Draft Intrigue

Dave Morrison, chief scout of the Maple Leafs, is either in an awkward position or an enviable one.

Obviously, every team would love to have the top pick in this summer's entry draft and the right to draft Steven Stamkos, or one of the next three to use on blueliners Drew Doughty, Zach Bogosian or Alex Pietrangelo.

So that's four spots pretty much locked up. The next two players on a lot of depth charts would be Russian forward Nikita Filatov and Canadian-born defenceman Luke Schenn.

That's six.

And the Leafs, of course, draft No. 7. Seventh, perhaps, in a six-player draft.

That's the worst-case scenario. Most teams, however, seem to believe that there is great depth to this draft, something possibly like the 2006 draft when players like Peter Mueller (eighth overall), Jiri Tlusty (13th) and Nick Foligno (28th) were available long after the top five picks (Erik Johnson, Jordan Staal, Jonathan Toews, Nicklas Backstrom, Phil Kessel).

So if there is a top six, there also seems to be a strong possibility that teams drafting between seven and 10 will have a shot at some top-end talent.

Those teams just have to figure out who those players are.

Morrison, then, will have choices, maybe too many choices.

His life could be made easier if another player slips into the top six, say 6-foot-7 defenceman Tyler Myers or Boston University centre Colin Wilson, thus leaving Filatov or Schenn sitting there at No. 7 as a no-brainer.

Otherwise, he'll have a choice of almost every type of player. Wilson's a strapping centre. Myers is raw, but imposing. Kitchener Rangers speedster Mikkel Boedker, born in Denmark, has wheels and finesse. Windsor centre Josh Bailey has great vision. Everett Silvertips winger Kyle Beach is an ornery so-and-so.

This much seems certain: There will be intrigue on draft day for the Leafs as they draft in the highest position they've picked since selecting Scott Thornton third overall in 1989.

Comments

[Sanj]

Knowing the Leafs, they probably will wind up picking Vito from Woodbridge! Go Dougie!! :-)

[FRT]

It doesn’t matter where the Laughs pick. Look at their track record. One of the most horrible and deplorable draft records in all of professional sports. Either they just get it wrong…waste it on some slacker European…or the ones that do show promise have been quickly dealt to other teams where they blossomed into bonafide NHL Hockey players. Off the top of my head who has panned out! The last first round pick that turned out to be a viable star to form a solid foundation of the hockey team has to be Wendel Clark. And when was that 25 years ago? Don’t hold you hopes to high Leaf fans. Because when it comes to drafting players…the Leafs are just as dysfunctional as the idiots who have been running the club since 1967!

[AJ]

Kyle Beach has been sliding a lot, and while he is ornery, he also has a concussion history, and has more or less disappeared recently.

[Ryan Shaw]

I personally believe, they'll end up either trading away their draft pick to the Hartford Whalers or they'll pick Tim Horton.

[OddyOh]

Knowing Fletcher, they'll probably trade all their picks for Eric Lindros...

[Wes]

I have a feeling that at least one team above Toronto will have their own agenda that doesn't match the consensus draft order, leaving the Leafs with a very good prospect.

[Hiten Patel]

This is what that pointless push to the playoffs has caused the Leafs organization. Hopefully they'll pick a player with skill more than guile or muscle.

[paul]

Could a trade for a top draft pick include players , draft picks
and cash ( $$$$$$$$$ ) MLSE could certainly afford to pay millions to " buy " a higher selection in the draft . Is it possable ?

[Steve]

I heard Vito in Woodbridge would sign without a no trade clause though. He is hoping to get traded to Tampa Bay at next years trade deadline.

[Steve]

Paul: No more cash deals - trades can only involve players or picks, no cash or picking up part of a salary anymore.

[Vasil]

I personally think Myers is a better prospect than Schenn. 6'7" good skater..a year younger than Schenn with about the same points. Schenn is overrated. Schenn will be good. We know Schenn's limits but Myers has a chance to be special.

[Jomo]

The Leafs need skilled forwards who can actually put the puck in the net, unlike the washed-up Blake and Tucker. They do not need some stay-at-home defenseman that will take 5 years to develop in the minors. You can get established defensemen for cheap in the NHL anyways, like a Hal Gill or Glen Wesley. Let the other teams waste their time developing young defenseman, we need to draft scorers!!

[Keith Lewis]

With the Leafs obvious record of poor scouting, drafting and the like...is it possible that the "Omni-present" Gord Stellick is looming somewhere pulling the strings of MLSE?

