TORONTO, ON – FEBRUARY 23: Stuart Percy #50 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates against the Nashville Predators during an NHL game at the Air Canada Centre on February 23, 2016 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Predators defeated the Maple Leafs 3-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
Honorable Mentions
Stuart Percy, D
Drafted 25th overall in 2011, Percy never stuck it in the NHL. Over his career he played 12 games with the Maple Leafs, registering three points. He’s spent the past two seasons in Europe playing for Sport Vaasa of the Liiga and HC Motor České Budêjovice in Czech Extraliga.
Drafting Percy, the Leafs missed out on: Philip Danault, Vladislav Namestnikoc, and Rickard Rakell.
Steve Bancroft, D
Bancroft was drafted 21st overall in 1989, he was undoubtedly drafted for his toughness, registering 99 penalty minutes in 66 games in his draft year. He would go on to play six NHL games between the Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks and registered one assist.
The two picks directly after Bancroft that the Leafs could have taken instead were: Adam Foote and Travis Green.
Eric Fichaud, G
The Leafs chose Fichaud with the 16th overall pick in 1994. Before playing a single game with the team, the Leafs traded him less than a year later for Benoit Hogue and a 5th rounder that never played an NHL game. Hogue did go on to have a solid NHL career and spent 56 games in a Leaf uniform before being dealt, however when you pick a goalie in the first round, you expect him to be your starter.
This wasn’t the case for Fichaud as he would go on to play 95 games over six NHL seasons, between the New York Islanders, Nashville Predators, Carolina Hurricanes, and Montreal Canadiens. In those games he had a record of 22-47-10 with a .897% save percentage.
In the picks that followed, the Leafs could have taken Wayne Primeau or went with another goalie in Mathieu Garon.
Luca Cereda, C
I had initially placed Cereda on this list but after looking into it, I decided against it due to his heart conditions. He never played an NHL game for the Leafs and retired in 2008 and is now the Head Coach of the HC Ambrì-Piotta of the NL.