With the 28th Overall Pick the Toronto Maple Leafs Select…

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.

Toronto Maple Leafs Select Quentin Musty

Quentin Musty is a 6’2, 190 Lb left-winger from Hamburg, New York, USA.

He will be 17 at the time of the NHL draft but turning 18 on July 6th. Musty just completed his second season with the Sudbury Wolves in the OHL.

After registering 12 goals and 19 assists for 31 points in 50 games during the 202-22 season, Musty greatly improved to 26 goals and 52 assists for 78 points in 53 games this season. (Stats from eliteprospects.com)

Picking where Musty will get selected in the draft is difficult. Some scouts have him getting picked in the mid-first-round, while others think he’ll fall and be an early second-round pick. He could be a steal for the Toronto Maple Leafs at 28th overall.

The consensus on reading scouting reports for Musty is that he’s good at creating space and has an excellent shot. He also likes to use his size to his advantage but needs to do it more consistently. With the likely hood of him spending another two seasons in the OHL, he has plenty of time to work on his consistency. He will continue to grow and learn to be more comfortable with his size.

If Musty can become a 20-30 goal-scoring power forward at the NHL level, that’d be great for the Maple Leafs to have a couple of years down the road. I’d say you’re looking at Musty making it into the NHL by the 2025-26 season at the earliest, but most likely the 2026-27 season at 21 years old.

Toronto Maple Leafs Select Oliver Bonk

Oliver Bonk is an 18-year-old right-shooting defenseman measuring 6’2, 180 Lbs from Ottawa, and is the son of former NHL player Radek Bonk.

He registered ten goals and 30 assists for 40 points in 67 games for the London Knights in the OHL. The 2022-23 season was Bonk’s first complete OHL season.

Bonk is projected to be drafted late in the first round or early in the second round.

There is a good chance that he’ll be available at 28th overall when the Leafs step up to the podium. A big right-shooting defenseman that skates well and has offensive upside is something that every team covets. If the Toronto Maple Leafs are lucky, they’ll have one fall right into their lap.

Many scouts point out that Bonk’s tool set is already that of an NHL defenseman. With the puck, Bonk is able to make a good exit zone pass or skate the puck out of harm’s way. Without the puck, Bonk likes to hound opposing players and use his size to stand up players at the blueline or box them out in front of his net.

He sounds like the type of defenseman the Leafs could really use now and in the future. Bonk will likely need at least one more year in the OHL before moving up to the pro level and joining the Toronto Marlies in the AHL for the 2024-25 season.

Riley Heidt

Riley Heidt is an 18-year-old centerman from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

He might be 5’10, 180 Lbs, but for what he lacks in size, he makes up for with skill.

The 2022-23 season was his second complete season with the Prince George Cougars of the WHL. He registered 25 goals and 72 assists for 97 points in 68 games.

He also recorded eight points in nine playoff games.

Scouts have Heidt getting selected between pick #20 and pick #40. If a player with that kind of offensive ability falls into the Leafs lap, I wouldn’t be surprised if they select him. Like Heidt, Robertson is a smaller forward with offensive ability, but he can’t seem to stay healthy. Maybe the Leafs could find more luck with Heidt.

He takes after Mitch Marner in the sense that he tends to be a passer more than a shooter. He is very creative with the puck and skates well, but he will need to work on his skating if he is to become a regular in the NHL. Another year in the OHL and a season or two in the AHL should help his development.

He could become one hell of a player if he can maximize all his abilities. If he improves his skating and learns to trust his shot more, he will become more effective. Heidt has top-six potential, but he’ll need to put in the work to get there.

Toronto Maple Leafs Select Eduard Sale

Eduard Sale is an 18-year-old right-winger from Brno, Czechia. He measures in at 6’2, 175 Lbs. Once thought to be a possible top-ten pick in this draft, he’s fallen down the ranks a bit due to inconsistent play once he joined the men’s league.

For HC Kometa Brno U20 in the 2021-22 season, Sale registered 42 goals and 47 assists for 89 points in 39 games. However, during the 2022-23 season for HC Kometa Brno, he recorded seven goals and seven assists for 14 points in 43 games. As you can see, that is a steep drop in production. How badly it affects his draft ranking will be determined o June 28th.

If the Toronto Maple Leafs do select him, he offers them a right-winger who is a good skater and a skilled passer. He doesn’t panic under stress and is able to find teammates through seems. Sale continues to grow into his frame and will hopefully use his size more effectively once he does. His passing skills make him a good fit for the power play, so that might be one area he focuses on during development. Nothing wrong with having a power play specialist on your team, so long as they play well at full strength as well.

Hopefully, Sale will regain his scoring touch and become a steal for whichever team drafts him. Toronto could select him, but it will be a gamble compared to some of the other possible options.

The Leafs may or may not pick at 28th afterall, but if they do, they could do a lot worse than to pick one of these prospects.