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Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Draft Re-Do: The Dynasty

By Jeremy Franks

DALLAS, TX - JUNE 23: (l-r) Kyle Dubas and Brendan Shanahan of the Toronto Maple Leafs handle the draft table during the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 23, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - JUNE 23: (l-r) Kyle Dubas and Brendan Shanahan of the Toronto Maple Leafs handle the draft table during the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 23, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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Revisiting the 2012 NHL Draft: Is Morgan Rielly Still the Pick?

In the 2012 NHL Draft, the Leafs selected Morgan Rielly with the 5th overall pick. He has outlasted all of the picks taken ahead of him in the draft. He has already clinched the best career of the top five selections.

Other notable Leafs picks included D Matt Finn from the Guelph Storm in Round 2 at 35th overall, Dominic Toninato in Round 5 at 126th overall, and Connor Brown in Round 6 at 156th overall.

Now, let’s look at where other notable NHL players were selected in this draft. At 19th overall, the Tampa Lightning took goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. During Round 3, Chandler Stephenson was taken with the 77th pick by the Washington Capitals. Later that round, Colton Parayko went 86th overall to the St. Louis Blues.

This was also the draft where the Winnipeg Jets selected goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. He was taken in Round 5 at 130th overall.

What is our hindsight analysis of this draft? Rielly’s career has easily surpassed those taken ahead of him and he has been everything the Leafs could have asked for.

Yet, with Vasilevskiy, the Leafs could have drafted the best goalie of this generation. Instead of drafting Finn, in our retrospective, the Leafs take Colton Parayko to play defense on the right side. Our draft do-over also sees the Leafs take Hellebuyck instead of Toninato.

What is the net result of our 2012 Leafs’ draft? The Leafs no longer have Rielly playing defense, but a goalie tandem in Vasilevskiy and Hellebuyck that rivals Terry Sawchuk and Johnny Bower. Parayko now slots into the Leafs top 4 defensemen.

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