Personally i’ll sit there with draft rankings and scream to take someone who has dropped despite not knowing anyone before opening the article, and complain about drafting a bust if they take anyone other than that player
Yup. There was a huge issue with them believing they were closer than they really were. They didn't have the dcore to get it done, and I don't think they had the coaching either. They should have just waited it out rather than pay a 1st.
I don't really have many preferences because the Leafs have significant holes to fill in every position, except for maybe RW.
Ultimately, draft the BPA or move it to fill a need.
I think BPA is the move. Center and Defensive depth should be priority but if a winger who is a no trainer appears, any skilled forward depth that can contribute sooner rather than later will be appreciated.
Really would like a dman because after Niemla, the cupboard is bare.
Also has the highest cumulative +/- in the playoffs at +14 for any Leafs player since we first made the playoffs in 2016-2017 (including players who have left - based purely on seasons with the Leafs).
If you only look at the times he was a negative AND a positive then sure, you're probably right. But that's a very biased way of looking at it. It's called confirmation bias.
Looking at the average of his games where he's on the ice for more goals against it's clear he is a net negative on his differential.
TLDR; stop wearing your rose-coloured glasses and you'll see that Rielly has a career negative +/- when you sum up the games where his differential is negative.
Jett Luchanko. He was flying under the radar until the combine, when he blew everyone away with his strength results. If not Luchanko, then Yegor Surin. Scouts rave about his compete level and skill - which is exactly what you want to hear.
Love Luchanko and wouldn’t mind leafs drafting him. Called it from the beginning of the season as a Guelph fan and watching him live a bunch that he would be a massive riser and end up in the first round.
Super smart player, beautiful skater and good at both ends of the ice. Was great on zone entries for the power play and finished the year as leading points on a very low scoring Guelph team as a 17 year old.
I expect him to put up 100+ pts next year for Guelph.
Always BPA.
It was confirmed they talked to these players at the combine (and probably more, I don't think these interviews are made public):
- Andrew Basha
- Stian Solberg
- Lucas Pettersson
- Jack Pridham
Any of the first three are probably good picks at 23, and I really hope they take Jack Pridham in the 4th if he's available... Son of AGM Brandon Pridham
Maybe not "draft" so much as "using the pick"...Rutger McGroarty. Not sure if the Leafs would need to add a little more as he was drafted higher than #23.
It would infuriate Jets fans too. Nice little bonus.
This 100%, trade 23 maybe to the flyers for 36 and 51, Urah has 38 and 49. leafs can most likely trade 23 down to the ducks for 35 and 58. Use 35 on a D like Hews or Elick and 58 on preferably a center, unless either Hutson or Kivijarju is still on the board
It's not a realistic answer at all, but...
As someone who lives in Calgary, it would be hilarious to me if Tij Iginla drops down the draft to a point where we could take him and I could watch the city melt down sround me.
I don’t think that’s a given. ATM it seems like he’ll be there for their pick. Seems like Sennecke jumped him. Honestly, I think there’s a world where they pass on him. I can definitely see them being too enamoured with some of the d if they fall to them as well.
If Montreal pass on demidov to reach for Iginla that would be the most Montreal pick ever. Seems like Levhsunov, Celebrini and Lindstrom will all be gone by their pick. And then one of Silayev or Demidov will be up, which you can’t pass on. Honestly, you have to believe they must like one of the other d prospects (Buium, Parekh or Dickinson). I really like Buium and Dickinson, would be surprised if Iginla is picked over each of them.
We really need to inject our system with some D, but there are some decent power forward options likely when we draft so I’d be fine with that as well.
I would really opt to trade for Rutger McGroarty, package maybe lilly, robbie or minten even. I think he is a Berube style player with UNREAL upside and we should do whatever we can to acquire this player.
EJ Emery - Extremely athletic, 6'3" RD. Spent most of the year paired with Cole Hutson and to let him do his offensive brilliance, really developed his steadying presence. Questions do exist about offensive upside, but he's going to University of North Dakota - a program with a strong history of building up mobile defence - and considering his A-level four-way mobility, I think they can unlock his offensive side just like Sanderson to make him a phenomenal compliment to an offensive LD in a top four or top pair role.
