As he sat down at a podium alongside team president Brendan Shanahan, Kyle Dubas opened up a notebook and pulled out a pen.



Dubas checked his notes as he traced across every corner of the organization, from Shanahan to the chief legal officer to the player development crew to Sheldon Keefe to Lou Lamoriello, the man he was replacing. He offered a window into what he’d learned as general manager of the Toronto Marlies and where he saw the Leafs heading under his leadership.



He looked, and sounded, prepared for it all.



May 11 marked one year since Dubas was promoted to GM of the Maple Leafs.



What have we learned in that time?



We’ve learned since that Dubas can be creative, with a constant eye forward — sometimes far into the future. We’ve learned that he’s willing to be bold, doing things his own way and shaping the team in his image. And we’ve learned, as he’s admitted, that he still has a lot to...