The Toronto Maple Leafs had an interesting draft. It hasn’t even been 24 hours since the Toronto Maple Leafs finished up their draft and I’m already hitting you guys with another article. Bear with me though. The Toronto Maple Leafs and the rest of the NHL won’t draft again until next year so I’m trying to squeeze in as much as I can. Anyways, the 2018 NHL Draft just finished up. And it was absolutely wild. Teams made gambles and went off the board almost right away, such as when the Montreal Canadiens took Jesperi Kotkaniemi third overall (projected 8-12th) and the Arizona Coyotes took Barrett Hayton at fifth overall (projected 15-25th). As for my personal mock draft, there were so many off-the-board picks that I didn’t get a single one right after the first two (Dahlin to Buffalo and Svechnikov to Carolina). Without a doubt my worst mock draft ever. Instead of going over the entire first round, I’m going to bring you guys some light on the topic of the players the Leafs drafted through seven rounds and give you an idea on what to expect from them.<doc-sep>DALLAS, TX - JUNE 23: (l-r) Kyle Dubas and Brendan Shanahan of the Toronto Maple Leafs handle the draft table during the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 23, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) The 2018 NHL Entry Draft has come and gone, and the Toronto Maple Leafs made a number of interesting moves. The weeks leading up to Draft Day and the days which followed have been chaos. To cover every avenue, the Editor in Leaf staff has been working around the clock to make sure no stone is unturned. Because of this, it’s quite easy for a few pieces to slip through the cracks. And we can’t have that! So, here’s a brief roundup of some steaming hot draft-related content for your reading pleasure. Enjoy! Evaluating Every Pick Let’s kick this thing off with the granddaddy of it all. The Leafs held 9 picks in this year’s draft (although they entered with 8) and boy, they made use of them. Once we veer into the weeds of the 4th round and beyond, prospects begin popping up that we’ve never heard of. If that’s the case for you, Alex broke down each and every Leafs pick from Friday to Saturday. Give it a read! “First of all, Dubas continuously preaches the importance of depth and proves it whenever he’s at the helm for a draft. In 2015, he traded down from 24th overall and turned it into two second rounders and a third rounder. He followed the same path this year, trading down from 25th overall to 29th overall and also receiving the 76th pick from St. Louis in the process. Second of all, he took somebody from the Sault St. Marie Greyhounds, the team that he managed for several years and essentially built.” Livin’ on the Bode Wilde Side Just want to give Josh a quick shout out here for his wonderful choice for the title. Anyway, this piece was written prior to the draft, centred around whether the Leafs should zero in on defence prospect Bode Wilde. We all know now that Wilde fell to the Islanders at 43rd, so alas, Dubas will not be living on the Wilde side. Still, Wilde is an intriguing prospect, one who now occupies the Eastern Conference. It’s valuable to get the low down on a guy who could potentially be helping Lou Lamoriello exact revenge on his millennial usurper. Take a gander. “Bob McKenzie of TSN reported a few days ago in the below tweet that Wilde will not play for Michigan. It’s surprising that he chose to de-commit. With the Wolverines, he had the opportunity to play for a strong collegiate program. Oddly enough, he wasn’t the only NHL Draft prospect to de-commit. Fellow USNTDP defenseman, Mattias Samuelsson also de-committed from the Wolverines. Instead of playing collegiate hockey, he could potentially play in the OHL. Per McKenzie’s tweet, Wilde’s OHL rights are owned by the Saginaw Spirit. Saginaw is only a 1 hour and 15-minute drive from his hometown. So if he opted to play in the OHL, he would be able to play in front of his family consistently.” 