[King 99]

The Wendle Clark pick was basically by Ballard. He wanted him and they got'em. So much for later management and scouts. They need speed/talent up front now. They can't afford to leave a big D man down with the Marlies for 3 years. Maybe though, this is all being set up for next years run at Tavares. I could see them finishing in the bottom three if Cliff is serious about dumping no-trades. If you want Burke you can't have no-trades in the lineup.

[Dave Stacey]

I will preface my comments by saying that I do believe that in this new era of the NHL the key to success is building a strong team through the draft. I also believe that a team must keep it's best assets by resigning them at reasonable rates whenever that is possible.
Mats Sundin continues to lead the team, by far, in scoring and probably can be signed for a reasonable amount of money given that he wants to remain with the Leafs. Why wouldn't a team want a good leader in the dressing room that can contribute at that level, particularly when he has no value to any other team as his services are seemingly unavailable to any of them? Sign him for next year and he will lead the team in scoring again in all likelihood.
As far as the draft is concerned, the Leafs have a No.7 pick which they should be able to parlay into a much higher pick if they negotiate with other teams that have higher picks. I would ask Tampa what it would take to get them to part with the No.1 pick and begin to deal from there. The only players that would be untouchable from my point of view would be Antropov, Kaberle and Toskala. These three players in my opinion are franchise players that have proven their worth this year via their performances and can provide that for many years into the future. All other players would be available to make up whatever package it takes to deal for the first round No.1 pick. Stamkos appears to be a franchise player around whom the Leafs can build. The Stajans and Steens etc. are as good as they will ever be right now. They are what they are; journeymen players that are capable of contributing 15-20 goals per season at the maximum. I would give away as many of those types of player as it takes to get Stamkos or the next best highest draft pick that it is possible to deal for. Stanley Cup winners have superstars in their lineups, not a bunch of 15 goal scorers. So let's make a deal worth making for a top draft pick.I have looked at the No.7 picks over the last several years and, as they would say in Montreal,..." Y est rien la, mon ga" !!!

[John Hunt]

What scares me about the Leafs in the upcoming draft is not that they will pick a player with lesser talent, but that they will waste it on a player that does not fit the new GM's vision of what the Leafs should look like to be successful.

It is easy to fall back on cliches such as "well, just draft the best player available." However, there is no concensus on which is the best of Myers, Wilson, Boedker, Bailey or Beach, the best players expected to be available when the Leafs pick. Like ice cream, it is all a matter of preference. Myers and Wilson each is a moose, which is great if you are building a team like the Ducks, but something of a waste if you are the Canadiens or Detroit who play with finesse. Boedker, however, would fit in really well on a team like Montreal or Detroit. Trading the prospect a year or two after selecting him rarely seems to bring an even return.

It is my principal criticism of Ferguson that he had no vision of a style of play for the team, and thus, no idea of the type of coach or player he needed to pull together a successful roster. Players seemingly were selected on their individual merits with little thought into how they would fit together. Thus, we had team playing a wide-open style, but with players, especially on defense, who were mostly average skaters (e.g., McCabe, Kubina, Gill, Antropov). Forwards were chosen only if they could be "a new wing for Sundin," without thought to whether their styles fits with Mats' (IMO the real problem with puck hog Jason Blake). Drafting a high pick without a long-term plan just seems to be a recipe for wasting the pick rather than taking advantage of an opportunity.

[T skinner]

I like Cody Hodgson. If he is available, grab him!!

[PP]

And if the Leafs were drafting 4th it would be a three player draft...

[dafydd]

Leaf actual picks haven't been all bad. Antropov and Colaiacovo got hurt alot, Cereda and Pilar had heart problems, that is just bad luck. Kaberle, the best, was a late-round steal, Stajan and Steen are solid picks, Poni was late-round; Kulemin and Pogge were not even first-rounders and could turn out OK. They just have not had enough early picks lately to earn a track record, due to trades, or have traded them as picked players (Rask, Boyes).

[Harpreet Mann]

If this truly is God's team in the National Hockey League Filatov or Schenn will be available at 7. A player like Filatov could change this team for many years, but sadly I don't see him getting past the Islanders in the draft. All the teams ahead of us have had their shots at top end talent, and all of them have got it via the draft. I hate to be childish about it but it's our turn!!

[Former fan]

Trade up?????? I wish they could, but what assets do they have to give back? Steen? Stajan? Blake? Tucker? Wellwood? I could have saved myself some typing and just cut and pasted the entire lineup.

What GM in his right mind would give up a potential future star (which is what every GM hopes his top 5 pick will turn out to be) for a 3rd or 4th liner? Or a package of 3rd and 4th liners? Or a package of OVERPAID 3rd and 4th liners.

Geez. This writes itself.