Leafs forward Tyler Bozak was picked up by the Toronto Maple Leafs mid-way through the 2009-2010 season – he was a highly touted Undrafted Free Agent (UDFA). Now, with the Leafs rebuilding, they should look down that same route for a few players.
Other notable NHL players who have been UDFA’s out of college are retired defence man and retired Detroit Red Wings defence man Brian Rafalski, Sidney Crosby’s partner in crime in Pittsburgh Chris Kunitz and Dan Boyle, longtime Tampa Bay Lighting and San Jose Sharks defenceman, currently playing for the New York Rangers.
Three goalies by the names of Ed Belfour, Curtis Joseph and Joe Mullen went onto have Hall-of-fame caliber careers, so there is value in scouting out undrafted college talent.
Undrafted players who are currently too old to be selected in the NHL Entry Draft and play in U.S. college hockey (or anywhere in North America) are eligible to be signed to entry-level contracts as unrestricted free agents – which is what happened to the players listed above.
In this slideshow – we will look at five college prospect the Leafs should sign if they go the UDFA college route.
Next: #5 Ahti Oksanen Defenceman