Flyers Announce Assistants on Tocchet’s Coaching Staff

It’s been just over three weeks since Rick Tocchet was hired as the 25th head coach in Flyers history. Following Tocchet’s hiring, a search for a new assistant coaching staff was underway. Two new faces joined the fold on Thursday.

The Flyers officially announced the hiring of Jaroslav "Yogi" Svejkovsky and Jay Varady as assistant coaches on Tocchet’s staff.

Svejkovsky, 48, joins the Flyers after spending the 2024-25 season on Tocchet’s staff in Vancouver. It was his first season as an assistant coach after spending the previous three seasons as a skills coach. Svejkovsky was also an assistant coach and skills coach with the Vancouver Giants in the WHL. 

Varady, 47, spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach on the Detroit Red Wings staff. Prior to that, Varady was the head coach of the Tucson Roadrunners in the AHL from the 2018-19 season to the 2021-22 season. In the COVID-impacted 2020-21 season, Varady joined the Arizona Coyotes coaching staff as an assistant under Tocchet.

Varady has also been the head coach of the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs in the 2017-18 season and head coach and director of hockey operations for the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers from 2013 to 2017.

The Flyers still have to select a head coach for the AHL-affiliate Lehigh Valley Phantoms, a decision that will come later this offseason. The Flyers also indicated that they will be looking for a third assistant coach later in the offseason as well, and roles for the two new assistants are not set at the moment.

Kevin Durso is Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN. Follow him on social media @Kevin_Durso.