VIDEO: Dorsett returns to Medicine Hat for rookie stint on Tigers bench

After over 500 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks, Dorsett has joined Willie Desjardins staff as an assistant coach for the remainder of the 2020-21 WHL season.

“Medicine Hat will always be a special place in my heart and now coming in as a rookie coach it’s been a lot of fun,” said Dorsett.

It’s Dorsett’s first gig in hockey since 2017, when he was forced into an early retirement after suffering a severe spinal injury with the Canucks.

“I needed a break from the game, I was mentally exhausted and physically exhausted,” said Dorsett. “Things happen and it was hard for me to watch hockey right away because I thought I should still be playing.”

Just as Dorsett beginning to get comfortable with the game again, his attention was quickly diverted elsewhere. When his wife Allison was diagnosed with a heart condition, Dorsett took some needed time to support his family.

“It was my turn to stay home and be a dad and be a husband, and support my wife through her heart stuff,” said Dorsett. This opportunity came up and it was a good opportunity to get back with Willie [Desjardins] and learn from someone who I really respect.”

After Dorsett’s personal life began to calm down in Columbus, he decided to give his old NHL and junior coach a call to inquire about getting behind the bench.

One thing led to another, with Dorsett committing to help coach Medicine Hat until the end of the shortened WHL season.

“To take him away this long is a bit of a stretch, I’m sure his wife wishes he was back a little bit sooner,” Desjardins joked. “But, he committed to this and I think it’s great for us. I hope it’s good for him, but I know it’s going to be good for the team.”

Desjardins and Dorsett have shared in some special hockey moments over their careers, winning a WHL championship together in 2007 and spending three years together with the Canucks.

“We have a young group and it’s really great for him to be able to pass that on to some of our young guys,” said Desjardins. It’s more than just working hard, it’s how hard you compete and he’s been one of the best competitors we’ve ever had in our program.”

Seeing an NHL vet walk into the dressing room is a thrill for any member of the current Tigers roster, but Dorsett’s appearance is even more exciting for forward Lukas Svejkovsky.

Hailing from just across the border in Point Roberts, Washington, the Medicine Hat winger went to his fair share of NHL games with his dad playing professionally.

“Being a Vancouver boy myself, when he was on the Canucks I used to go to games and he was one of my favourite players,” said Svejkovsky. He played with so much energy and he could do any job on the ice whether it’s fighting, scoring, chipping in sometimes.”

Dorsett’s future in Medicine Hat is still up in the air past this season, as he only committed for the final 14 games of the season.

But whether his coaching path keeps him here in southeast Alberta or takes him elsewhere, it’s a path he wants to take his time on.

“It feels great when you can help someone else out with the dream that they want to live,” said Dorsett. “I know it’s a great dream, I got to live it. There’s a lot of people that helped me get there and if I can help and push some kids in the right direction, that’s going to be the most fulfilling thing of coaching.”

by Scott Roblin

VIDEO: Dorsett returns to Medicine Hat for rookie stint on Tigers bench

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