Toronto Maple Leafs Should Select Braden Schneider

The Toronto Maple Leafs hold the 15th overall selection in the 2020 NHL Draft and defenceman Braden Schneider would be a smart choice with the pick.

After acquiring the 15th overall pick in this year’s draft, the Toronto Maple Leafs have a wide range of options with how to use it moving forward.

One option that has emerged is the possibility of using it in a package to land a right-handed defenceman to help improve their blueline corps.

But if the Leafs decide that they are happy with keeping the pick and selecting one of the many top, promising young prospects available then they should be turning their attention to 18-year-old Braden Schneider.

Why Braden Schneider Makes Sense

Braden Schneider is a Prince Albert, Saskatchewan native currently developing his game with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League.

He was drafted 12th overall by the Wheat Kings in the 2016 WHL Entry Draft and has gone on to make 185 regular-season appearances for the club, racking up 16 goals and 88 total points while playing along the blueline. (Stats via Elite Prospects)

A scouting report on Schneider from ISS Hockey, via Elite Prospects, describes him as being a steady two-way defenseman with mobility, quick feet and strong positioning that helps to shut down opposition rushes.

He is a right-shot defenseman, which is something the Leafs are in desperate need of, not just in the short-term but also in the long-run, and he has great, almost NHL ready size at 6-foot-2, 209lbs that would make him the fourth-largest defenseman on the Leafs’ roster, when free agents are discounted.

Having a big-bodied defenceman that is quick on his feet, can make clean passes and will put himself in positions to push opposition forwards out wide and into low-danger shooting areas is something the Toronto Maple Leafs could certainly use in the future when guys such as Jake Muzzin become too old and need to be replaced.

His two-way tendencies mean that the Leafs would be selecting a player that can still contribute to the team offensively, mostly from a playmaking perspective, but is well-rounded defensively and can play more within his own zone.

There are defensemen in the draft that are viewed as having higher ceilings, but Schneider appears to be closer to being NHL ready and could step into the line-up after just one more year of development in juniors and could be the better ‘defensive’ prospect available when the Leafs are on the clock at 15th overall.

The prevailing belief is that Kyle Dubas will look to deal the pick, valuing a veteran that can make an immediate impact over a potential project, but if the Toronto Maple Leafs decide to keep the pick they received from the Pittsburgh Penguins, then a well-rounded player with NHL size and smarts such as Schneider should be high on their wishlist.