Dein erstes Forum » , a fresher perspective that may have been

TORONTO – Change was on the mind, but Brendan Shanahan wasnt looking explicitly for a new assistant general manager. The Maple Leafs president was combing the hockey world, trying to pick out the innovative thinkers, the rising stars, the great minds. One name kept coming up: Kyle Dubas, formerly the 28-year-old general manager of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and now assistant general manager to Dave Nonis in Toronto. Such was the latest shift in direction of the newly minted Shanahan era, one that has seen a coaching staff plundered, a roster reconstructed, a July 1st pass quietly (and prudently) by, and now a management team altered – Dave Poulin and Claude Loiselle fired Tuesday. “I like to surround myself with people that challenge ideas, that think differently,” Shanahan said. “The more I got to know Kyle the more I realized that this was somebody that obviously was an extreme talent.” Through extensive conversations with Dubas over the past few weeks, Shanahan, who accumulated nearly 700 goals and three Stanley Cups as a player, kept coming away with fresh thoughts and perspectives about the game. In Dubas, he appears to have found someone willing to think differently, a rising front office prodigy known for his openness to new ideas, including analytics. “I just found him intriguing,” said Shanahan, standing alongside Dubas at an introductory press conference from the Air Canada Centre. “I was learning things I didnt know and just wanted to learn more.” “Ive got the impression in talking to Brendan and talking to Dave that theyre certainly open to any and all ideas. That was one of the things that was most enticing about the situation here for me,” said Dubas, particularly enthused to work alongside Nonis, himself once a young assistant general manager in Vancouver. In just three short years in Sault Ste. Marie, Dubas – hired at age 25, mind you – helped steer the Greyhounds from the playoff wilderness to a West division title. He was once a teenage scout for his hometown junior team and later the youngest player agent to be certified by the NHLPA. Rising fast through the hockey ranks, he is known to be thoughtful, respectful and innovative in his thinking, a breath of fresh air to a game thats often remained engrained in old habits. Though not an all-out stats guru as portrayed in some corners, hes shown a willingness to consider the merits of analytics, employing them where suitable to help his team in the Sault. The Maple Leafs, previously led by noted analytics opponent Brian Burke, have been slow to adjust to the “Money-Puck revolution,” which has crept louder and louder into the game in recent years. And if not a voice for that community, Dubas should, at the very least, open up Nonis, Randy Carlyle and the entire group in Toronto to some different ideas. “Its really about learning as much as I can and getting as much information as I can,” Dubas said. “I havent run the team in Sault St. Marie based solely on statistics, its been a good size part of what weve integrated in, but the rest of it is just hockey. Its evaluating players, scouting reports, dealing with the personalities on the team, trying to hire the best scouts and people. And certainly the analytics, Ive found it to be a major help to me personally in the way that I view the game and just create a better level of certainty to decisions.” “Information is power,” Shanahan added. “Its about eliminating some of the noise and seeing what information works best for you, your team, and the direction you and your team want to go with. “Hes obviously got a great appreciation and understanding of analytics, but hes also married that to the complexities and instincts you have to have when youre putting a product on the ice. Hes not just talked about it, but hes done it.” Todd Reynolds, formerly a colleague in the agent business, says Dubas is not some analytics guru, but rather a well-rounded hockey mind on the rise. “I dont think its all about analytics like people have wanted to make it out to be today,” he told TSN.ca. “Hes not a computer nerd. Hes not sitting there crunching numbers and bringing sheets of paper into the GMs office with recommendations. Hes much more complete than that.” Reynolds firm, Uptown Sports Management, hired Dubas fresh out of the Brock University sports management program. They had known him to be “mature beyond his years” from past dealings with the Greyhounds organization. Dubas, they believed, was sensible, trustworthy and related well to people senior to him. “It really wasnt as much of a stretch or a leap of faith on our part as people thought it was at the time,” Reynolds said. “He held his own. [His age] was used against him at times – as you can imagine our business is competitive, the industry is – and people would say ‘Really, youre thinking about going with him? The kids 20-year-old. So it was used against him successfully at times, at other times he overcame it. “We encouraged him ‘just continue doing what youre doing and people wont talk about your age theyll talk about your track record.” And so they werent surprised at the Burlington headquarters of Uptown Sports to learn a few years down the road that Dubas had earned the GM job in hockey-mad Sault Ste. Marie – as one of