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Hayley Wickenheiser promoted to assistant GM with Maple Leafs

Hockey legend Hayley Wickenheiser continues to scale the management ranks with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Kyle Dubas and Toronto's front office announced Tuesday that Wickenheiser has been promoted to Assistant General Manager, Player Development, with the Maple Leafs. She was promoted last summer to senior director of player development after originally joining the franchise in 2018 as an assistant director of player development.

A Hockey Hall of Famer and five-time Olympic medallist (including four gold), Wickenheiser is also a practicing doctor in Toronto, specializing in family medicine.

She was also part of seven world championship rosters for Hockey Canada across her decorated playing career.

Wickenheiser joins the likes of Cammi Granato and Emilie Castonguay in Vancouver, and Meghan Hunter in Chicago, as women holding assistant general manager positions in the league.

Canadian hockey legend Hayley Wickenheiser becomes the fourth woman hired as an assistant general manager with an NHL club this year. (Getty)
Canadian hockey legend Hayley Wickenheiser becomes the fourth woman hired as an assistant general manager with an NHL club this year. (Getty)

In addition to Wickenheiser, Ryan Hardy and Darryl Metcalf were also upgraded to assistant general manager status within their roles.

Hardy was only just hired as the senior director of minor league operations last June. Metcalf has been with the hockey research and development staff for nine seasons and has most recently served as a special assistant to the general manager since 2018.

An assistant general manager since 2018, Laurence Gilman will now serve as governor and senior VP of the Toronto Marlies, while Brandon Pridham will continue in his role on Dubas's staff as Toronto's primary AGM.

Finally, Curtis Sanford was named as Steve Briere's replacement as the Leafs' new goaltending coach. A veteran of 144 starts at the NHL level in a true journeyman career that lasted nearly two decades, Sanford has coached in the Vancouver Canucks system since 2017.

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