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.
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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.