from Luke Fox of Sportsnet,

Ready or not, the humbled and grateful Chayka steps in after emerging as the best of 10-to-12 candidates ownership spoke to for the gig. This after just one season as an assistant GM in Arizona, where his work touched "all areas of hockey operations including NHL, minor league and amateur player evaluation as well as player development and coaching support."

Experienced, life-long hockey men such as Paul Fenton, Mike Futa, Julien BriseBois, and Les Jackson (reportedly the one candidate Arizona could not come to terms with after "extensive interviews") remain outside Club GM, while a whip-smart fast-tracker from Jordan Station, Ont., slipped through the velvet ropes faster than you can say "defensive zone start."

Chayka is best known for co-founding and directing Stathletes Inc., a hockey analytics firm that tracks data through an intensive video analysis process and searches for objective insight into player and team performance tendencies.

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Below, watch Chayka with a one-on-one after today's press conference...