Toronto Maple Leafs: Re-Drafting the Wilderness Years 2010-2015
By Andrew Kogut
2015 NHL Draft
Finally! The Toronto Maple Leafs have picks in every round including multiple picks in both the 2nd and 3rd-rounds; how could they possibly miss with this many bullets? Well, I guess this draft has the aim of a stormtrooper because there are more misses here than on an Ilya Mikheyev breakaway.
Thankfully the Leafs scoop Marner with the 4th overall pick- his 37.0 PS is the 4th-highest in the entire draft, sitting only behind Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel and Sebastion Aho (the last two are only marginally higher).
Travis Dermott at #34 overall hasn’t quite panned out yet but what’s more frustrating is that not only were there some quality defenseman picked shortly thereafter, Sebastian Aho was picked next at #35. Ouch.
How the Leafs drafted:
Mitch Marner (4)
Travis Dermott (34)
Jeremy Bracco (61)
Andrew Nielson (65)
Martins Dzierkals (68)
Jesper Lindgren (95)
Dmytro Timashov (125)
Stephen Desrocher (155)
Nikita Korostelev (185)
How the Leafs should have drafted:
Mitch Marner (4)
Sebastian Aho (35)
Anthony Cirelli (72!)
Adin Hill (76)
Connor Garland (123)
Kirill Kaprizov (135)
John Marino (154)
Andrew Mangiapane (166)
Magnus Nutivaara (189)
Other notable names available:
Zach Werenski (8), Mikko Rantanen (10), Brandon Carlo (37), Mackenzie Blackwood (42), Erik Cernak (43), Roope Hintz (49), Rasmus Andersson (53), Vince Dunn (56), Mason Appleton (168), Matt Roy (194)
Now obviously this is all in good fun and it’s pretty easy to re-draft in hindsight. Players picked in late-rounds who become regular, if not quality, players in the NHL would have been picked much earlier had those teams actually known they would pan out that well. There is a lot of luck in the draft and some teams just happen to fare better than others in the end.
All of that being said, continually finding quality players in the draft, particularly in mid-later rounds, is integral to a team’s success. This is perfectly exemplified by Tampa Bay’s drafting record and their subsequent accomplishments and longevity.
Next. Top 10 Leafs Prospects. dark
Toronto needs to start getting key contributions from drafted players and soon, because that cap isn’t getting any higher and their high-priced players won’t be getting any cheaper. Or maybe they should just trade multiple picks to Anaheim and acquire the players the Ducks end up selecting with those picks. Hey, it’s all a crapshoot anyway.