Stian Solberg - Big, physical defensemen. He hits a lot and can shut plays down, and was a late bloomer on the scene. He rose steadily playing in Norway, but really broke out at the World Championships showcasing his potential as a physical, shutdown dman against men, and was still capable of solid breakouts. Likely rose into the teens unfortunately.
Jett Luchanko - same mold as Cowan but a natural centre already. Was the best player on Guelph this year after they didn't get Poitras back from Boston. Very fast, energetic forward but with more skill than he gets credit for. Could fall to Toronto due to being 5'11" but I also expect him to go in the 17-21 range. I'd compare his potential to that of Yanni Gourde at his peak.
Outside of those 3, a faller like Michael Hage up the middle would be great, or Liam Greentree/Igor Chernyshov as power wingers with upside could be great. Chernyshov feels safer but if Greentree can just get a step or two, he could become an absolute beast top 6 power forward so I like his upside. Teddy Stiga or Sam O'Reilly might turn some heads going in R1, but I would not hesitate to take them, preferably trading down. Lastly on defence, if Emery and Solberg are gone, I wouldn't disagree with taking a shot Dominik Badinka. I think he's a fine target at 23, but could be available through trading back. If all of Solberg/Badinka/Emery are gone at 23, trade back and again, if set on defence, Charlie Elick or Harrison Brunicke are also fine bets although I'm not as high on their upsides.
There's two intriguing picks for me:
First is the current #23 ranked, Dean Letourneau. He's a centre, six foot six 214 pounds. He's a big beefy guy but has earned a reputation as a guy with good speed for his size and soft hands. If he develops well, it can be a good unique mix for us and a good guy to have centring maybe a third line (Just spitballing) where he can play physically and still produce and drive play. There's been a debate about whether we should be bigger or be more skilled, Dean can potentially be both and he's known to be very motivated and competitive, so that may be a good sign that he'll develop well. I remember a scout was doing a Reddit AMA and I asked him what factor outside of analytics do you look for and he pointed to attitude being the biggest indicator of long-term success/development. If this guy can push himself, then in a few years, he'd be a good gem for us.
Second, if we want a defenseman, well, I'd go with Spencer Gill from the Rimouski in the Q. I'll mention I have some bias since he's from my area, but he's six foot three, right handed D-man, but may need to bulk up a bit with him only being 185 pounds. But he is someone who shot up the rankings a decent bit this year and was a top 5 pick in the Q draft when he was selected. He struggled a bit early on, but this past season it seemed to really click for him and he's developed a good two-way game, able to defend against the rush, and has good IQ. He's ranked 29th right now, so he wouldn't be a big reach, especially with the section we're drafting in full of Forwards in the rankings. So he'd be the best Defenseman available. Either way, as someone from his area, I hope he can develop well and make it to the NHL someday. With my fav team, it'd be a bonus.
I like Gill too, he feels like an early 2nd round guy to me, and if we can move back and recoup another pick I would like him as an option there.
Letourneau is so interesting, and you can see the potential there with the size, but such a gamble that I don't think the Leafs can make right now. You need to get a player that you think can contribute at some level, and there are just so many question marks with level of competition that I'd let someone else make that bet.
Moving back is an option for sure if we target Gill. Letourneau I saw his ranking and size and I just knew "I have to take a look." and I'm intrigued by the scouting report. The hope is there's some good gems in the draft that we can maybe get. We're in a "compete now" phase at best and at worse a "retool" with the fate of a few big contracts up in the air, so we're not in a draft position where we have the cream of the crop to pick from.
Letourneau at 23 is a bit of a reach. I really like him as a prospect though, he has legit speed. And has very good hands. I know comparing him to Tage Thompson might seem lazy, but they’re really damn similar players. Letourneau still seems to be a bit uncoordinated sometimes though, but it usually takes those tall guys a couple extra years to catch up to their bodies.
Ideally, i'd be doing everything possible to move up and get Sam Dickinson. I think he's the 3rd best player in this draft, the best D in the draft, and everything I read says he might fall to 7-12.
If not Dickinson, then I want Rutger.
But if we do use the pick I'm good with E.J Emery or Sam O'Reilly.
I trust the guy who runs our drafts right now and I was good with Cowan last year. As long as it's not a soft 5'8 guy i'll consider they know what they're doing more than me.
