10. Cade Webber
Age: 23
Height/Weight: 6'7",212 LBS.
Position: Defense
Shoots: Left
Draft:
4th Round, 99th Overall 2019 (Carolina Hurricanes)
After Cade Webber was drafted, he spent four years at Boston University and the Carolina traded him to the Leafs for a 6th round pick last year.
Weber is nearly the end of his shelf-life as a viable NHL prospect, and personally I don't think he's as good, or at least as talented, as Mikko Kokkonen, who I left off to put Webber here. That said, Webber is absolutely huge, and the Leafs hope that with improved skating he can be a solid NHL player.
Compared to Kokkaonen, Weber is a worse player. But Kokkonen is kind of like Timothy Lijegren in that he's a very good all-round player, but isn't gifted at any one thing. Those players, while effective, are unpopular with NHL GMs obsessed with size.
The Leafs clearly like Webber more than they like Kokkonen, because of his size. The Leafs top-four looks about set for years, and Webber has a much better chance of earning some ice-time on the bottom pairing than Kokkonen does with the Leafs current regime.
For example, just look at how the Leafs are playing Simon Benoit regularly over Timothy Liljegren, and you can see why I would rank Webber over Kokkonen.
To be honest, if either of these guys ends up in a significant role on a competitive NHL team, I would be shocked. I think Kokkonen is a safer bet for eventual NHL minutes, but if Webber can improve his skating to NHL level, he might have a higher upside due to his size.