Interviews
Those of you who know me, or follow me on twitter (@mapleleafmuse), will know that I'm a bit of a podcast addict. Apart from the mainstream media stuff, I also love listening to fan-made content and in case you have yet to do so, I invite you all to check out Leaf Matters with Matteo and Michael. They've had some excellent guests and offer an alternative source for Leafs fans looking for informative, well-articulated, and lively discussions on all things Leafs.
On Monday April 22nd, 2013, Brian Burke took some time out of his busy schedule as a scout for the Anaheim Ducks and joined Chris Nilan, a former NHL enforcer, on TSN 690 Montreal to talk about the Leafs' playoff clinch and the Montreal Canadiens' recent struggles. Below is a slightly-shortened transcript I put together of the interview. If you want to hear the full 10-minute interview, it's available at the TSN Podcast Centre. [more…]
Brian Burke on Hockey Central - 2012/11/14 Interview: the Maple Leafs GM and President Brian Burke joined Hockey Central at noon to discuss the Marlies season so far and a few other odds and ends. [more…]
Recently I had an opportunity to interview Dave Poulin, vice president of hockey operations for the Toronto Maple Leafs, for Lindy’s Sports Maple Leafs Annual magazine. Poulin, whose job focuses heavily on player acquisition and development at both the pro and amateur ranks, shared rare insight into almost all facets of the game. From principles of drafting, the mechanics of pro scouting, and internal team growth, Poulin shed light on the important, behind-the-scenes work that dictates the future success of the franchise.
As is often the case in any written work, more is discussed than can be shown. Inspired by MLHS readers’ questions, here are a couple pearls that Poulin shared with me relating to draft draft methodology, player value and prospect depth within the organization that -  due to space constraints - couldn’t be included in the feature.
Be sure to check out Alex Tran’s mag preview with Dave Morrison, if you haven’t already. More info on the magazine release and availability will follow soon. Looking forward to your thoughts; enjoy.
After the jump is the James van Riemsdyk Twitter Q&A and media scrum from this morning. In the meantime, Ken Holland had a fantastic idea:
"When we began the process of determining who should be on the roster for the Red Wings alumni team, it became very obvious, very quickly that we simply did not have enough room on one bench to hold enough of the many deserving players," said Holland. "When we contacted Toronto and asked them what they thought about the possibility of two games, they immediately breathed a sigh of relief as they were going through the exact same issues we were in trying to fit all these players on one team."
DIRECTOR OF PLAYER DEVELOPMENT JIM HUGHES:
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Brian Burke and Bob McCown dance a dance about unnamed goalies with long term contracts *cough*, unproven, but equally highly regarded young goalies playing behind established staters *cough* and older goalies that played well in defensively stiff teams *cough*.
As always, a good interview with Burke. [more…]
Maple Leafs' vice-president of hockey operations Dave Poulin joined Hockey Central @ Noon to update the team's plans in free agency yesterday and discusses how the thin free agency pool has opened up a trade market that hasn't existed for some time. Click to hear.
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James Reimer discusses off-season training, Luke Schenn's trade to Philly, Roberto Luongo and his focus for next year with SportsNet590's David Alter. Full audio here.
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Brian Burke gets asked if he would like to triangle choke Steve Simmons and more in this interview for News 95.7. The interview starts at the 9:00 mark and ends at the 29:00 mark Full audio here.
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This past Wednesday I had the great good fortune to see the guest speaker, Toronto Maple Leafs President and GM Brian Burke, at the Scotiabank ® President’s Breakfast. In no way should I have been in attendance at this swanky affair used to reward lucrative business clients and senior management, but my branch manager is an avid hockey fan and when a favoured client had to pull out, I was a last minute substitution. As we stand on the eve of the trade deadline with the Leafs in a tailspin, I’d like to share with you some of the highlights from Burke’s speech and Q&A session held in the opulent Ratcliffe Room on the 63rd floor of Scotia Plaza.
As a brief primer, I must report that Brian Burke is a terrific raconteur who speaks confidently and lucidly at all times; but when given a chance exhibits a tremendous, ribald sense of humour. His bravado and bluntness quickly came to light as he approached the podium. With a cup of coffee and some prepared notes in hand, I expected him to begin formally with pleasantries and platitudes for his sponsor. Instead, raucous laughter met his opening line regarding the Leafs OT loss to the New Jersey Devils the night previous, “So that goal was horseshit!â€
Hey guys. I'm sure many of you have read the James Reimer interview on MLHS regarding Reimer's off-season training with Adam Francilla in Maple Ridge, B.C., at FitLife Training Centre. Since I live in Vancouver, B.C., I decided I would try and go out to where he trains out here, hoping I could somehow meet him, and possibly get an autograph. So here's my story. I hope you like it and get more hyped for the season!
So I had got a tip from a friend who did an interview with Reimer for a local paper, and he told me when I could catch all the guys training. So a couple Thursdays ago (Aug 11th), I made my way out to Maple Ridge BC (in my Leafs jersey and hat of course) where he, Andrew Ladd, and others do their off-season training. No players were there when I arrived at the facility at 8 a.m., but Mr. Adam Francilla himself was. He indicated that they were doing dry land training off sight that day, but that he could call James Reimer on my behalf. So Adam makes a personal call for me, if you can believe it, and asks him if it's cool if I go out to their dry land track to meet him! Reimer said it was no problem at all and he'd be happy to do it. [more…]
Let's face it, you're probably going to spend ten bucks on a garbage team calendar that still features Tomas Kaberle in a Leafs jersey (I bought one with Jason Blake and Vesa Toskala in it this time last summer). With the Maple Leafs Annual, you get all the great colour photography plus 112 pages of really good Leafs commentary and analysis. One of our readers said it the other day - this is "bathroom and beyond" reading material. High praise.
This edition (now $9.99), in addition to our usual staples - the player profiles (by Gus Katsaros), prospect rankings, and pages of analysis - we have continued to increase the reader’s level of inside access to the organization. Look for interviews with: President and General Manager, Brian Burke; Vice President of Hockey Operations, Dave Poulin; Director of Player Personnel, Rick Dudley; Director of Amateur Scouting, Dave Morrison; Director of Player Development, Jim Hughes; Leaf youngsters James Reimer and Keith Aulie; 2011 first round pick, Tyler Biggs, and head coach of the Marlies, Dallas Eakins. [more…]
