Toronto Maple Leafs: A Look At Rounds 3-7 Of The NHL Draft

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Jun 24, 2016; Buffalo, NY, USA; Auston Matthews puts on a team cap after being selected as the number one overall draft pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft at the First Niagra Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports /

It finally happened Leafs Nation, the NHL draft came and went and our beloved, long-suffering Toronto Maple Leafs have their first legitimate ‘Number One’ center since Mats Sundin.

Auston Matthews was the belle of the ball and for the first time in a long time the Maple Leafs came away with the prize. We’ll have plenty of time to talk and break down Matthews in the coming months, so in this article we’ll focus on some of the other players the Leafs have added to their pipeline.

Check out YouTuber Seer Video‘s highlight package for all 11 prospects:

We’ll take a quick peek at the entire draft class that Mark Hunter and company have assembled to give you an idea of how the Toronto Maple Leafs fared. One interesting note about the Leafs 2016 draft class to start is the clear market inefficiency that Kyle Dubas and the analytics team seem to think they have uncovered; over age players. The Toronto Maple Leafs drafted 5 “re-draft” players that had been passed over in previous drafts. Elliotte Friedman mentions this in his recent “30 Thoughts” column:

25. I’d love to see Toronto’s draft analytics. The Maple Leafs took five players who were re-entries, not taken the first time they were eligible. That’s clearly a strategy, an attempt to ride the Troy Brouwer/Carl Hagelin/Gustav Nyquist/Ondrej Palat train. There’s some research indicating those types of players are good bets in the second round and later. Clearly the Maple Leafs subscribe to that.

The thinking here being that these players can slot immediately into roles with the Toronto Marlies or Orlando Solar Bears and begin to have the Leafs strength and conditioning, nutrition, skating and skill coaches work directly with them.

More from Editor In Leaf

The Toronto Maple Leafs are the NHL’s richest organization and spend a sizeable chunk of money on player development and the staff that help with that – this has only increased under Brendan Shanahan. It only makes sense that they would want to get their young players into their staff’s expert hands as soon as possible.

Another interesting fact from the Leafs draft this year is the plain 180 degree turn from last season. What I mean by that is in 2015 the Leafs selected nine players, six of which were under 6feet tall and four under 190lbs – three of those four coming in at under 170lbs.

Compared to the 2016 calls where the Leafs selected 11 players and only three were under 6feet tall and four under 190lbs – none under 170lbs. Many scouts and analysts felt that the Toronto Marlies got pushed around in their Calder Cup quest by bigger teams in the Albany Devils and Hershey Bears, this is clearly trying to remedy that.

Now on to the real players themselves, in reverse order of when they were drafted…

Next: Picks No.10 &11

Jun 24, 2016; Buffalo, NY, USA; A general view as hockey fans arrive before the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft at the First Niagra Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports /

Get To Know Nikolai Chebykin

Fwd – Undetermined Height – undetermined Weight – Age 18 (Aug 1st Birthday)

Drafted 7th Round – 182nd Overall

For their last pick of the 2016 NHL draft the Leafs went back to Russia with one of their many players that were passed over their in their first draft. Nikolai Chebykin is listed as being 6 foot and anywhere from 182lbs to 209lbs and anywhere from 6ft to 6ft3, this is the discrepancy you find sometimes in less regulated markets like Russia.

Another prospect who has a bigger frame and the speed to make use of it. A natural goal scorer, Chebykin likes to carry the puck and has a shifty wrist shot but overall has several holes in his game and will be a big project for Mark Hunter and company. Last season – his first draft eligible season – he only managed 6pts in 32 games for Russia’s top junior league the MHL. This season he led his team with 35pts in 39 games which was a nice 29pt jump.

Get To Know Nicolas Mattinen

Def – 6ft4 – 220lbs – Age 18 – Shoots Right

Drafted 6th Round – 179th Overall

Mark Hunter goes back to his own backyard in drafting the hulking London Knights defenceman. Nicolas Mattinen was buried on a deep Knights blue line, only playing in 39 games while a healthy scratch fro most of the season.

Get To Know Jonathan/Jack Walker

LW/Def – 5ft11 – 170lbs – Age 19

Drafted 6th Round – 152nd Overall

One of the most confusing moments of the Toronto Maple Leafs draft was when the Leafs Twitter account announced they’d taken “D, Jonathan Walker”, while Paul Hendricks and many of the Leafs affiliated media team were tweeting and talking about the Leafs taking “LW, Jack Walker”.

It turns out they were the same as Jonathan/Jack (to be known as JJ going forward) has transitioned between forward and defence for the past four season in the WHL rather seamlessly. The media of course jumped all over the Toronto Maple Leafs “trying to get their own Brent Burns” with JJ being able to so easily transition between forward and defence.

Playing most of draft +2 season at LW, JJ scored 36G 84Pts in 72 games. He’s got speed to burn and some decent hockey IQ, another of the Leafs analytics teams overage targets will be one to keep an eye on.

Get To Know Vladimir Bobylev

RW/C – 6ft2 – 203lbs – Age 19

Drafted 5th Round – 122nd Overall

A linemate all season of Jack Walker, Vladimir Bobylev is a big Russian winger with some snarl to his game.

Head Coach of the Victoria Royals, Dave Lowry had this to say:

As with all players, Bobylev is going to have to continue to develop the consistency in his game. He’s a big-bodied guy. He skates well. He does have deceptive speed. He can play a heavy game. At one point in the year, he was also leading our team in fighting majors. He can play a big man’s game. He just needs to make sure that he continues to understand that you have to do it every day.

