TORONTO -- Maple Leafs' center Laurie Boschman is bound for the Edmonton Oilers in a trade made Monday that gives Toronto a junior player from the Oilers' Wichita farm team and another from the Niagara Falls Flyers of the Ontario Hockey League.
The surprise deal for Walt Poddubny, a 22-year-old from Wichita and Phil Drouillard, a 19-year-old Flyer, came after the Leafs earlier Monday acquired defenceman Jim Korn from the Detroit Red Wings for future considerations.
Boschman, 21, spent two years with the Leafs before he was demoted to the club's minor league Moncton, New Brunswick, team last season after contracting mononucleosis.
During his rookie season with the Leafs in 1979-80, he notched 16 goals and 32 assists in 80 games but managed only 14 goals and 19 assists the following year when he played only 53 games with the team due to his illness.
Boschman, a born-again Christian, who has reportedly been in conflict with Leafs president Harold Ballard for his beliefs, said late Monday he was looking forward to the move.
'We felt that maybe things weren't right between us and that this would be the best thing for us,' he said.
Nor would he give a verdict on the ability of the troubled Leafs' latest coach Mike Nykoluk who took over in January 1981, and the team's current youth drive.
'That's not for me to say,' he said. 'I feel we got a good bunch of young guys on the team. Give them some time, maybe give them a chance and they can get something going.'
Boschman also said he believed the conflict over his religious beliefs had had little to do with his trade.
'I talked to (acting general manager) Gerry (McNamara) and Mike (Nykoluk) and they expressed to me that it didn't matter to them. They felt that the bottom line was the way I played. Maybe my mono restricted my play, but my faith has nothing to do with that.'
He declined to comment on the Leafs' current record, which has them 10 points out of a playoff spot.
'That's hard to say, I can't say what the problem is. I just hope they're on the right track now. I just wish the guys and the whole team the best of luck.'
In San Diego Monday, Oilers coach Glen Sather said Boschman was 'the kind of center' his team needed.
'He's an aggressive center and he plays a lot like (Montreal Canadiens') Doug Risebrough. If he doesn't fit in now, after what he's gone through, I'm willing to be patient.'
Poddubny, a 6-foot-1, 203-pound fifth-round pick in 1980 from Kingston, Ont., racked up 35 goals and 46 assists in 60 games this season with Wichita of the Central Hockey League.
Drouillard, the Oilers' fifth-round selection last May, is 6-foot-1 and 184 pounds.
Korn has most recently been with the Wings' farm team in Adirondack.
