Kyle Dubas, AHL goons, and the long, slow journey to a modern development system

In July of 2014, Kyle Dubas was hired by the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was named an Assistant General Manager and became the General Manager of the Toronto Marlies, taking over for Dave Poulin, a responsibility Dubas has held since that date. While he briefly served as co-interim GM with Mark Hunter between the Dave Nonis and Lou Lamoriello regimes, he was always overseeing the Marlies at the same time.

From 2014 to today, as the Marlies are about to play the Crunch in round two of the Calder Cup playoffs, Kyle Dubas has transformed the Leafs AHL team from one steeped in the oldest traditions of minor pro hockey into one of the premiere modern development teams in the world. But it didn’t…