Colorado Avalanche add Farrish, Heimlich to coaching staff

The Colorado Avalanche announced today the hiring of two additions to the coaching staff under Head Coach/Vice President of Hockey Operations Patrick Roy: Assistant Coach Dave Farrish and Video Coordinator Brett Heimlich.

Dave Farrish comes to Colorado after 24 seasons of professional hockey coaching that spans multiple leagues, including the NHL, AHL, IHL, and ECHL. Farrish worked behind the Toronto Maple Leafs bench as an assistant coach for the past two seasons and for seven seasons as an assistant coach for the Anaheim Ducks prior to that, with whom he won a Stanley Cup. He also coached under the tutelage of Herb Brooks with the New Jersey Devils in 1992-93.

Farrish is no stranger to success. He served as head coach for the Louisiana IceGators, ECHL division champions for four straight seasons, earning coach of the year in the process. He also led the Pensacola Ice Pirates in the ECHL’s league-best record in 2005-2006 (51-16-5).

The Ontario native spent seven seasons as a defenseman in the NHL after being drafted by the New York Rangers in 1976 (second round, 24th overall). Farrish played 430 regular season games for the Rangers, Quebec Nordiques, and Toronto Maple Leafs.

About Farrish, Roy said, “Dave brings a wealth of experience and hockey knowledge to our organization. He is the ideal candidate to compliment our coaching staff, and we look forward to working together to maker our team as competitive as we can.”

New video coordinator Brett Heimlich worked for the San Jose Sharks for the past eight years. Sharks head coach Todd McLellan said of Brett, “Brett is the unsung hero of our staff, doesn’t get much recognition and people outside don’t know how much he does. When he started he had technical skills but our staff is more efficient now because Brett’s hockey knowledge has expanded so much.”

Sharks’ broadcaster Jamie Baker detailed Heimlich’s responsibilities for the team, which will be similar to what he will do for the Avalanche:

During a game Brett captures, edits and marks the live video using an advanced sports software system. He captures a live timeline of the game, a single video file for each period that he works of off. Here is a rundown of his in-game responsibilities.

• Breaks down and does a live capture of all the situations in a game whether they are systematic in nature or of particular players
• During a typical game Brett will mark and create 600 to 800 separate video clips
• He indexes points on the video using pre-set key strokes that are labeled for specific entries, for instance; system plays, scoring chances for and against, individual players, plays from different zones on the rink etc…
• Knows what the coaching staff is looking for in regards to the Sharks systems, opponents, players
• Identifies adjustments and/or tendencies that he sees while watching the game