Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser, Hockey Hall of Famer and one of the most decorated women’s players of all time, has been promoted to assistant general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Wickenheiser, whose focus will be player development, originally joined the Leafs as assistant director of player development in August 2018 and was eventually promoted to senior director of player development in 2021. A six-time Olympian and four-time gold medalist in women’s ice hockey, Wickenheiser completed medical school at the University of Calgary in 2021.
Wickenheiser is the latest in a wave of women who have been hired as assistant general managers in the NHL, joining Emilie Castonguay and Cammi Granato with the Vancouver Canucks and Meghan Hunter with the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Leafs also promoted Darryl Metcalf and Ryan Hardy to assistant general manager positions. Metcalf was promoted to assistant general manager for hockey research and development. He is in his ninth season with the Maple Leafs. He was the founder of the hockey analytics site Extra Skater before the Leafs hired him for their new analytics department in 2014.
Hardy had been the team’s senior director of minor league operations in 2021 after three years as general manager of the USHL’s Chicago Steel. They join current Maple Leafs assistant GM Brandon Pridham under general manager Kyle Dubas.