C Mikhail Abramov (2019, 115th, TOR; traded to STL)

[TheBeastCoast]

sorry what’re you basing this on? How many ‘gems’ outside the first round has Dubas picked over the past several drafts?

Well Robertson. Cole Caufield if he could do more then shoot the puck!

 

[LeafChief]

sorry what’re you basing this on? How many ‘gems’ outside the first round has Dubas picked over the past several drafts?

The world juniors are literally on tv right now. Check the leading scorer for defenceman. Also, this thread.

Pretty good development curves for players chosen outside of the first round if you ask me.

 

[acrobaticgoalie]

sorry what’re you basing this on? How many ‘gems’ outside the first round has Dubas picked over the past several drafts?

Are you even a Leafs fan? Do you pay attention at all?

Robertson - 2nd round, just had a season in the OHL that had him on pace to score 81 goals if he played a full season. He is in the top 30 all time for goals in a single season in the OHL. Was one of the best forwards for team USA at the WJC and played in the NHL as an 18 year old.

Abramov- had 76 pts in 63 games in the Q last year playing on a horrible team. The next best point producer had 41. Abramov had 35 goals for comparison. He's looked great the last 2 games for Russia. Not bad for a 4th rounder.

Abruzzese- finished 2nd in NCAA scoring last year as a rookie with 44 pts in 31 games. Not bad for a 4th rounder.

Niemela - plays top pairing minutes for his team in the top league in Finland and is currently tied with the most pts for a D man in the WJC while being really good defensively. Currently 9th in the tournament for pts. Not bad for a 3rd rounder

Hirvonen- currently playing on the top line for team Finland and has 4 pts in 3 games. Also plays as the 1C for his team in the top league in Finland. 2nd rounder

Kral- is dominating in the Czech league right now and had almost a ppg as a d man in the WHL last year. 4th rounder.

Hollowel- dominated the OHL 2 years ago and had a good first year of pro hockey in both the ECHL and AHL. He has also been named to the Taxi squad for the Leafs this year iirc. 4th rounder

Miettinen- currently 2nd on his team in pts as a rookie in the NCAA. 6TH rounder.

Koster- producing well in his rookie year in the NCAA and is getting lots of praise from his coaches. Played great on USA shutting down the top dogs for team Canada including Lafreniere and Dach at the U18s

All these player have good NHL potential. Who knows if they get there but so far the drafting under Dubas/Lilley are tracking better than the non 1st rounders by Lou/Hunter or Burke/Nonis/Morrison. Who have these guys produced that are showing this kind of early returns?

There are many areas that Dubas can be criticized for but drafting is not one of them. The Leafs pool might not have high end guys that you would get in the top 10 but it is fairly deep.

 

[TopChedder]

Are you even a Leafs fan? Do you pay attention at all?

Robertson - 2nd round, just had a season in the OHL that had him on pace to score 81 goals if he played a full season. He is in the top 30 all time for goals in a single season in the OHL. Was one of the best forwards for team USA at the WJC and played in the NHL as an 18 year old.

Abramov- had 76 pts in 63 games in the Q last year playing on a horrible team. The next best point producer had 41. Abramov had 35 goals for comparison. He's looked great the last 2 games for Russia. Not bad for a 4th rounder.

Abruzzese- finished 2nd in NCAA scoring last year as a rookie with 44 pts in 31 games. Not bad for a 4th rounder.

Niemela - plays top pairing minutes for his team in the top league in Finland and is currently tied with the most pts for a D man in the WJC while being really good defensively. Currently 9th in the tournament for pts. Not bad for a 3rd rounder

Hirvonen- currently playing on the top line for team Finland and has 4 pts in 3 games. Also plays as the 1C for his team in the top league in Finland. 2nd rounder

Kral- is dominating in the Czech league right now and had almost a ppg as a d man in the WHL last year. 4th rounder.