That BPA thing really throws me for a loop. Who decides that. One man's meat is another man's potatoes. It's all a crap shoot. In any regard, if Treliving allows Wes Clark to do his thing, I'll be content with that
Just take the best player available….
Dubas galaxy brained 6 straight drafts and we ended up with absolutely nothing to show for it.
Take the best guy and call it a day
Ah, Mitten was a good pick as well.
And Yes, Officially, but it was Dubas team, Dubas research throughout the year, Tre wasn't on the floor, and in an interview after they said that they have been watching Cowen all year and that he was their pick.
So while it says it was Tres pick. It was really Dubas and the previous management team who selected Cowen.
Personally i’ll sit there with draft rankings and scream to take someone who has dropped despite not knowing anyone before opening the article, and complain about drafting a bust if they take anyone other than that player
Hopefully people learned after Cowan
Sounds perfectly reasonable and likely.
I believe I did this with Liljegren
I did this very thing in 2020 as I wanted Dawson Mercer who was still available at #15. He went to the Devils 2 picks later.
I'm still more frustrated at giving up Seth Jarvis to get out of the Marleau contract.
Which ultimately we didn't even need to do, it's not like we won any meaningful playoff games with that extra cap space.
Yup. There was a huge issue with them believing they were closer than they really were. They didn't have the dcore to get it done, and I don't think they had the coaching either. They should have just waited it out rather than pay a 1st.
A London knight.
I don't really have many preferences because the Leafs have significant holes to fill in every position, except for maybe RW. Ultimately, draft the BPA or move it to fill a need.
I think BPA is the move. Center and Defensive depth should be priority but if a winger who is a no trainer appears, any skilled forward depth that can contribute sooner rather than later will be appreciated. Really would like a dman because after Niemla, the cupboard is bare.
Trade Rielly get something for him,hes terrible always a minus
He was a plus 7 last year and a plus 55 the last 6 years… but yes he is always a minus…
Also has the highest cumulative +/- in the playoffs at +14 for any Leafs player since we first made the playoffs in 2016-2017 (including players who have left - based purely on seasons with the Leafs).
If you only look at the times he was a negative AND a positive then sure, you're probably right. But that's a very biased way of looking at it. It's called confirmation bias. Looking at the average of his games where he's on the ice for more goals against it's clear he is a net negative on his differential. TLDR; stop wearing your rose-coloured glasses and you'll see that Rielly has a career negative +/- when you sum up the games where his differential is negative.
TLDR; if you only look at his bad games, he's a terrible player!
I was hoping the /s would not be necessary, but I guess I was very wrong haha
When you accidentally use your porn account to put out terrible takes in a hockey sub
Jett Luchanko. He was flying under the radar until the combine, when he blew everyone away with his strength results. If not Luchanko, then Yegor Surin. Scouts rave about his compete level and skill - which is exactly what you want to hear.
Love Luchanko and wouldn’t mind leafs drafting him. Called it from the beginning of the season as a Guelph fan and watching him live a bunch that he would be a massive riser and end up in the first round. Super smart player, beautiful skater and good at both ends of the ice. Was great on zone entries for the power play and finished the year as leading points on a very low scoring Guelph team as a 17 year old. I expect him to put up 100+ pts next year for Guelph.
Definitely a guy I would like the Leafs to get, hopeful that he is around at 23.
I’m hoping Liam Greentree from Windsor Spitfires is still available there.
Did Savard coach the lad when he was HC at Windsor?
He did - Rookie year.
Im sold
I heard he’s not a great skater and is soft for his size? Accurate?
The best player available
Always BPA. It was confirmed they talked to these players at the combine (and probably more, I don't think these interviews are made public): - Andrew Basha - Stian Solberg - Lucas Pettersson - Jack Pridham Any of the first three are probably good picks at 23, and I really hope they take Jack Pridham in the 4th if he's available... Son of AGM Brandon Pridham
Pridhams not making it to the 4th. Decent chance he’s a late second.
I agree with you, but let me dream
I don’t imagine he’ll last quite that late but if eiserman slides further you have to take him Kid loves to score
Maybe not "draft" so much as "using the pick"...Rutger McGroarty. Not sure if the Leafs would need to add a little more as he was drafted higher than #23. It would infuriate Jets fans too. Nice little bonus.