2017 Draft Round-By-Round Recap Again, Alex knocks it out of the park. The 2017 draft was a mixed bag for the Leafs. On the bright side, they were blessed by the gods when Timothy Liljegren dropped all the way into their laps at 17th overall. On the other hand, they spent later-round picks on complete unknowns in Ryan McGregor and Ryan O’Connell rather than rolling the dice on undersized skill. The piece is an interesting case study on Mark Hunter‘s method of scouting. Not to mention, it’s worth a read. “Growing up as a Maple Leafs fan, McGregor’s totals from his draft year didn’t exactly jump off the board at you. But, he had plenty of reasons to select him. McGregor plays a very strong two-way game. He also seems to possess above-average leadership qualities, being named an alternate captain at the age of 17. McGregor had a successful season this year, putting up 32 points in 50 games. He also really turned in on in the playoffs, putting up 10 points in 12 games for the Sting. McGregor will now return to the Sting for next season. It will be interesting to see how he develops in what is now his fourth year in the OHL.” Best Late-Round Draft Picks in Leafs History Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it, right? Well, this article is less of a hard lesson and more of a building point. While the Leafs haven’t exactly had the best drafting record throughout their history, there are certainly a few gems. Particularly in the later rounds. In this piece, Josh goes through some of the notable ones from year’s past. Check it out! “The best late-round pick in Maple Leafs history is Tomas Kaberle. The Czech national wasn’t a stellar two-way defenseman when he was taken in the eighth round of the 1996 NHL Draft by the Maple Leafs. Prior to draft day, he had only registered two assists in 27 games with HC Kladno. Yet, the Maple Leafs saw promise and they weren’t wrong. In Kaberle’s last season with HC Kladno, he developed offensive skills. In 47 games played, he posted 4 goals and 19 assists. His success with HC Kladno in the 1997-98 regular season led to the Maple Leafs front office bringing him to Toronto for the 1998-99 season.” Thanks for reading! Be sure to keep your eyes peeled to the site as we ramp up coverage heading into free agency. #Tavares2018, baby! Woooooo!<doc-sep>Rasmus Dahlin, D: Obviously. Dahlin is considered a generational talent on the blue line and he was always going to go No. 1. He'll immediately step in and become a difference-maker for Buffalo, who desperately need an impact defenseman. | Story Andrei Svechnikov, RW: Another no-brainer at No. 2. Svechnikov is the best forward prospect of the class thanks to his lethal offensive skill set. He's got flash in the offensive end, but he also plays a strong two-way game and -- at 6-foot-2 -- is a big body who can bring physicality and drive the net. | Story Jesperi Kotkaniemi, C: It appears the Canadiens made their selection based on immediate need over best available player. Kotkaniemi is considered by many to be the best center in this class thanks to his two-way play-making ability. He's a smart, responsible player, but the No. 3 spot might be a little bit high for him. Brady Tkachuk, LW: Tkachuk going at No. 4 is a bit generous, but he's a good player with a valuable combination of size and skill. He plays with a high motor, plenty of physicality, and is relentless on the puck. He's a solid 200-foot player. Barrett Hayton, C: Hayton going in this spot is a major surprise. He's considered a good two-way prospect who has a lot of intangibles and can do a lot of things on the ice. However, there are some concerns about his goal-scoring ability and many scouts had him outside of the Top 10. Filip Zadina, RW: Zadina is arguably the second-best goal scorer in this draft, so the Wings are pretty lucky to get him in this spot. The Czech winger is a dynamic offensive force with a deadly scoring touch. He's got great puck control and a phenomenal release on his shot. But he's also a two-way player with a high hockey IQ both on and off the puck. Quinn Hughes, D: This is a great pick for Vancouver, who need an impact defenseman. Hughes is a bit undersized at 5-foot-10, but he's a great player. He's smart and skilled on both ends of the ice. He's got good speed, handles and puck-moving ability to help push play up ice, making him an exciting two-way threat. Adam Boqvist, D: Bovqist is an exciting offensive-minded defenseman with the skill set of a forward. He's a great skater and can create plenty of opportunities for his teammates in the offensive end. He's got some work to do to develop his defensive game. Vitali Kravtsov, RW: Kravtsov is a dynamic winger with fantastic scoring ability. The Russian brings a mix of speed, size, skill, and grit and he should be a decent offensive piece for the Rangers to add to their long-term rebuilding effort. Evan Bouchard, D: I really like this pick for Edmonton. They address a need while also taking one of the best players on the