Hollowel- dominated the OHL 2 years ago and had a good first year of pro hockey in both the ECHL and AHL. He has also been named to the Taxi squad for the Leafs this year iirc. 4th rounder

Miettinen- currently 2nd on his team in pts as a rookie in the NCAA. 6TH rounder.

Koster- producing well in his rookie year in the NCAA and is getting lots of praise from his coaches. Played great on USA shutting down the top dogs for team Canada including Lafreniere and Dach at the U18s

All these player have good NHL potential. Who knows if they get there but so far the drafting under Dubas/Lilley are tracking better than the non 1st rounders by Lou/Hunter or Burke/Nonis/Morrison. Who have these guys produced that are showing this kind of early returns?

There are many areas that Dubas can be criticized for but drafting is not one of them. The Leafs pool might not have high end guys that you would get in the top 10 but it is fairly deep.

Exactly!

I facepalmed pretty hard when I read the above posters response lol I was getting ready to write all this stuff down but you beat me to it. The list doesn't even have Kokkenan on it lol so we can add another potential gem.

I also have to wonder if that poster is a Leaf fan or pays attention at all.

And if we get into first rounder we have guys like

Sandin
Lilly
Amirov

Dubas is actually VERY good at drafting period.

 

[acrobaticgoalie]

Exactly!

I facepalmed pretty hard when I read the above posters response lol I was getting ready to write all this stuff down but you beat me to it. The list doesn't even have Kokkenan on it lol so we can add another potential gem.

I also have to wonder if that poster is a Leaf fan or pays attention at all.

And if we get into first rounder we have guys like

Sandin
Lilly
Amirov

Dubas is actually VERY good at drafting period.

I didn't include Kokkonen because although I like him and he does have potential, he doesnt scream "gem" of a pick. Pretty well all the other ones I listed have done some noteworthy things in their respective leagues/tournaments. Good prospect though.

Same goes for SDA. He had a bad D+1. A solid D+2 in the OHL and a good start to his season in the KHL. Decent prospect but not amazing since being drafted.

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

Hollowel- dominated the OHL 2 years ago and had a good first year of pro hockey in both the ECHL and AHL. He has also been named to the Taxi squad for the Leafs this year iirc. 4th rounder

huh? did leafs release a taxi squad?

 

[acrobaticgoalie]

huh? did leafs release a taxi squad?

My mistake. I thought Hollowel was part of the taxi squad for the playoff bubble but I just went back and looked and he was cut from the final 30. I thought I remembered people being surprised that he was there over other more experienced Marlies. Guess I got that one wrong.

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

My mistake. I thought Hollowel was part of the taxi squad for the playoff bubble but I just went back and looked and he was cut from the final 30. I thought I remembered people being surprised that he was there over other more experienced Marlies. Guess I got that one wrong.

oh I hadn’t even heard of a taxi squad for last season’s qualifiers. Interesting. Thought you were talking about upcoming season.

 

[acrobaticgoalie]

oh I hadn’t even heard of a taxi squad for last season’s qualifiers. Interesting. Thought you were talking about upcoming season.

I know he's been hanging with the Leafs during quarantine in preparation for camp. There was that Christmas photo of him hanging with Matthews and the boys. If that counts. Management is likely only adding guys that are close to making the squad considering quarantine and travel protocols.

 

[oooooooooohCanada]

sorry what’re you basing this on? How many ‘gems’ outside the first round has Dubas picked over the past several drafts?

There aren't several drafts that Dubas has been in charge of. He took over in like May 2018, was 'sorta' in charge of the 2018 draft and then had the 2019 and 2020 drafts to himself. Early looks at those 3 drafts are very good compared to whatever the hell Lou/Hunter were doing from 2015-2017. Lots of upside drafted.

 

[nobody]

sorry what’re you basing this on? How many ‘gems’ outside the first round has Dubas picked over the past several drafts?

We have a top 10 (arguably top 5) prospect pool in the NHL just from the players we've scooped up in the past 3 drafts. We havent' had a higher pick than 15 (where we drafted Amirov this past draft).

