The Canucks are the second team Wednesday morning to announce a new goaltending coach. Marko Torenius is now in the role after serving as the goalie coach for their AHL affiliate in Abbotsford for the past two seasons. Ian Clark, who was the Canucks’ goalie coach and director of goaltending, will reduce his responsibilities as a goalie scout and development coach, the team said.
Torenius, 47, accumulated a lengthy overseas résumé before arriving in North America in 2022. He spent parts of seven seasons with SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League as their goalie coach, winning Gagarin Cup championships in 2015 and 2017. During his tenure in the Russian metropolis, he oversaw NHL-caliber netminders such as Yaroslav Askarov, Magnus Hellberg, Pyotr Kochetkov, Mikko Koskinen, and Igor Shesterkin.
Before joining SKA, Torenius was the long-time team manager and goalie coach for Blues in his native Finland, twice finishing as a runner-up to the SM-liiga title. He also worked with Koskinen during his stop there.
During his time in Abbotsford, Torenius has overseen the development of 2019 sixth-rounder Arturs Silovs. After an admirable postseason performance, he projects to be on Vancouver’s opening-night roster this fall. Silovs was Abbotsford’s starter under Torenius for the past two seasons and has a 2.62 GAA, .906 SV%, nine shutouts, and a 45-30-11 record in 89 career AHL games.
The announcement also ends Clark’s second stint as the Canucks’ goalie coach. The Vancouver native previously held the role from 2002 to 2010, holding jobs with the Blue Jackets and Sweden’s MODO Hockey before returning to his home city in 2019. Internationally, the 58-year-old has won three gold medals as the goalie coach of the Canadian national junior team, winning three straight WJCs from 2005 to 2007.