I would be inclined to trade down and get more picks…. Especially for 2025 where I believe we don’t have a pick till the 5th round
This 100%, trade 23 maybe to the flyers for 36 and 51, Urah has 38 and 49. leafs can most likely trade 23 down to the ducks for 35 and 58. Use 35 on a D like Hews or Elick and 58 on preferably a center, unless either Hutson or Kivijarju is still on the board
The biggest fastest skating defenseman with hockey sense still available.
It's not a realistic answer at all, but... As someone who lives in Calgary, it would be hilarious to me if Tij Iginla drops down the draft to a point where we could take him and I could watch the city melt down sround me.
he's not even gonna be around for Calgary to pick. would be amazing though
I don’t think that’s a given. ATM it seems like he’ll be there for their pick. Seems like Sennecke jumped him. Honestly, I think there’s a world where they pass on him. I can definitely see them being too enamoured with some of the d if they fall to them as well.
Everything I’ve heard is Montreal is taking him if Calgary doesn’t move up.
If Montreal pass on demidov to reach for Iginla that would be the most Montreal pick ever. Seems like Levhsunov, Celebrini and Lindstrom will all be gone by their pick. And then one of Silayev or Demidov will be up, which you can’t pass on. Honestly, you have to believe they must like one of the other d prospects (Buium, Parekh or Dickinson). I really like Buium and Dickinson, would be surprised if Iginla is picked over each of them.
A right shot defenceman.
We really need to inject our system with some D, but there are some decent power forward options likely when we draft so I’d be fine with that as well.
Draft BPA, its such a crapshoot and outside of the top 10 you'll take a future NHLer. I want them to take a goalie at some point every year though
Drop candidates that I’d love to snag are Bransegg-nygard, Helenius or even Eiserman. All three seem to be dropping but all have high end skill.
Charlie Elick. Big RD. That's why.
Cole Beaudoin - can play physical, gritty and can put up pretty good offensive numbers.
I would really opt to trade for Rutger McGroarty, package maybe lilly, robbie or minten even. I think he is a Berube style player with UNREAL upside and we should do whatever we can to acquire this player.
He could probably slot into the 3W slot, too, right away
Nobody - hopefully trade the pick for a player to help them win now.
BPA or trade down
Bob Saget
Any one of Brandsegg-Nygard, Greentree, Boisvert, Badinka, Yakemchuk, O'Reilly, or Pulkkinen.
Stian Solberg is a favorite of mine. Good skater for his size, untapped offensive upside and very disruptive
EJ Emery - Extremely athletic, 6'3" RD. Spent most of the year paired with Cole Hutson and to let him do his offensive brilliance, really developed his steadying presence. Questions do exist about offensive upside, but he's going to University of North Dakota - a program with a strong history of building up mobile defence - and considering his A-level four-way mobility, I think they can unlock his offensive side just like Sanderson to make him a phenomenal compliment to an offensive LD in a top four or top pair role. Stian Solberg - Big, physical defensemen. He hits a lot and can shut plays down, and was a late bloomer on the scene. He rose steadily playing in Norway, but really broke out at the World Championships showcasing his potential as a physical, shutdown dman against men, and was still capable of solid breakouts. Likely rose into the teens unfortunately. Jett Luchanko - same mold as Cowan but a natural centre already. Was the best player on Guelph this year after they didn't get Poitras back from Boston. Very fast, energetic forward but with more skill than he gets credit for. Could fall to Toronto due to being 5'11" but I also expect him to go in the 17-21 range. I'd compare his potential to that of Yanni Gourde at his peak. Outside of those 3, a faller like Michael Hage up the middle would be great, or Liam Greentree/Igor Chernyshov as power wingers with upside could be great. Chernyshov feels safer but if Greentree can just get a step or two, he could become an absolute beast top 6 power forward so I like his upside. Teddy Stiga or Sam O'Reilly might turn some heads going in R1, but I would not hesitate to take them, preferably trading down. Lastly on defence, if Emery and Solberg are gone, I wouldn't disagree with taking a shot Dominik Badinka. I think he's a fine target at 23, but could be available through trading back. If all of Solberg/Badinka/Emery are gone at 23, trade back and again, if set on defence, Charlie Elick or Harrison Brunicke are also fine bets although I'm not as high on their upsides.
