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By: David Alter

Having worked as a consultant to Brian Burke in Anaheim, the decision to add Dave Poulin to the front office was an easy one. 

Working at the University of Notre Dame since his playing days in the NHL ended in 1995, Poulin has had an eye on younger talent.

“Player development is alot about getting to know the individual” says the new VP of Player Development.  “To have watched kids develop over time, you can remember when as a 16-year old  what you didn’t do well and how you’ve grown in that aspect.” 

With Burke’s recent signings of players from the NCAA, the addition of Poulin means that trend could very well continue.

Surplus At Defense

The departure of Joe Nieuwendyk to the Dallas Stars made the hiring of  Poulin a necessity to fill the spot.   But the more pressing  need remains adding some forwards and moving some of the excess defense the Leafs have on the roster.

“If we don’t go with a forward job open, then we aren’t giving a guy like a Jiri Tlusty a chance who had a good second half with the Marlies.  You’re not giving a Tyler Bozak or a Christian Hanson a chance.  I’d like to keep a spot open for that” says GM Brian Burke suggesting that adding many forwards isn’t necessary, and perhaps going after draft picks is the alternativerout..

If they do move someone, Tomas Kaberle would likely yield the best return for a forward on the trade market.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 23rd, 2009 at 2:31 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.