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Toronto Maple Leafs: 2017 Draft Round-By-Round Recap

By Alex Hobson

CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 23: The Toronto Maple Leafs select defenseman Timothy Liljegren with the 17th pick in the first round of the 2017 NHL Draft on June 23, 2017, at the United Center in Chicago, IL. (Photo by Daniel Bartel/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 23: The Toronto Maple Leafs select defenseman Timothy Liljegren with the 17th pick in the first round of the 2017 NHL Draft on June 23, 2017, at the United Center in Chicago, IL. (Photo by Daniel Bartel/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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CHICAGO, IL – JUNE 23: The Toronto Maple Leafs select defenseman Timothy Liljegren with the 17th pick in the first round of the 2017 NHL Draft on June 23, 2017, at the United Center in Chicago, IL. (Photo by Daniel Bartel/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL – JUNE 23: The Toronto Maple Leafs select defenseman Timothy Liljegren with the 17th pick in the first round of the 2017 NHL Draft on June 23, 2017, at the United Center in Chicago, IL. (Photo by Daniel Bartel/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

1st Round – Timothy Liljegren, D (17th Overall)

I’m not ashamed to admit that I went nuts when the Leafs took Liljegren at 17th last year.

For two years prior to the 2017 NHL Draft, Liljegren was constantly being projected as a top three pick. Due to the fact that he suffered from Mono in his draft year, his draft stock dipped a little bit. But nobody could have expected him to drop out of the 15.

I know in my case at least, it was kind of like “Okay, not in the top five. Not in the top 10 either. Okay, not even in the top 15? Wow.” and then when the Leafs were on the clock and Liljegren hadn’t been taken, it was like “no way.”

But alas, it happened.

Liljegren had a pretty solid first campaign with the Calder-cup winning Toronto Marlies. He put up 19 points in 44 games, which are pretty good totals considering the fact that he was 18 years old for the majority of the season. He will likely spend one more season in the AHL with the inevitable promotion of Travis Dermott and maybe Justin Holl, and then make his full time NHL debut for the 2019-2020 season.

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