the youngest GMs in OHL history – nor taken aback on this day when he rose to the NHL. “We all knew this was coming,” Reynolds said. Shanahan claims he never set out to hire an assistant general manager, but planned on assessing the various levels of the organization over the offseason and instilling change from there. He expected more hires to the management team, likely needing a replacement for Loiselle as it pertained to contract negotiations, the CBA, and the cap, and someone to assume Poulins duties, which included management of the Marlies. Tuesdays proceedings were ultimately another step in the remaking of the Leafs in Shanahans vision. That vision started to take shape with the early May firings of the coaching staff and the retaining of Carlyle. It continued with the selection of William Nylander at the draft, varied roster pursuits in and around July 1st – quiet for Toronto standards – and a pair of new hires (and voices) to surround Carlyle, including the youthful Steve Spott. In Dubas meanwhile, Shahanan will look for a different voice, a fresher perspective that may have been lacking. “Im just an assistant GM,” said Dubas. “Ill do what Im asked and go from there.” Cheap 49ers Jerseys China . The 25-year-old Brazilian player has only made four Premier League appearances for United this season and underwent a medical test in Italy on Friday. Wholesale 49ers Jerseys . The NFL says Wednesday that the game between the Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions at Wembley on Oct. 26 will start at 1:30 p. http://www.cheap49ersjerseysauthentic.co...er-craig-jersey. Tyrell appeared in seven games with the Lightning this year, he had no points in those appearances. The 24-year-old has seven goals and 17 assists in 132 career NHL games, all coming with the Lightning. He was selected in the second round, 47th overall, of the 2007 draft. Wholesale San Francisco 49ers Jerseys . The Wizards announced Friday that Webster had surgery to repair a herniated disc in his lower back. The operation was performed Thursday in Los Angeles. Frank Gore Jersey . -- Wichita State is all alone in the record book.Prague, Czech Republic- Seeking a spot on the European Ryder Cup team, Jamie Donaldson grabbed an early, 1-shot lead following the first round at the inaugural Czech Masters. Donaldson, who has not won on the European Tour this season, fired a 6-under 66 on Thursday at Albatross Golf Resort. Donaldson, a two-time winner on tour, has not won since the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship last year. "I know what Ive got to do this week so its just a case of going out and doing it," said Donaldson. "Its another golf tournament where youve got to go out there and play as well as you can and content to win the tournament. Im in a position to do that now. I just need more of the same over the next three rounds." Mikael Lundberg is right on Donaldsons heels after his opening-round, 5-under 67. Bradley Dredge, who finished runner-up to Marc Warren at last weeks Made in Denmark, headlines a group of 10 players sitting two shots back at 4-under 68. Dredge is joined by Paul Waring, Kenneth Ferrie, Danny Willett, John Hahn, Keith Horne, Lee Slattery, Soren Kjeldsen, Matthew Nixon and S.S.P. Chowrasia. Donaldson started off strong, coming out of the gates with a birdie at the par-5 first to get into red numbers early. Donaldson briefly dropped back to even-par with a bogey at the third, but he got that shot right back with his second gain at No. 4. Following three straight pars, Donaldson got to 3-under for the day with back- to-back birdies at eight and nine. After making the turn with a par on 10, Donaldson tripped to his second bogey of the day at the par-4 11th. Like hiss first bogey, Donaldson atoned for his mistake right away with his fifth birdie on the par-5 12th.dddddddddddd. Donaldson added another birdie at 14 before rattling off two straight pars on 15 and 16. He shot to the top of the leaderboard with a pair of birdies at 17 and 18, both par-4s, to get to minus-6. "It was a good day," Donaldson said. "I played nicely - the course was playing tough early on, quite windy and then died down late, but that finish is pretty tough, so Im happy with the result." Like Donaldson, Lundberg was playing in the afternoon and he too got off to a hot start with birdies at one and two to quickly get to 2-under. After two straight pars, Lundberg picked up his third birdie at the par-4 fifth. Lundbergs first and only mistake of the first round came at No. 7, when he dropped a shot with a bogey at the par-3. Lundberg made the turn with two pars at eight and nine before pouring in his fourth birdie at the 10th. Two more birdies at 12 and 13 preceded a string of five straight pars to end Lundbergs round, putting him one behind Donaldson. "I played really steady and really solid," Lundberg stated. "I only made one mistake today and made some putts so it doesnt get much better than that." NOTES: Entering this week, Donaldson currently sits at No. 8 in the Ryder Cup world points and No. 5 in the European points ... Donaldson finished tied for second at the WGC-Cadillac Championship this year ... Tee times for the morning groups were delayed one hour due to lightning. Afternoon tee times were delayed 50 minutes. 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