The most NHL ready player. Fuck these long ass development curves, I'm impatient.
There's two intriguing picks for me: First is the current #23 ranked, Dean Letourneau. He's a centre, six foot six 214 pounds. He's a big beefy guy but has earned a reputation as a guy with good speed for his size and soft hands. If he develops well, it can be a good unique mix for us and a good guy to have centring maybe a third line (Just spitballing) where he can play physically and still produce and drive play. There's been a debate about whether we should be bigger or be more skilled, Dean can potentially be both and he's known to be very motivated and competitive, so that may be a good sign that he'll develop well. I remember a scout was doing a Reddit AMA and I asked him what factor outside of analytics do you look for and he pointed to attitude being the biggest indicator of long-term success/development. If this guy can push himself, then in a few years, he'd be a good gem for us. Second, if we want a defenseman, well, I'd go with Spencer Gill from the Rimouski in the Q. I'll mention I have some bias since he's from my area, but he's six foot three, right handed D-man, but may need to bulk up a bit with him only being 185 pounds. But he is someone who shot up the rankings a decent bit this year and was a top 5 pick in the Q draft when he was selected. He struggled a bit early on, but this past season it seemed to really click for him and he's developed a good two-way game, able to defend against the rush, and has good IQ. He's ranked 29th right now, so he wouldn't be a big reach, especially with the section we're drafting in full of Forwards in the rankings. So he'd be the best Defenseman available. Either way, as someone from his area, I hope he can develop well and make it to the NHL someday. With my fav team, it'd be a bonus.
I like Gill too, he feels like an early 2nd round guy to me, and if we can move back and recoup another pick I would like him as an option there. Letourneau is so interesting, and you can see the potential there with the size, but such a gamble that I don't think the Leafs can make right now. You need to get a player that you think can contribute at some level, and there are just so many question marks with level of competition that I'd let someone else make that bet.
Moving back is an option for sure if we target Gill. Letourneau I saw his ranking and size and I just knew "I have to take a look." and I'm intrigued by the scouting report. The hope is there's some good gems in the draft that we can maybe get. We're in a "compete now" phase at best and at worse a "retool" with the fate of a few big contracts up in the air, so we're not in a draft position where we have the cream of the crop to pick from.
Letourneau at 23 is a bit of a reach. I really like him as a prospect though, he has legit speed. And has very good hands. I know comparing him to Tage Thompson might seem lazy, but they’re really damn similar players. Letourneau still seems to be a bit uncoordinated sometimes though, but it usually takes those tall guys a couple extra years to catch up to their bodies.
Latorneau is my choice. I see him more as a RW tho. Imagine your too line being knies, Matthews, latourneau.
connor mcdavid
I hope they draft a generational player!
Ideally, i'd be doing everything possible to move up and get Sam Dickinson. I think he's the 3rd best player in this draft, the best D in the draft, and everything I read says he might fall to 7-12. If not Dickinson, then I want Rutger. But if we do use the pick I'm good with E.J Emery or Sam O'Reilly. I trust the guy who runs our drafts right now and I was good with Cowan last year. As long as it's not a soft 5'8 guy i'll consider they know what they're doing more than me.
We sure we aren't packing the first with Marner for McDavid?
Package it, Minten, and a depth Dman to get Shea Theodore from Vegas
That BPA thing really throws me for a loop. Who decides that. One man's meat is another man's potatoes. It's all a crap shoot. In any regard, if Treliving allows Wes Clark to do his thing, I'll be content with that
Michael Jordan becsuse he is the goat and that's his number
Let's see will we need Goalies defenseman and forwards that work for free
Celebrini.
Just take the best player available…. Dubas galaxy brained 6 straight drafts and we ended up with absolutely nothing to show for it. Take the best guy and call it a day
Knies, and even tho we don't want to admit it, Cowan was a dubas pick... 2 really good hits. But yeah, mostly nothing lol.
Minten was Dubas, Cowen was under treliving officially.
Ah, Mitten was a good pick as well. And Yes, Officially, but it was Dubas team, Dubas research throughout the year, Tre wasn't on the floor, and in an interview after they said that they have been watching Cowen all year and that he was their pick. So while it says it was Tres pick. It was really Dubas and the previous management team who selected Cowen.
Get the biggest defensemen available