Who the Toronto Maple Leafs will Draft (7 Round Mock Draft)
1st Round, 25th Overall – K’Andre Miller (D, USNTDP, USHL)
The Toronto Maple Leafs lucked out in 2015 and 2016 by earning the right to draft two franchise forwards in Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews. The year after they drafted Matthews, they made the playoffs and earned the 17th overall pick, and drafted Timothy Liljegren. With their first rounder sitting at 25th this year, I think they go with another defenseman and select K’Andre Miller.
The reality is, the Leafs’ biggest need is centre depth and defense. And lucky for them, this draft is loaded with them in the early rounds. But I think the Leafs are going to settle with a defenseman in the late first round and go with Miller, who has been compared to Seth Jones in terms of his playstyle.
The only concern with Miller is that he has holes to fill in the defensive aspect of his game, but that’s why the Leafs have Mike Babcock. He did wonders for guys like Nazem Kadri, an elite two-way forward, who had the exact same issue coming out of the draft. Obviously with Kadri being a forward and Miller being a defenseman it’s not easy to compare them, but it shows that Babcock knows what he’s doing when dealing with the defensive side of a player’s game.
2nd Round, 52nd Overall – Allan McShane (C, Oshawa Generals, OHL)
After the first round, the draft is a total crapshoot.
That’s how it seems to be for the Maple Leafs anyways. Take the 2016 Draft for example. Names like Alex DeBrincat and Vitali Abramov were still on the board, but the Leafs decided to take Yegor Korshkov at 31st instead. Korshkov is actually looking like a pretty solid pick, but my point is that nobody knew who he was until the Leafs’ announced his name.
So, this year, the Leafs could very well take some random Russian nobody has ever heard of in the second round. But for my draft, I have them taking skilled centre Allan McShane.
The Collingwood native spent his minor hockey years playing for the Toronto Marlboros, and just came off of a very successful sophomore OHL season that saw him put up 65 points in 67 games.
The selection of McShane fulfills another need for the Leafs, which is much-needed centre depth. His only downfall is his size, standing at 5’11, but for some players that’s proven to be a non-issue. If McShane passes the 6 foot interval and keeps improving in the next few years, he could wind up being a very smart pick for the Leafs.
3rd Round, 83rd Overall – Alec Regula (D, London Knights, OHL)
With Mark Hunter no longer in the organization, they don’t have that instant connection with the London Knights. But that shouldn’t stop the Leafs from taking a guy like Regula in the third round.
The Michigan native just made the move to Canada after playing for the Chicago Steel of the USHL in 2016-17. He just finished his first campaign with the Knights, putting up 25 points in 67 games.
Regula is still very young, as he won’t turn 18 until August, so these are pretty solid totals for his age. Pile that with the fact that he’s 6’3 and right handed with a pretty solid defensive game, and this looks like it could be a very good pick for the Leafs and only add more defensive depth.
4th Round, 118th Overall – Pavel Gogolev (RW, Peterborough Petes, OHL)
I know, I know. The Leafs don’t really need another right winger. But that doesn’t mean the Leafs are going to go the entire draft selecting only centres and defensemen.
Gogolev is a Russian winger who actually played minor hockey in North America. He stands at 6’0 tall and he’s known for having a knack for goal scoring. He put up 30 goals and 47 points in 66 games for the Petes this year and he’s said to have an above-average shot for his age.
The Leafs may already be loaded at right wing with Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Kasperi Kapanen among others, but you can never have too much depth. And if Gogolev uses his shot and rounds out the other aspects of his game, then he could certainly make a case for himself on the Leafs’ forward depth chart.
5th Round, 149th Overall – Oscar Back (C, Farjestad BK, SHL)
As I’ve repeated numerous times throughout this article, you can never have too much depth. No matter what the position is.
Back would certainly be a long term project if the Maple Leafs selected him, but he has a lot of likeable aspects to his game. He spent the majority of his season playing junior hockey in Sweden, putting up 32 points in 38 games for Farjestad BK J20. He also appeared in 14 games for Farjestad’s senior team in the SHL, and despite the fact that he didn’t register a point, there must have been something attractive about his game that helped him earn the promotion.
He stands at 6’3 and 204lbs, which is pretty solid for somebody his age. If he can continue to develop his game overseas, he could eventually end up being a very good pick for the Maple Leafs.
7th Round, 209th Overall – Caleb Everett (D, Saginaw Spirit, OHL)
The Maple Leafs don’t own a sixth round pick this year, having traded it to Vegas in exchange for Calvin Pickard, but they have two seventh round picks to capitalize on. This one being acquired from Anaheim in exchange for Jhonas Enroth.
After the selections of K’Andre Miller and Alec Regula, the Maple Leafs will take another defenseman here in Caleb Everett.
The Pleasant Lake, MI native just completed his first OHL season with Saginaw, putting up a respectable 20 points in 58 games for the Spirit. He has a couple of attractive aspects to his game, including his size at 6’2 and 174lbs and the fact that he’s right-handed. If he can bulk up a little bit and round out the edges of his game, then he could end up being a pretty solid D-man for the Leafs in the future.
7th Round, 211th Overall – Kristian Reichel (C, Red Deer Rebels, WHL)
I’ve looked at many mock drafts and for whatever reason, lots of them have Reichel going in the late rounds.
Regardless, if the Leafs can manage to take Reichel with one of their seventh round picks, it will be a very, very good pick.
His name is familiar in Leafs nation, considering his father, Robert Reichel spent three seasons in Toronto. Kristian is no slouch himself, standing just north of 6’0 and having put up 57 points in 63 games for the Rebels this season.
Next: Thoughts on Trading 1st Rounders
Reichel could end up being a very solid prospect if the Leafs manage to take him, so if he’s available anywhere in the later rounds the Leafs’ should easily capitalize.
All statistics obtained from eliteprospects.com