2015 NHL Entry Draft
In Connor McDavid's draft year, the Leafs had the 4th overall pick in the first round. Mike Babcock, then head coach of the team, loved defenseman Noah Hanifin (5th overall to the Carolina Hurricanes). The Leafs, however, correctly chose winger Mitch Marner from the London Knights.
The Leafs draft haul that year also included: Travis Dermott (R2, 34), Jeremy Bracco (R2, 61), Andrew Nielsen (R3, 65), Martins Dziekals (R3, 68), Jesper Lindgren (R4, 95), Dmytro Timashov (R5, 125), Stephen Desrocher (R6, 155), and Nikita Korostelev (R7, 185).
Other notable NHL players selected in Round 1 of this draft also included Timo Meier to the San Jose Sharks at 9th overall, Mikko Rantanen to the Colorado Avalanche at 10th overall, and Matthew Barzal to the New York Islanders at 16th overall.
Things get interesting with this draft in Round 2 and beyond. Sebastion Aho went 35th overall to the Hurricanes. Anthony Cirelli was selected in the third round with the 72nd pick. Kirill Kaprizov was a steal for the Minnesota Wild during Round 5 with the 135th pick. Andrew Mangiapane was taken in Round 6, 166th overall, by the Calgary Flames.
In our draft do-over, the Leafs still take Marner at 4th overall. It was the correct choice then and still is. He remains with the Toronto Maple Leafs. With their third-round picks at 61, 65, and 68 the Leafs (again with the benefit of hindsight) take Kaprizov, Cirelli, and Mangiapane.
The Leafs' net result of our 2015 draft retrospective? The team now drafts Aho with the 34th overall pick, instead of Dermott. Kaprizov now becomes another sniper added to the lineup. Cirelli becomes the Leafs' third-line centre. In this alternate universe, his checking of Auston Matthews in the playoffs now doesn't have a chance to happen since they are teammates.