leafs at the draft this year..

[savio vega]

our weakest position is down the middle...

any idea where we will fall...top 10? we need a freaking center with skill

mckinnon 2
drouin 3 - my personal favorite...
monahan top 10 i like his size...
lindholm top 10 tons of skill... is he 6 feet now???
barkov... not sold on him...
Nichushkin... size and tons of skill
Gauthier...top 20? like his size

dauphin - 2nd round late first?

other centers with a lot of skill???

wicked draft this year...

maybe macarthur for a 2nd..
maybe liles for a 1st or 2nd as well

[LuckyLuke2]

Depends where we finish.
Because if we do finish in the top 5 for draft picks, 4 out of the 5 are top centers potentially.

I am high on MacKinnon, Drouin and Lindbolhm.

All depends. I think no matter what, the Leafs will be sellers at the deadline. They will deal guys like MaCarthur, Steckel, Komisarek (hopefully) and maybe some others all for picks and young guys.

[boilerguy2412]

I think we could have a chance at pick 5-10.

Hopefully we can ge Barkov i think he could be the guy, great playmaker, decent size

[OptiMized]

We all know who we want at the top but if the Leafs continue to improve there's a good chance we don't get Jones, Drouin, MacKinnion, or Barkov. I personally love Barkov a little more than some and would be fine picking at 4 or 5 and taking him. Barkov is very mature for his age and also one of the youngest in this draft (centre-wise), i would take him in an instant.

If the Leafs draft slot keeps rising (or falling, depends on how you look at it) out of the top 10 i would look at (in terms of centreman):

Frederik Gauthier- Strong and big, two way centre, VERY smart on the ice good awareness, and uses his body very well on the offenive side not so much on D (IE. Board play and shielding the puck). The fact that he is 6'5 is scary, he has a huge frame and is 200 lbs with potential to add. The large frame makes him a little slow but his skating can improve but is by no means a real standout weakness.

Max Domi- Obviously. I've been impressed with his playmaking and vision having seen some of his games. He also plays with a fire like his dad. His size put me off, we really need a big talent down there but can`t just pass on him if he`s there. One thing i noticed is that he plays extremely well in blowouts but can`t step his game up (offensively) in close games. Defensively he would be a huge upgrade, very sound and his coach praises how eager he is to improve and learn

Defenseman:

Seth Jones: Would be my number one pick no doubt. We all know about him so i will just move on.

Rasmus Ristolainen: Big two-way dman who can turn a switch and become a Defensive D or Offensive D. He uses his stick extremely well and very rarely gets beat on a rush. Hard shot good outlet passes that are tape to tape. Struggle on a PP set though, but that can be improved and is more coaching i guess. Defensive positioning and awareness is what we really need and Rasmus would be a great add in the 10-ish spot.

Darnell Nurse: I posted about him in another thread but this guy is a man-child already. He destroys guys in the defensive end. He routinely stands up guys on the rush, might struggle against NHL speed but his footwork can and will improve. He`s 6`5 IIRC. Has a bomb from the point and the ISS thinks he will be an top player in this draft.

Goalies:

Eric Comrie: Kinda small especially with the new `bigger goalie`trend around the NHL but moves extremely well. Good rebound control for a young goalie but needs to improve. Could be a 2nd round pickup

Zach Furcale: Maybe the best goalie in the draft depending on what ppl think of Comrie. Even better athletically than comrie, move fast, rounbound control is excellent and is rarely out of position. ISS has him as the number 1 goalie in the draft and say he is very calm and poised in net, might be best in this market.

I know we don`t need wingers but we aren`t really in a position to deny talent but a few that caught my eye and would be great adds:

Anthony Mantha: Power forwards frame, gets to top speed remarkably quick, and VERY smart awareness-wise. 63 pts in 45 QMJHL games shows he can produce offensively. Not the most intimidating shot but he does find ways to score (34 this year) not to say his shot is bad but it`s not an elite shot i guess. Very quick at backchecking and well positioned but tends to cherry pick when on defensive coverage and he gets burned. Needless to say he`s had a lot of breakaways this year. Very strong skater and is hard to knock off the puck. Oldest player in the draft according to ISS. Honestly think he could work up into the top 10, he`s about 20 right now.

Andre Burakovsky: Never seen him play but ISS has more posts about him than any player not named Jones or MacKinnion. They call him future game breaker in the NHL. Highly skilled and good offensive instincts. His defense needs to improve.

Also Bobby Mac has his draft special on tonight on TSN. look forward to it.

[KingerSox]

If we end up picking 1 or 2 you have to take the BPA so either MacKinnon or Jones because at this moment they look like two franchise type players. We'd be complete morons with our depth in D prospects not to take MacKinnon but that's another arguement. After that if we're 3/4/5/6 we have a great shot at Monahan or Barkov. If that doesn't work out I'd be thrilled to end up with a Drouin or a Shinkaruk. Hopefully one of the centermen is avaliable. Wouldn't shock me to see us picking 9-14th.

