Toronto Maple Leafs Should Keep An Eye On The Greyhounds

Brendan Shanahan and the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ front office should take a look at Rasmus Sandin and Barrett Hayton.

Both, Hayton and Sandin play for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL. Both should be targets for future Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks. They both have been pivotal to the Greyhounds’ success this season and are helping them attempt to secure a spot in the Memorial Cup. Currently, the Greyhounds are two wins away from moving onto to the OHL Finals. If they can beat the Kitchener Rangers and advance to the finals, they’ll likely take on the Hamilton Bulldogs, who are one win away from defeating the Kingston Frontenacs.

Both, Hayton and Sandin are eligible to be drafted this summer.

Barrett Hayton

Hayton, a native of Kitchener, Ontario had a stellar season with the Greyhounds. He registered 21 goals and 39 assists in 63 games. He’s also continued his success in the playoffs and currently has 5 goals and 8 assists. He truly blossomed into a star centre after a abysmal rookie campaign. In his rookie year, he registered 9 goals and 18 assists in 63 games. It’s evident that Hayton has matured over the past year and could top line or second line centre in a few seasons on a NHL roster.

In January, Craig Button of TSN explained that Hayton reminds him of Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins. Button continued to explained that Hayton will be effective on the ice in any situation thrown at him. A solid two-way centre is hard to come by in the NHL Draft, so it would be hard to pass on Hayton. Plus, how could you not want the next Bergeron on the Maple Leafs.

If the Toronto Maple Leafs are able to grab Hayton in the first round, they will be adding a solid play-maker and centre who isn’t afraid to come back on defense. Plus, Hayton could be a valuable asset for the Maple Leafs in 2022-2023 when Nazem Kadri‘s contract expires. At that point, Kadri will most likely be asking for a big contract. Kadri is one heck of centre, however he might be too costly to keep. The Maple Leafs could utilize Hayton instead of shelling out millions to retain the then 30 year-old Kadri.

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There will likely be a lot of interest in Hayton come draft night. If the Maple Leafs truly want Hayton, that might have put together a compelling package to move up in the draft.

Rasmus Sandin

Yes, in this draft class there are two different Rasmus. Rasmus Dahlin is the highly touted defenseman who will likely be selected number one or two in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. Toronto Maple Leafs have no shot of landing Dahlin. While Sandin doesn’t project to be an elite defenseman like Dahlin, he still looks like a special blue-liner.

The left-handed defenseman from Uppsala, Sweden has been stellar in his first season in the OHL. In 51 games, he has registered 12 goals and 33 assists. He’s got a powerful shot and looks like he could be a solid quarterback on a NHL power-play unit. Perhaps, he could be a candidate to replace Jake Gardiner down the line.

Sandin has been ranked all over the place by hockey insiders. Button has him ranked 18th overall, while his fellow TSN colleague, Bob McKenzie has Sandin ranked 34th overall. The Sportsnet insiders, Jeff Marek and Sam Consentino are a bit closer in their rankings. Marek has him at 20th overall, while Cosentino has him at 24th overall.

Next: Marner Coming Up Big

Recap

All-in-all, the Toronto Maple Leafs have drafted really well over the last few years. The Maple Leafs scouts have brought stellar talent to the city of Toronto including Morgan Rielly, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Andreas Johnsson, William Nylander and more. They’ll look to continue their success at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. Perhaps, the scouts like my opinion and Hayton or Sandin will dawn a Maple Leafs uniform at the draft, but time will tell.

stats from eliteprospects.com

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