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Poulin has his own captain's tales
By
ROB LONGLEY, QMI Agency
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TORONTO - The way Dave Poulin sees it, there’s never an easy time to become a captain of an NHL team.
But some assignments are more challenging than others.
Dion Phaneuf taking over in Toronto has to be one of the more daunting and then there was Poulin’s own experience in the 1983-84 season. With only one NHL season under his belt, the former Notre Dame Fighting Irish star was named captain of the Philadelpia Flyers.
“The only way to speak to the challenge for a new captain is with my own experience,” the Leafs vice-president of hockey operations said. “I was in my second year in the league, replacing a hall of famer and icon in Bobby Clarke and Mike Keenan was a first-time coach. That was my reference point.
“For Dion, look at the guys he was up on the stage with when he was named captain here. George Armstrong. Darryl Sittler. Wendel Clark. How are you not supposed to think it’s a pretty big thing.”
