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Toronto Maple Leafs Roundtable: NHL Entry Draft First-Round Options

By Wilbert Timmermans

DALLAS, TX - JUNE 22: General manager Kyle Dubas of the Toronto Maple Leafs looks on during the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - JUNE 22: General manager Kyle Dubas of the Toronto Maple Leafs looks on during the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ONTARIO – AUGUST 07: John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs . (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photo/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO – AUGUST 07: John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs . (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photo/Getty Images) /

Philip van Riesen

After acquiring the 15th overall pick from the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Toronto Maple Leafs management give themselves many different opportunities to improve the team.

With the current state the Leafs find themselves in as a team, it would make sense to be open to trading the pick for an active player. At the same time it has to be the right trade, in no way do you want to be trading the pick for a player who isn’t impactful enough to justify it, because drafting a player who could be impactful on an ELC in a few years is extremely valuable in a cap world.

If the Leafs are looking at a deal that has Aaron Ekblad or Colton Parayko coming back, then it is obviously worth it to move the pick but the likelihood of anything as big as that is slim. The most plausible option is the Leafs keep the pick and draft at 15, but to maximize the potential future value it might make sense for the Leafs to move down a couple of spots in the draft and garner another asset.

Generally, moving down a few spots in the draft means that you get a 3rd round pick or something of similar value on top of moving only a few spots down. Based on expected value, picking at a player at 15 is extremely similar to picking a player at 20th overall, the difference in general is easily worth adding an additional 3rd round pick.

The Leafs might be able to pull off picking an excellent player such as Jan Mysak around 20th overall and getting another draft asset with that. Mysak is a high-level offensive player who was able to play against men in the Czech pro league, and he led the league in U-18 points. His hockey IQ, shot, and passing ability is that of a bonified top-15 pick and many expect him to go later in the first round.

So if Dubas is able to move down and select a player as good as Mysak in the later first round and get another pick on-top of that, it would be game-changing.

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