The Toronto Maple Leafs need another shot and have just three swings to score.
All in a core of Auston Matthews–Mitch Marner–William Nylander–Morgan Rielly-John Tavares, general manager Kyle Dubas has handcuffed his amateur scouting team in an effort to win now.
As was the case in 2021, the Leafs have a total of three picks heading into the seven-round NHL Draft.
Unlike last summer, the organization tried to hold on to its first rounder, resisting another gamble in the form of Nick Foligno. And with Toronto’s prospects thinned out to increase its competition window, Dubas should nail down that top selection.
“I’m very pleased with the way the amateur scouting team went about things, even though there weren’t many picks in two of the three drafts, really,” said Dubas, who got back a 2022 third-round pick (Winnipeg via Vancouver) via the Travis Dermott trade .
Because there’s no immediate help for the old “Win a playoff round already!” hurdle coming with the 25th overall pick that will need more development, Dubas could make more noise at the Bell Center by making a deal.
However, it has been seven years since the Maple Leafs drafted a Canadian in the first round (Mitch Marner, 2015). Several talented, local prospects are in the mix of about a dozen players who could slap the ball on the Maple Leafs on Thursday night.
With the pandemic throwing a wrench into the development of so many prospects — and stifling scouting samples — pundits are finding the second half of the Round 1 draft even more difficult to predict than usual.
A few things to remember here: (a) Dubas generally likes to shoot for high skill and potential over the safer play, regardless of player height; and (b) if the GM feels he can trade, grab another lottery ticket and still get his man, he will.
Draft selection
TOR 1 (25th), WGP 3 (79th), TOR 7 (218th)
Potential Round 1 targets
Luca Del Bell Belluz, C, Mississauga Steelheads (OHL)
The Maple Leafs talked to Del Belle Belluz again after the combine, and the Woodbridge, Ont., native would have been thrilled to be drafted by his boyhood team.
The center exploded in 2021-22 with 30 goals and 76 points in his second tour with the Steelheads, and his plus-23 rating speaks to the pride De Bel Belus takes in his two-way game.
The 18-year-old left tackle has studied how Auston Matthews plays without the puck and describes himself as a creative playmaker who likes to play in the D-zone as well.
One of Del Bel Belluz’s Steelheads teammates — Port Hope, Ont.-born center Owen Beck — could also make the Leafs’ lineup.
Ivan Miroshnichenko, LW, Omsk (VHL)
With Toronto quietly ending its relationship with hard-working European recruiter Jim Paliafito, we can’t be sure that the pipeline that brought in Russians like Nikita Zaitsev and Ilya Mikheev is still open.
However, several intriguing Russian professional left wings (the skilful Alexander Perevalov being the other) could still be on board when Dubas is on the clock.
Miroshnichenko was tabbed as a draft day wild card whose stock fell from 2021. In January, the 6-foot-3 kid with the unholy release had his season cut short by a diagnosis of Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He was cleared to resume training in June and plans to be ready for the 2022-23 season in Russia.
His health is a risk. His shot is a weapon.
Ivan Miroshnichenko breaks the puck and cuts up the middle to score his first VHL goal.#2022NHLDraft |
Jagger Firkus, RW, Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
small? yes Qualified? Yes
If only Firkus played junior for Su, he would fit the Dubas type to a T.
Kidding aside, kid can play. Firkus scored 36 goals and added 44 assists in 66 games for the Warriors, then recorded 12 more points in 10 playoff games.
The Alberta native may be small in stature (5-foot-10, 154 pounds), but he is extremely competitive and production-oriented. Not only is his shot ferocious, but the winger finds deceptive ways to release it.
With moves like Jagger’s, the Firkus Circus could add even more entertainment value to one of the NHL’s must-have offenses.
Last year’s top pick: Matthew Nice
If the GMs do a reshuffle of the 2021 class, the consensus says Nice will be taken in the first round — not the second, where Dubas appears to have stolen the University of Minnesota star at No. 57 overall.
Literally in points per game (15-18–33 in 33 games) and plus-15 for the Gophers as an NCAA freshman, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound left wing projects to be a top-nine power forward. Nice surpassed Nick Robertson as the top prospect in Toronto’s system.
Soft hands. Heavy blows. Protects the puck well. Drives to the slot. Mastery for the finale.
The Maple Leafs tried to get the 19-year-old Phoenix native to sign his entry-level contract before the end of the 2021-22 season (a la Nick Abruzzese) and make him a postseason option, but Knies opted to -enroll in school for another winter of spices.
“He’ll be more ready in a year,” coach Sheldon Keefe said. “He had a monster season in college hockey. Not only in college hockey, but in the world juniors, the Olympics, he really made his mark. We are very excited to have him in the organization.”
Or Knies signs his ELC at the end of his second campaign with the Gophers and potentially adds to the Leafs’ playoff arsenal in 2023. (That’s the safer bet.)
Or — and this is scary — Nice plays the long game, refuses to sign with the team that drafted him, and goes the Adam Fox route as an NCAA free agent. The player has some leverage here. (It’s too early to panic, but hey, it’s an option.)
Organizational needs
Goaltending: Partly as a result of a major swing and miss on injury-prone 2021 UFA Petr Mrazek and partly the franchise’s failure to select and develop a regular starter since James Reimer in 2006, the Maple Leafs are once again on the goaltending hunt.
Dubas hasn’t showered impending UFA Jack Campbell with offers, as cap clubs like Detroit and New Jersey are lurking in the weeds.
Does the GM play with free agency (Ville Husso, Marc-Andre Fleury, Darcy Kuemper) or try to make a draft weekend trade (Matt Murray, Semyon Varlamov, Jordan Binnington) to address his most obvious weakness?
Top-9 left wing: The looming departure of Ilya Mikheev will only further weaken Toronto’s weakest wing. Maybe the solution is to just promote from within (Robertson?) and count on Knies to lend a hand come spring. This would certainly be cost effective.
But if Dubas is inclined to make headlines, there are intriguing UFAs (Mason Marchment, Valeri Nichushkin) and potential trade targets (JT Miller, Tyler Bertuzzi) to pursue.
Right-shot defenseman: Loaded with lefties, the Maple Leafs’ right side remains a work in progress. Pending RFA Timothy Liljegren signed a reasonable bridge deal, but questions surround righties Ilya Lyubushkin (UFA) and Justin Hall (trade available).
For a contending team picking late, it’s also a need that must be met through free agency or the trade market.
Add Comment