A big Russian, who plays the game like a “good ol’ Western Canadian boy”, Bobylev is still a relative unknown. Realistically, he’s destined for a supporting role with the Toronto Marlies and if he turns into anything more than a big, tough body, then it is a bonus.

Next: Picks No.6&7

May 25, 2016; San Jose, CA, USA; St. Louis Blues defenseman Colton Parayko (55) shoots against the San Jose Sharks in the second period of game six in the Western Conference Final of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center at San Jose. The Sharks won 5-2. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports /

Get To Know Keaton Middleton

D – 6ft5 – 234lbs – Age 18 – Shoots Left

Drafted 4th Round – 101st Overall

A behemoth on the blue line, Keaton is an average skater with decent passing skills. He excels at the physical aspects of the game and thrives in a shutdown role, playing heavy minutes against others teams best players every night for the Saginaw Spirit the past two seasons.

He’s shown next to no offensive inclination up to this point in his career, scoring a paltry 13 points in 127 games in the OHL. There have been suggestions that his development curve is similar to St.Louis Blues behemoth rookie sensation Colton Parayko, but that is a few years away before we can judge this pick.

Get To Know Adam Brooks

C – 5ft11 – 176lbs – Age 20 – Shoots Left

Drafted 4th Round – 92 Overall

Going back to last years formula the Leafs selected the smaller but supremely skilled Adam Brooks. Brooks led the entire WHL in scoring last season in his D+2 season, scoring 38 goals and 120pts, he followed that up by scoring 23pts in only 12 playoff games.

Adam Brooks is your typical late-blooming player, couple that with his smaller frame and it allowed the Toronto Maple Leafs to luck out in the 4th round. He’s a plus skater, with plus vision and although he doesn’t do anyone one thing that blows you away, he’s a very well-rounded player that uses his brain and elusiveness to be an offensive threat.

He also spent the last 2 seasons really developing his defensive game, and gets back on the back check to break up plays. If Adam Brooks was an inch taller, or if he was 20lbs heavier, he would’ve gone in the top-60. Brooks should join the ECHL Orlando Solar Bears as their No.1 center, potentially playing his way directly to the Marlies, so Leafs Nation will get a close look at him almost immediately.

Next: Pick No.4&5

Get To Know James “JD” Greenway

D – 6ft4 – 205lbs – Age 18- Shoots Left

Drafted 3rd Round – 72nd Overall

JD Greenway continues the Leafs run of drafting for size in this draft. The biggest take away from watching Greenway is that he’s inconsistent. On any given shift you are as likely to see him pull off a game breaking deke or stretch pass as you are to see him misread a play and cause an odd-man rush against.

He doesn’t skate poorly, but also not terribly well and that will be an area he will have to improve to take the next step. He is committed to the University of Wisconsin for next season, but the Plymouth Whalers of the OHL own his CHL rights and he may follow other Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks such as Jeremy D’Amigo and Jeremy Bracco from the NCAA to the OHL.

While he isn’t afraid to use his size, he doesn’t have a nasty element to his game and rarely takes advantage of his opposing frame. A potential diamond in the rough for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but they need to find out how to get more consistency out of JD first.

Get To Know Joseph “Brick” Woll

G – 6ft3 – 196lbs – Age 17 – Catches Left

Drafted 3rd Round – 62nd Overall

The fifth goalie off the board, and the first goalie pick by the Leafs since Antoine Bibeau back in 2013. His teammates have given him the nickname “Brick”, combine that with his last name and it’s a great omen for a young goaltender. I’ll own up to the fact that I am not a goalie guru by any means and rely on what others have seen from and said about Joseph.

“He has the ability to make that second and third save that other goalies can’t get to just because of his flexibility,” – Bruce Raccine, Woll’s Goalie Coach “He’s big, he’s 6-3, he’s going to a good program to play in Boston and we like him. We think he’s athletic and he’s very strong mentally.” – Mark Hunter, Leafs Director Of Player Personnel “Joseph Woll of the USA Under-18 has been steadily proving that he has the ability to become a solid NHL goalie. Well has developed patience in the net that adds to his high skill level and consistency game after game.” – ISS Hockey Head U.S. Scout Phil Myre.

It will be several years before we see Joseph Woll take part in any meaningful games for the Leafs. However, every sign is that the Leafs have found themselves a calm under pressure goalie who has a hunger to get better with good NHL ready size.

More from Editor In Leaf

So there you have it Leafs Nation, Picks 62-182 of the Leafs 2016 Draft Class. While there are a lot of questions about taking size over skill, the Leadership team under Shanny has done nothing but win so far and has earned our trust.

It usually takes 4+ years to truly know what you have in a prospect, due to the older age of half the draft class, we’ll have an idea most likely a lot sooner than that. There is a lot of potential here and if nothing else Mark Hunter and company have filled three dire needs for the Leafs prospect pipeline; Size, Defenceman and high-end Goaltending.

Next: Leafs Have Decisions At Forward

What do you think about the Toronto Maple Leafs later round picks this season? Did they make mistakes? Who would you have drafted instead? Should we be upset at how the draft was handled or do we give Hunter and his team time before judging them? All of these and more are great questions, feel free to give me a shout on Twitter @TorrinBatchelor and we can carry the discussion on.

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