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“Heading to camp I feel we’re a better team,” Dorion said in a one-on-one interview with Postmedia Monday morning at Moe’s World Famous Newport Restaurant in Westboro. “First and foremost, I think the personnel changes that we made are more reflective to the type of team that we want to be.

“We have a lot of faith in coach D.J. Smith and the staff that he’s put together and, more importantly, the players will see a lot of things are going to be different. Our team is going to be so much fun to watch, our attitude is going to be different and we feel that some of the maturity of some of our young players is really going to be seen this year.

“We know that (finishing) 30th and 31st the last two years is unacceptable and we know that we’re really going to take a big step forward this year.”

Naturally, the biggest change for Dorion, who is heading into his fourth season as GM, was the hiring of Smith, a former Leafs’ assistant who won a Memorial Cup with the OHL’s Oshawa Generals in 2015.

“We feel we’ve put elements in place that are going to allow us to have success in the long-term,” said Dorion. “The thing we’re most excited about is our coaching staff, bringing in D.J. we feel the attitude is going to be totally different. There’s going to be a different vibe, a different type of energy.

“D.J. knows that wins and losses are important. We have to improve, but at the same time the growth, the development and the improvement of these younger players is going to be even more important.”