Toronto Maple Leafs 2015 NHL Draft Retrospective

2015 NHL Draft - Round One
2015 NHL Draft - Round One | Bruce Bennett/GettyImages
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185th overall - Nikita Korostelev

The Toronto Maple Leafs ended the 2016 draft with what was viewed as potential steal grabbing Sarnia Sting winger Nikita Korostelev.

He was widely regarded as a top-90 pick before the draft started but his skating issues seemed to be the main reason for his fall. He was originally drafted ninth overall by the Sting in the 2013 OHL Priority selection and had put together a pretty impressive stat sheet, dominating at every level.

Although his 24 goals and 53 points in 55 games do not jump out, he was the leading scorer for his team in a year where he was mostly 17. 

He would show regression offensively the following year scoring only 42 points in 53 games but would bounce back the next two seasons with the Sting and Peterborough Petes.

He would play a total of 119 games over those two years, scoring 59 goals and 139 points. However, he would not be given an ELC and instead would sign a minor league deal with the Cleveland Monsters.

There he would bounce between them and the ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen before returning to his home country in the KHL and VHL. He has spent the past five seasons and has been a mainstay in the top Russian league for a few seasons now amassing 66 goals and 105 points in 216 games played.

He is currently signed with the Severstal Cherepovets for the 2024-25 season and looks like he will continue to play in the KHL for the remainder of his career.

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