Toronto Maple Leafs Draft Misses Since 2015
2015
During the first round of the 2015 NHL draft, the Maple Leafs selected forward Mitch Marner with the fourth overall pick. Marner became a core piece for the Leafs during his nine years with the team. He registered 741 points in 657 games for the Leafs. However, his time with the team appears to have run its course, and he might sign somewhere else as a free agent this summer. Notable players the Leafs passed on when they selected Marner were defensemen Noah Hanifin (5th), Pavel Zacha (6th), and Zach Werenski (8th), forward Mikko Rantanen (10th).
(All stats from hockey-reference.com)
The Leafs made two selections in the second round, with Travis Dermott (34th) and Jeremy Bracco (61st). Dermott managed to do alright for himself at the NHL level but is no longer with the Leafs. Some key players the Leafs missed on with the 34th overall pick were Sebastion Aho (35th), Brandon Carlo (37th), Roope Hintz (49th), and Vince Dunn (56th). As for the 61st overall pick (Bracco), I'm going to pair it with their two picks in the third round, which were picks 65th (Andrew Nielsen) and 68th (Martins Dzierkals). With all three picks, the Leafs missed out on Anthony Cirelli (72nd) and Adin Hill (76th).
2016
The Leafs selecting Auston Matthews first overall in 2016 was a no-brainer, so there's no point going over which players they skipped, even if some of them have become NHL stars. However, the second round is where the Leafs dropped the ball. With the 31st overall pick, the Leafs selected Yegor Korshkov. Korshkov played in one NHL game. Meanwhile, the Leafs could have drafted Andrew Peeke (34th), Jordan Kyrou (35th), or Alex DeBrincat (39th). Imagine drafting one of them and Matthews in the same draft.
The Leafs also had the 57th overall pick in the second round. They used that pick to select Carl Grundstrom. He would never end up playing for the Leafs, but one player the Leafs missed drafting in that spot was Taylor Raddysh. As for their picks in the third round, the Leafs selected Joseph Woll 62nd overall, which still looks like the right choice, but the player they missed who could have made more of an impact was defenseman Adam Fox (66th). With the 72nd overall pick, the Leafs selected James Greenway. He never turned into an NHL player, and the Leafs missed out on Joey Anderson and Rem Pitlick.