[OptiMized]

This is the draft the Leafs need to aquire a pick in the teens. Two picks in the teens or higher this year could secure you with two talents that would be top-10ish in any other draft. Max Domi and Darnell Nurse at 13 and 17 let`s say would be a huge draft for the Leafs.

[Johann]

Everyone knows this draft is deep, so it would likely cost a decent player in order to acquire such a pick

[KingerSox]

We NEED and when I say NEED and bold NEED I mean need to draft a top goaltender. Any pick from 15-35ish and you'll have a good shot at Z Furcale or Spencer Martin. Furcale more likely to go in the 1st and Martin a chance of slipping to the early 2nd round. To aquire another first rounder would be huge. If we're out of the race come the deadline, and with our roster I expect that, 1 or 2 more 1st rounders huge in this draft as pointed out by many. Drafting a goalie and hopefulyl developing him right just the same as a center saves us from having to pay the price that each of these positions would cost us in a trade. It's time to be smart.

[OptiMized]

Everyone knows this draft is deep, so it would likely cost a decent player in order to acquire such a pick

Such as a Mac, Kulemin, Liles, Gunnarsson, all players a team in the teens (ie. playoff teams) would see more value in having the players above over a mid round pick.

I personally would explore a Kulemin and a 2nd or 3rd for Maatta and a 1st from Pitt. They are stacked at D and could use some top-6 wings to play with Crosby or Malkin. Plus he is cheap.

Mac needs to get healthy fast, i think a few teams in contention would give up a 2nd rounder for him.

I agree with your post though, teams will put a little more value on late picks but i still think they can be acquired.

[KingerSox]

If we trade Kulemin to Pittsburgh they're going to have to pay a bit of a steeper price than any other team considering why they want Kulemin. Him and Malkin are insane together. Malkin loves him because he does the dirty work and always get him the puck. We don't appreciate that as Leafs fans most of us because we hold Kulemin to that 30 goal season and crap on him. Even though he isn't paid like a 30 goal scorer. He's so under appreciated it's ridiculous. Hardly ever loses a puck battle, is incredible at gaining body positioning on people and watch how many times during a game he comes in like stealth and strips the puck off of a guys stick. It's Datsyukian like but that's the only comparable obviously. Absolutely a perfect 3rd line player or compliment to a star player on a top line because of his ability to gain the puck.

Maybe a tad early to have a draft thread but who cares? I love the draft. Gotta be my favorite hockey topic since I haven't had playoffs in a while.

[OptiMized]

I think Eric Comrie is the goalie we need to target if Furcale is taken. Comrie is being compared to price and is also working in the same system price did and putting up similar numbers. He`s the only goalie i see challenging Furcale and working his way into the first round. Right now i think he`s in the 35 range.

[KingerSox]

Thing with goaltenders too is that it's hard to gauge where they go. It's a crapshoot trying to figure out when or if a team is going to take one. You could have a guy slated to go 20th but slip into the 2nd round because of team need.

[OptiMized]

If we trade Kulemin to Pittsburgh they're going to have to pay a bit of a steeper price than any other team considering why they want Kulemin. Him and Malkin are insane together. Malkin loves him because he does the dirty work and always get him the puck. We don't appreciate that as Leafs fans most of us because we hold Kulemin to that 30 goal season and crap on him. Even though he isn't paid like a 30 goal scorer. He's so under appreciated it's ridiculous. Hardly ever loses a puck battle, is incredible at gaining body positioning on people and watch how many times during a game he comes in like stealth and strips the puck off of a guys stick. It's Datsyukian like but that's the only comparable obviously. Absolutely a perfect 3rd line player or compliment to a star player on a top line because of his ability to gain the puck.

Maybe a tad early to have a draft thread but who cares? I love the draft. Gotta be my favorite hockey topic since I haven't had playoffs in a while.

Agreed but Maata and a 1st is a huge price. I was soooo big on Maata last draft and he could be a huge part of this team going forward. Very solid defensively and could help Dion out a tonne. Smart in every zone of the ice and is a workhorse, and COULD be NHL ready next season. Add in that first and we could get a goalie (Comrie or Martin). All for a player that is talented but expendable with all our wings.

[KingerSox]

Yeah I mean I'd do that deal too in a heartbeat probably, wasn't knocking that. You just can't give a guy like Kul's away. One of the few players who brings more value to a team outside of your normal statistics. Type of player the stat sheet doesn't give you a full read on. Maybe I'm wrong because he's my favorite Leaf haha. I laugh when people hold him to that 30 goal season. I mean frig off. People dump on him for no good reason while at the same time every coach he has is in love with the guy.

[JaysLeafs98]

If Nonis's first draft with the Leafs is as successful as his first with Vancouver, I'll be very pleased

1st Round: Corey Schnieder
3rd Round: Alex Edler
4th Round: Andrew Sarauer
5th Round: Mike Brown
6th Round: Julien Ellis
8th Round: David Schultz
9th Round: Jannik Hansen

4 NHL players out of 7 picks, all with very different skills / roles