing with the South Delta Minor Hockey Association and also enjoyed a memorable season as a 15-year-old playing junior “B” for the Delta Ice Hawks. That year he led the PJHL in playoff scoring as the Ice Hawks won their first-ever championship. He went on to play in the WHL with the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
“I’m grateful to the Vancouver Giants ownership, management staff, and the Tampa Bay Lightning for allowing me this opportunity to give back to the game and to help out while Michael Dyck goes for gold,” said the 36-year-old Seabrook, who is on the Lightning’s long-term injured reserve list and will formally retire when his contract expires after the 2023/24 NHL season. “I’m looking forward to being part of the great culture the Giants have created and I can’t wait to get started.”
Seabrook is a veteran of 1,114 career NHL regular season games, and an additional 123 playoff games – all with the Chicago Blackhawks. During that time he registered 103 goals and 361 assists for 464 points.
He added 20 goals and 39 assists for 59 points in the playoffs. The long-time alternate captain played an integral role in leading the Blackhawks to Stanley Cup championships in 2010, 2013 and 2015.
Internationally, Seabrook represented Canada six different times including: the 2010 Winter Olympics (gold), the 2005 World Juniors (gold), the 2004 World Juniors (silver), the 2003 World Under-18’s (gold) and the 2001 World Under-17’s (silver). He also represented Canada at the World Championships in 2006.
“We are incredibly excited that Brent has decided to share his wealth of hockey knowledge with our players and staff sitting in as a guest coach while Michael Dyck is at the World Junior Championships,” adds Giants general manager Barclay Parneta. “Brent's hockey experience will surely benefit players and staff alike.”
