Seattle hires Laval Rocket coach Pascal Vincent as assistant coach

Seattle’s hire of Pascal Vincent was more than a bench tweak, because it came from the same AHL pipeline that has become a feeder for NHL coaching staffs. The Kraken brought Vincent in as an assistant coach as part of a broader staff reshuffle announced June 11, and the move immediately raised the question of how much of Laval’s development structure Seattle believes he can carry with him.

The answer is built into Vincent’s background. He had spent the past two seasons running the Laval Rocket, a job that demanded constant adjustment to call-ups, reassignments, injury turnover and prospect growth. That daily churn is exactly what makes AHL coaches attractive to NHL clubs: they spend a full season teaching systems while also managing players at different stages of readiness. For Seattle, Vincent offers someone who has already worked through that mix of established talent and younger players trying to take the next step, the kind of roster construction that NHL assistant coaches face all season long.

The Kraken’s announcement, titled Kraken Fortify GM, Coaching Staffs, underlined that this was part of a larger organizational reset. Seattle also hired Patrik Allvin as assistant general manager, signaling that the club was making staffing changes across multiple levels at once. In that context, Vincent looks like a coach the Kraken trust to help bridge the gap between what players learn in the AHL and what they are expected to execute once they reach the NHL. That matters for rookies and depth players alike, because the smallest change in message, structure or communication can determine whether a young player sticks during an early call-up or heads back down quickly.

For Laval, the loss is immediate and practical. The Rocket must replace a head coach who had been at the helm for two seasons, and the Montréal Canadiens noted his departure after Seattle’s move. Even before the next AHL season begins, the coaching change affects continuity at the top of an organization that depends on repeatable systems to develop prospects and keep the NHL club confident in its pipeline. When an affiliate coach moves up to the NHL, it validates the development model, but it also leaves the minor-league side with the work of rebuilding that daily structure.