board. Bouchard is has an all-around game on the blue line. He has excellent hockey IQ and situational awareness. He's a strong skater and dynamic two-way player that is almost as good at shutting down opportunities in his own end as he is at creating them at the other end. Oliver Wahlstrom, RW: Wahlstrom is an explosive offensive force that has an incredible shot and could be a prolific goal-scorer in this league for years to come. He's an excellent skater and puck protector, but he's got to work on the defensive side of his game. Noah Dobson, D: The Islanders get really good value here. Dobson is a big, strong two-way player that projects to be a reliable and productive presence on the blue line. He's got a big shot that could make him a power-play force. He's smart, has good defensive awareness and can play in all situations. Ty Dellandrea, C: Well, this is surprising. Dallas clearly liked Dellandrea, who is a solid two-way hockey player that brings intangibles and leadership, but this is a generous spot for him. Dellandrea was ranked outside of the top 20 by just about everyone. Joel Farabee, LW: Farabee is a 200-foot player that brings skill, smarts and instincts to the wing. He's a good skater with nice finishing ability. He'll need to get stronger, but he's got potential to be a very good all-around player. Grigori Denisenko, LW: Denisenko is a great skater with the ability to make plays and snipe. He's not the biggest winger -- he's only 5-foot-11-but he plays hard and is a goal scorer with an edge. He's got plenty of highlight potential. Martin Kaut, RW: The Czech winger has size at 6-foot-2 and brings a very quick shot and good passing ability. He's probably not a superstar, but he can be a valuable complementary piece offensively. Ty Smith, D: Smith is a prospect that the Devils hope will help their defensive corps down the road. He's a smart, sound player with great skating ability, and he's got good defensive instincts. He'll have to develop his offensive game a bit more to become a legitimate two-way threat. Liam Foudy, C: This seems to be a little bit of a reach by Columbus at No. 18, but Foudy is one of the fastest skaters in the draft. He's also one of most athletic players in the class, as his mother was an Olympic sprinter and his dad a CFL player. The Blue Jackets are banking on his ability to harness that raw athleticism and develop his two-way game a bit more. Jay O'Brien, C: O'Brien was considered a bubble first-rounder but he goes inside the top 20 to the Flyers, who clearly saw something they liked. The American playmaker has a pretty offensive skill set down the middle, and he'll hope to develop further at Providence College. Rasmus Kupari, C: He's a smart, two-way winger that's probably better in his own end than he is in the opponent's. He's a good skater and has speed, but he's not an overly dangerous offensive player. Ultimately, he could end up turning into a valuable depth piece on an NHL roster. Ryan Merkley, D: Merkley is a guy who probably would've went a lot higher if it weren't for character concerns. He's a guy whose attitude and gamesmanship has dragged down his stock, but it's a high risk, high reward sort of pick from San Jose. He's on the smaller side at 5-foot-11 but is a dynamic offensive defenseman who's dangerous with the puck on his stick. He'll need to work on his defensive capabilities. K'Andre Miller, D: Miller has size at 6-foot-4 and is a great athlete. He's very quick and strong, but he's a pretty raw talent at this point. He's only two years removed from converting from forward to defenseman, but if he can develop his game in college this could be a really good pick by the Rangers, who traded up to pick the American. He's got a high ceiling. Isac Lundestrom, C: This a safe, solid pick by the Ducks. Lundestrom is a powerful, smart center who can do a lot of things right. He may not be the most explosive or exciting talent in the class, but he brings a complete game and the potential to be a front-end impact player. Filip Johansson, D: This is an off-the-board pick by Minnesota. Johansson was projected to be a second-rounder and there's not much about his game that really jumps off the page, but he could turn into a serviceable defenseman. Still, seems like a reach here and there were players with more upside still on the board. Dominik Bokk, RW: This is a good value pick for St. Louis, who traded with Toronto to get into the spot. Bokk is a German winger with high-end offensive ability, including quick hands, good vision and a shot capable of finding small openings. He's a guy who is very capable of roasting a defender one-on-one. Jacob Bernard-Docker, D: Another surprising off-the-board pick here. Bernard-Docker isn't the most exciting pick and he wasn't projected to be a first-rounder, but he's a smart, solid player who can be a top-four defenseman one day.<doc-sep>
