The Toronto Maple Leafs have had a lot of luck in the draft in recent years.
From Morgan Rielly, to Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, Timothy Liljegren, Travis Dermott and Rasmus Sandin, the Toronto Maple Leafs have built the vast majority of their team through the draft.
That appears set to continue, as their most recent draft pick, second rounder Nick Robertson, is absolutely tearing up the OHL so far this year.
Robertson likely is a few years away from the NHL, but this is a great sign.
Toronto Maple Leafs and Nick Robertson
Last year, Nick Robertson dressed for the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League, and he scored 27 goals and 55 points in 54 games.
The performance was good enough for the Toronto Maple Leafs to draft him in the second round, 53rd overall, even though he was the youngest player in the draft.
With an early September birthday, Robertson just made the cutoff for the draft and was only a couple days away from having to wait until June 2020 to be drafted to the NHL.
Were Robertson three or four days younger, he most likely would be on a trajectory to be a high-end first round pick next summer, therefore it appears the Leafs have gotten an absolute steal with this pick.
So far this year, Robertson, who is again playing for the Peterborough Petes, has 12 goals in 12 games and 20 points overall.
If he maintains this pace, and place the same amount of games as he played last season, he is going to improve by approximately 35 points.
Connor McDavid once scored 120 in 47 OHL games, so Robertson is not quite at that level, but nevertheless, he is dominating so far.
Robertson’s partner in crime and fellow Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Semyon Der Arguchintsev is playing on a line with Robertson this year (again) and has 19 points in ten games.
The duo is absolutely dominating the Ontario Hockey League and could one day be an excellent combo in the NHL. SDA has high potential, but is a long shot to make the NHL.
Robertson isn’t a slam dunk either, but with Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren sure to graduate to the NHL sometime soon, he’s on track to be the Toronto Maple Leafs new top prospect.
When you’re competing for a Stanley Cup, it’s inevitable that you’ll have to trade away draft picks for rental player or cap considerations, as the Leafs did to get rid of Patrick Marleau and to acquire Jake Muzzin.
One thing that makes doing that a whole heck of a lot less painful is finding gems in the second and subsequent rounds. With SDA and Nick Robertson, the Leafs are well on their way to pulling it off.