Dubas, Maple Leafs aim to over-prepare for NHL Draft
If the NHL Combine is a test for draft prospects, it seems like the draft itself is a test for general managers. In the case of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who do not currently have a general manager, it's a final exam for their young hockey brain trust led by 28-year-old assistant general manager Kyle Dubas.
With just days remaining until the 2015 NHL Draft, Dubas told Sportsnet he is confident in his preparation for the marquee event.
"We’ve tried to become almost over-prepared," Dubas told Sportsnet. "It's just game theory on a very public scale, in very rapid fashion. It's trying to study every single angle we can."
Dubas and his staff will work to rebuild the Toronto Maple Leafs during the draft, and he will need to take into account more than just the young players available on the draft board this weekend. The team's long-time centerpieces, forward Phil Kessel and defenseman Dion Phaneuf, are at the center of rumors regarding players Toronto needs to get rid of to succeed in the long-term. A draft-day trade could help the Leafs shed the extra weight while helping the team acquire more picks to benefit Toronto in the long run.
Dubas was mum on names in possible trade discussions, but he noted that interest definitely picked up after the Stanley Cup Finals.
"It just seemed that we were getting multiple calls every hour, people trying to test the waters and see what's happening," he told Sportsnet. "It's getting there."
(h/t Sportsnet)
Photo credit: Graig Abel/NHLI via Getty Images
