Leafs continue to add experience, hire veteran skills coach to their development staff
The Toronto Maple Leafs have hired Tomas Pacina, a long time skills coach, to their development staff. Pacina has a resume stretching back 30 years, with the New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens and Florida Panthers on his resume. He also led the Portland Winterhawks to a WHL championship in 2012-2013 as their head coach.
Pacina is well known and well respected as a women's hockey coach as well, winning 3 titles as a head coach in the now defunct Western Women's Hockey League and a Coach of the Year award in the CWHL. More recently, he led the Czech national Women's team to their first Olympic berth in their history. Dubas and his front office continue to look for talent, whether on the ice or off of it, in unconventional places. Pacina, with his wealth of experience in both men's and women's hockey, certainly falls under that umbrella.
As for Pacina's role within the Leafs organization, its still unclear exactly what his role will be. The Leafs lost their head of European Scouting, Ari Vuori, this summer, but Pacina doesn't seem like the type you hire as a scout. Our best guess is that he will oversee the development of players like Topi Niemela, Roni Hirvonen and Rodion Amirov, players, who the Leafs have drafted who are playing overseas. Pacina's coaching philosophy of playing puck possession hockey will fit nicely with the Leafs' game. Having someone like him on the other side of the pond could be a big help not only in helping get more prospects to the NHL, but helping them fit in better with the Leafs' playing style before they come to North America.