The Leafs have completed their 2018 NHL entry draft, the first with Kyle Dubas officially as the man in charge. What can we take away? I want to start off by saying: I do not watch junior hockey, I am not any kind of a scout, and I rely on what I read to learn about this stuff. Prior to draft day, I had only heard of the Leafs’ first three picks (Rasmus Sandin, Sean Durzi, and Semyon Der-Arguchintsev). So these are very much armchair observations. Let’s roll. First off, the complete list of players the Leafs selected, with links to our posts on them: 1. The Veleno Pass. Rasmus Sandin deserves his own bullet, and will get the next one, but the decision everyone is going to Monday-Morning-Quarterback is the decision to pass twice on centre Joe Veleno (the Leafs traded down from 25th to 29th to pick up a third-rounder; Veleno was selected 30th.) Joe Veleno was this year’s surprise falling candidate; he was ranked 14th on Bob McKenzie’s pre-draft ranking, which is usually the standard for what the league is thinking (though this was a wild first round.) He was granted exceptional player status to play in the CHL as a 15-year-old, a status previously only granted to Connor McDavid, John Tavares, Aaron Ekblad, and, uh, Sean Day. While his goal-scoring hasn’t exactly wowed in the QJMHL and he’s not at all in the McDavid/Tavares class, he looks like a solid threat to be an NHL two-way C. Yet he dropped. Obviously for a player to fall like Veleno did, a lot of teams have to not pick him, and so it was. By the time the Leafs’ pick came up, Veleno seemed to be pretty clearly the highest-ranked player left on the board (Ryan Merkley, a popular boom-bust pick, was gone at 21, to San Jose.) Kyle Dubas declined to take him. There’s no way the Leafs weren’t entirely aware of Veleno, and they clearly made a conscious decision not to choose him. Why, we can’t know yet, but it’s a choice that they made eyes open. Let’s hope they’re validated. 2. Rasmus Sandin! Okay, let’s give Sandin the attention he deserves. Sandin is a smart player who moves the puck well and is perceived to be an excellent OHL defender. While junior defence is a different animal than the professional species, the fact is that the Leafs have long been long on zippy, cool playmakers and maybe less so on genuinely good defenders. Sandin also isn’t relying on giant size to do it, since he’s a smaller player. That might be something he has to overcome, but it also means he’s not the typical junior defensive defenceman who uses an early growth spurt to smother fellow teenagers and then struggles against adults. He’s not much of a shooter but can pass. Sandin feels like an unspectacular pick, in some ways, because he lacks a real standout talent; his brains allow him to outstrip his physical skills. As our own Kevin Papetti put it, he’s greater than the sum of his parts. Hockey sense is supposedly the hardest thing to teach, and in what looks very much like the Draft for Hockey Sense, Sandin stands as the poster boy. 3. SDA! I am irrationally excited about this pick. (It is irrational to get excited about pretty much any pick after the early first round. Each year I find a player and do it anyway.) Peterborough Petes centre Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, whose name I am gradually learning to spell, is very small, as well as the youngest draft-eligible player. His September 15, 2000 birthday was one day short of rolling him into the 2019 draft. He’s a project. In addition to being young, he’s 5’9” and weighs approximately 0 lbs. He’s been accused at times of being a perimeter player, which is probably natural for someone who has the mass of a feather. At the same time, his vision and playmaking are reputed to be excellent, he puts up 0.75 PPG, and he’s very much a boom-or-bust pick. That’s what I want in the third round; go for someone with an outside chance to be interesting. I’ll be watching you, SDA. Or at least, reading reports until you show up on the Marlies. 4. Small bodies, big brains. The recurring word again, and again, and again in this Leafs draft was smart. Kyle Dubas wanted smart players.