The Toronto Maple Leafs System Both Incredible and Underrated

Thinking About What the Leafs Have

Google the scouting reports on Kokkonen, Steeves, Knies, Robertson or any other member of the Leafs system, and you’ll read that player shows extreme dedication, and is a very hard worker.

The Leafs believe that you can acquire grinders, checkers, big players, and role players in a multitude of ways, so you don’t have to draft them.

Instead, they focus on finding smart, hard working players who are offensively talented.

This is eventually going to yield players, but it’s a strategy that has only been in place since June of 2018, which is four years and three months ago, or five drafts.

From the 2018 draft, both the first two picks are now NHL regulars.  Sandin might be  a star, while Durzi is good for LA and got the Leafs Muzzin.  Pontus Holmberg could play in the NHL right now.  Filip Kral, Mac Hollowell and Semyon Der-Arguchintsev are still viable prospects who are good AHL players and might still make the NHL.

I think it’s safe to say that Kyle Dubas’ first draft as the boss was a strong one, especially considering their first pick was 29th overall.  Any team would be happy with three NHL Players (one a likely star) and three decent lottery tickets from any draft.

Most people think the Leafs system is crap. That’s OK.  You can’t expect people in large numbers to come around on anything until the proof is indisputable (and even then…).

The Leafs system should be underrated.  No one knows how these guys will turn out, no one has ever tried to do what the Leafs are doing, and so there is no history of it working.

But the Leafs have at last two players are not longshots to be stars: Niemella and Robertson.

Nine of their top ten prospects (Alex Steeves is the odd man out) have star potential.

They have players – Joey Anderson, Pontus Holberg, just to name two – who are almost certain to be NHL players eventually, and who don’t even make this list.

The list, as a whole, however, is very impressive because the Leafs have built a strong system with a ton of talent using just players drafted outside the first round.  (Only one players, Rodion Amirov, is a first round selection).

Of course they won’t get any praise for this because they shouldn’t.  They are just doing their job, and it hasn’t even been shown to work yet.  However, it does look like it is starting to.

The levels at which Sandin, Liljegren and Robertson have been able to play at in the NHL gives a strong indication that this strategy will work (all are smart, competitive, talented), as is the returns from the 2018 draft so far.

Kyle Dubas has set the Leafs up for years with his strong drafting, and I can’t wait to see it come to fruition so he can get his due.