Toronto Maple Leafs 2014 NHL Draft Retrospective

First pick

In the first round the Toronto Maple Leafs were slated to pick eighth and like I mentioned, it was a hotly debated topic amongst fans and media on who they should take.

Thankfully, the Leafs had their pick of the lot with all except Virtanen available when the Leafs were on the board. Of course, Leafs GM Dave Nonis stepped up to the podium and said “Toronto is proud and happy to select from Modo, Sweden… William Nylander."

And as they say, the rest is history. 

Ten years later, the Leafs 100% made the right choice. There are only four players throughout the entire draft with more career points than Nylander: Sam Reinhart, Leon Draisaitl, David Pastrnak, and Brayden Point. Even in Reinhart’s case, he has played 93 more games than Nylander with only 10 more points.

In a redraft, Nylander almost certainly slot into the top five.