Sault boys in key NHL roles
Six Sault Ste. Marie products hold prominent positions on five of the eight National Hockey League teams that are still active in this year’s National Hockey League playoffs.
• Paul Maurice is in his first season as head coach of the Florida Panthers. The 56-year old Maurice is the dean of all NHL coaches. His first gig as an NHL bench boss was way back during the 1995-1996 season when he was named head coach of the erstwhile Hartford Whalers at the age of 28. As a player, Maurice was a steady, stay at home defenseman during three full seasons with the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League.
• Kyle Dubas has been general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs since 2018. The 37-year old Dubas first joined the Maple Leafs in 2014 as assistant general manager. He began his executive career in 2011 when he was hired as general manager of his hometown Soo Greyhounds of the OHL.
• A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame following a star-studded 22-year NHL playing career, 60-year old Ron Francis is in his second season as general manager of the Seattle Kraken. He previously was GM of the Carolina Hurricanes. Francis played for his hometown OHL Soo Greyhounds before embarking on his splendid NHL playing career that included two Stanley Cup championships as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
• Mike Dawson is one of Ron Francis’s most trusted full time scouts in Seattle. The 49-year old Dawson previously scouted for Carolina before re-joining Francis in Seattle. As a player, Dawson was a hard rock defenseman with the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL.
• Meanwhile, on the player side, soon to be 27-year old Michael Amadio is in his second season as a forward with the Vegas Knights. Amadio is coming off of a productive 2022-2023 regular season in which he tallied 16 goals for Vegas. He is a former OHL standout with the North Bay Battalion.
• And 30-year old defenseman Colin Miller is in his first season with the Dallas Stars. The journeyman NHL defender played his OHL hockey with the hometown Soo Greyhounds. He also played for the Soo Thunderbirds of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League.