Will the number 28 bring good luck to the Toronto Maple Leafs at the NHL draft?
The Toronto Maple Leafs currently hold the 28th overall pick in the NHL draft. The first round of the draft will take place on June 28th.
With the Leafs replacing Kyle Dubas with Brad Treliving as general manager, the thought process for the NHL draft is different.
I’m sure Treliving will want to select the best player available, like most GMs, but he does tend to draft bigger players compared to Dubas.
That’s not to say that Dubas never drafted big players, but most of his selections were in the 5’10 height range. Treliving tends to select players 6’0 or taller with most of his picks.
When drafting at number 28, a team is selecting a player who will likely not play in the NHL for at least two more seasons. So Treliving is not drafting a player that will help Toronto right away. With captain John Tavares’s contract ending after the 2024-25 season, should Toronto try drafting their next second-line centerman? With very few defensemen signed long-term, should Treliving draft a defenseman? It’s a lot to think about.
Another option for the Leafs is to trade the 28th overall pick to move down in the draft and acquire extra picks.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have no picks in rounds two, three, four, or seven. Moving down was a tactic often used by Dubas. We’ll have to wait and see if it’s something Treliving will use in his first draft. If he does decide to keep the 28th overall selection, here is a final look at which players he might select.