The retooling of the Maple Leafs front office by Kyle Dubas continued Thursday with the hiring of Canadian hockey legend Hayley Wickenheiser as assistant director of player development.
Wickenheiser, who hung up her skates in 2017, had a stellar 23-year hockey career in which she won four Olympic gold medals and seven World Championships as a member of Team Canada. The Shaunavon, Saskatoon, native retired with the most goals, assists and points ever recorded for the national team and as the all-time leading scorer in the Olympics.
MORE: SN's top 50 prospects | NHL farm system rankings
A legend in women's hockey, Wickenheiser has also been a trailblazer in men's hockey. She became the first woman to skate as a position player in a men's professional league when she made her debut for Division II's HC Salamat in Finland on January 11, 2003.
Over the course of 40 games, she netted three goals — the first woman to score in men's pro hockey — and 16 assists and was considered one of the top faceoff players. The following season, she skated for HC Salamat in Division I and played for Eskilstuna Linden, a Division III men's team in Sweden during the 2008-09 season.
A three-time WWHL champion with the Calgary Oval X-Treme, Wickenheiser was named to the Order of Canada in 2011. Twenty years after she attended the Flyers rookie camp, she guest coached at the Leafs' development camp this summer.
The Leafs also announced the additions of Noelle Needham and Victor Carneiro as amateur scouts, Scott Pellerin's promotion to senior director of player development, and the promotion of Stephane Robidas — who finished his 17-year NHL career with Toronto — to director of player development.