The Toronto Maple Leafs may be eliminated, but June is still a very exciting month for hockey.
The Stanley Cup Finals are on, and once the Washington Capitals and Vegas Golden Knights finish duking it out in their quest for Lord Stanley, the offseason will have officially started. And what better way to start the offseason than with the NHL Entry Draft? The Toronto Maple Leafs will draft 25th this year.
The Leafs have had a successful couple of drafts. They managed to select former projected top five pick Timothy Liljegren at 17th overall last year, which may end up being the steal of the draft. As the youngest defenseman in the AHL this year, Liljegren has had great success and may even find himself in the NHL next season. (Though possibly not).
The Leafs took superstar centre Auston Matthews in 2016, and he’s lived up to every bit of the hype as the team’s franchise player. IN 2015, the Leafs drafted local-born playmaker Mitch Marner who looks like he’ll be one of the best players in the NHL sooner than later.
This year, once again, there’s more question. The Leafs own the 25th selection in the 2018 draft, but in this piece we’ll take a look at who will go for picks 1-15.