Toronto2Hype Presents: Ask The GM

GM Marc Gaudreault answers questions from our own Steve B Real

Live and uncut from some dive bar in a swanky neighbourhood in Markham, I am joined by nearly legendary GM Marc Gaudreault. While he isnt inscribed into the DCHL hall of fame by any means, he certainly finds creative ways to keep us as fans talking. Whether it be creating a super line of CROVIE (Couldnt win us a cup, but got pretty close), to announcing a rebuild and tearing things apart, theres plenty to discuss.

Thanks for joining us today Marc, how has everything been?

GM: You know Steve, i think the real question here is where have you been? Weve had so many stories to share, and noone to share them. Holed up in your mothers basement watching DragonBall?

Steve: Err..... well it was actually Attack on Titan, but i see your point. Well Fans are curious about whats been happening behind the scenes, and about some of the things that have transpired, the plans going forward etc.

Steve: So let me ask then, since the glorious run, what has been your vision or goal ?

GM: First and foremost, Id like to thank some of the guys weve moved on from this year, and welcome those who are joining us. Jimmy vesey played 257 games as a Leaf, and we wish him nothing but the best moving forward with his new team in montreal. He spent alot of time on the bottom 6, but still landed 115 points. Hes definitely a heart and soul type player , that will be missed here. Also Raanta.... he didnt play here long , but day in day out he went infront of a firing squad, but still volunteered to be that guy who leads us into battle. We couldnt keep him playing in these positions, so we figured move him to montreal who seems to be shoring up the lineup. Hes not alone, as Jesper fast went there in a previous trade.  Voracek also joins the duo in Montreal. Vory played about a seasons worth of games here,  and netted 14G,24A on a very bad team. We thank you all for giving our fans something to look forward to.

Steve: You mentioned some of the players you brought in, who exactly are they?

GM: Well first and foremost, coming back in the deal for Fast, Raanta, is Lassi Thomson, accompanied by a Phi 2nd rounder and NYR 3rd rounder. He is what largely drew us to this deal. The picks are always nice, but we are fortunate to have an abundance of picks and prospects. Lassi appeared as an oppurtunity for us, to not only get younger, but confirm another long term piece for the future to compliment the pieces weve already acquired. Hes an offensive right handed shot defenseman who could very likely play in our top 4 for years to come. He skates hard, competes harder, and has quite the shot. I think defensively he can struggle, but we have alot of players who can help him with that. Hes struggling a bit in the real world AHL, but i hope he gets an oppurtunity to florish on our squad.

Secondly weve acquired Matej Blumel. At 6 feet tall, this guy is swift skating winger who plays with Gusto. A secondary scoring fellow who will bang bodies into the boards. We are creating a team here who will be hard to play against. Hard to take the puck from.

Lastly this season we acquired Peyton Krebs. This is a player who weve been keeping tabs on for a while, and found an oppurtunity without giving up too much (Radko Gudas), to give him a new lease on his career, and hope he benefits from a change of Scenery. A natural leader type, we felt hed help this ever changing squad for better.

Steve: Well honestly this leaves us quite a bit to be excited about, but you did trade our top goalie during these moves.

GM: Honestly, that was calculated. We have faith that Copley can hold the fort, with Skarek backing him up. We Werent on the winning side of things anyways, so we feel this shakeup doesnt do much, except give both our current guys a chance to help us win games. Chechelev will be our emergency call up in case of injury. This helps gives Hrabal an oppurtunity to grow his game in the NCAA.

Steve: So youve had some pretty interesting draft picks over the years, and alot of the players are starting to make their way up. Guys like: Philip Kurashev, Paul Cotter, Emil Andrae, Daniil Guschin, Jakub Skarek, Emil Heineman, Linus Karlsson, Mikhail Abramov, Jacob Perreault, Marc Del Gaizo, Wyatte Wylie and louis crevier. Of these guys who are you most excited to see make the jump.

GM: Honestly they all have such interesting elements to their game, Im excited to see them all up with the big squad. Philipp kurashev has been showing great improvement, while paul cotter has solidified himself as a 3rd line nhler for the time being. Marc Del Gaizo has earned himself a shot at the big level, and has been showing he can hang.

Steve: And you have some pretty impressive prospects just lurking for now. Any that surprise you ?

GM: I wouldnt say surprise, weve done extensive research on all of these guys. Guys like  Fantilli, Clarke, Gauthier, Firkus, Roy, and coronato are just waiting to make the big team, and when the do, the impact will be enormous. There are guys i didnt mention as well, but this is an exciting time to be a leafs fan for sure.

Steve: Any moves left to be done?

GM: There are always improvements we can make, and we always welcome GMS to message us to make a deal, honestly one of the more exciting parts to this league.Wed be interested in hearing offers on some of our later picks in this years draft, or acquiring a goalie to help ease the stress off Skarek. Many of our roster players are available as well. And as always, we will take on bad contracts.

Steve: Well Marc, thank you so much for all your candid responses. We are actually going to try something new, and allow GMs to ask their own questions to Marc. Just comment under the post in the DCHL Page with your question, and he will get the reponse right to you.

As Always , stay classy DCHL, and remember, Steve B Real sometimes disappears, BUT he always crawls back up from the gutter.