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The Top 5 Worst Toronto Maple Leafs Draft Picks of All-Time

By Brian Westland

TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 5: Brandon Convery #12 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim during NHL game action on October 5, 1996 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Graig Abel/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 5: Brandon Convery #12 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim during NHL game action on October 5, 1996 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Graig Abel/Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ON – OCTOBER 5: Brandon Convery #12 of the Toronto Maple Leafs (Photo by Graig Abel/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – OCTOBER 5: Brandon Convery #12 of the Toronto Maple Leafs (Photo by Graig Abel/Getty Images) /

# 2 Brandon Convery

Brandon Convery was expected to become a top-flight NHL pivot when he was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs with the eighth overall pick in the 1992 NHL draft.

The high expectations were based on Convery’s high-scoring junior career as a member of the Sudbury Wolves of the OHL.

Convery showed flashes of scoring prowess in the few NHL game he played for the buds, and then later, the Vancouver Canucks, but was never able to get a foothold in the show and spent most of his pro career as a member of the St. John’s Maple Leafs.

As a junior in Sudbury, Convery scored at nearly a goal a game clip through a season and a half with the Wolves and garnered the attention of NHL scouts. Convery spent two more seasons in the OHL with initially, the Niagara Falls Thunder and then the Belleville Bulls before turning pro with the Leafs AHL farm team, the St.John’s Maple Leafs.

During the 1994-95 season, Convery scored at nearly a point per game for St.John’s and appeared set for the next step, promotion to the big club.

Convery made his Toronto Maple Leafs debut the following season and recorded 10 points in 39 games. Apparently, this offensive output was far below the expectations of Toronto Maple Leafs brass and Convery was shipped to the Vancouver Canucks for the 1997-98 season.

He played in only seven games for the Canucks, went back down to the AHL, and was claimed on waivers by the Los Angeles Kings before giving up on the NHL and heading to Europe where he finished his hockey career.

By drafting Convery at number eight, the buds passed up on future solid NHL pros such as Kirk Maltby, Sergei Gonchar, Jason Smith, Mike Peca, and Darren McCarty.

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