 

[TopChedder]

I didn't include Kokkonen because although I like him and he does have potential, he doesnt scream "gem" of a pick. Pretty well all the other ones I listed have done some noteworthy things in their respective leagues/tournaments. Good prospect though.

Same goes for SDA. He had a bad D+1. A solid D+2 in the OHL and a good start to his season in the KHL. Decent prospect but not amazing since being drafted.

Very good points

 

[stickty111]

My mistake. I thought Hollowel was part of the taxi squad for the playoff bubble but I just went back and looked and he was cut from the final 30. I thought I remembered people being surprised that he was there over other more experienced Marlies. Guess I got that one wrong.

oh I hadn’t even heard of a taxi squad for last season’s qualifiers. Interesting. Thought you were talking about upcoming season.

When Liljegren got hurt before the return to play, Hollowell replaced him on the traning camp 2.0 roster.
The fact they even named him as a replacement shows they like his progress.
From reports, Leafs are really hgh on Hollowell too.

 

[acrobaticgoalie]

When Liljegren got hurt before the return to play, Hollowell replaced him on the traning camp 2.0 roster.
The fact they even named him as a replacement shows they like his progress.
From reports, Leafs are really hgh on Hollowell too.

I thought there was something there

 

[TheKrebsCycle]

We have a top 10 (arguably top 5) prospect pool in the NHL just from the players we've scooped up in the past 3 drafts. We havent' had a higher pick than 15 (where we drafted Amirov this past draft).

There have been some good value pics for sure but top 10 (and especially top 5 ) is stretching it .

 

[nobody]

There have been some good value pics for sure but top 10 (and especially top 5 ) is stretching it .

I've seen them ranked in the top 10 by hockey writers and magazines. One had them in top 5 I believe. Mostly because they have a lot of depth of NHL caliber talent. Leafs don't have high-end superstars but we have Sandin, Robertson and Amirov now, all 3 of whom have star potential and upside. And a boatload of prospects who should be NHLers to some extent.

Before this turns into an argument over rankings:
Rankings don't really mean a whole lot. What's important is we have the prospect pool that's deep and filled with good NHL talent that can slot in the middle 6/ bottom 6 and 2nd/3rd D pairings which is where we need our ELCs to be able to play. If the Leafs aren't in your or someone else's' top 10, I'm perfectly content with it.

 

[TheKrebsCycle]

I've seen them ranked in the top 10 by hockey writers and magazines. One had them in top 5 I believe. Mostly because they have a lot of depth of NHL caliber talent. Leafs don't have high-end superstars but we have Sandin, Robertson and Amirov now, all 3 of whom have star potential and upside. And a boatload of prospects who should be NHLers to some extent.

Before this turns into an argument over rankings:
Rankings don't really mean a whole lot. What's important is we have the prospect pool that's deep and filled with good NHL talent that can slot in the middle 6/ bottom 6 and 2nd/3rd D pairings which is where we need our ELCs to be able to play. If the Leafs aren't in your or someone else's' top 10, I'm perfectly content with it.

I'm a leaf fan. I just thought top 5 was too much. I'd have them in low double digit.

 

[molotce]

I've seen them ranked in the top 10 by hockey writers and magazines. One had them in top 5 I believe. Mostly because they have a lot of depth of NHL caliber talent. Leafs don't have high-end superstars but we have Sandin, Robertson and Amirov now, all 3 of whom have star potential and upside. And a boatload of prospects who should be NHLers to some extent.

Before this turns into an argument over rankings:
Rankings don't really mean a whole lot. What's important is we have the prospect pool that's deep and filled with good NHL talent that can slot in the middle 6/ bottom 6 and 2nd/3rd D pairings which is where we need our ELCs to be able to play. If the Leafs aren't in your or someone else's' top 10, I'm perfectly content with it.

yes, i would not say top 5 because what really matters in my opinion is high to middle end talent... a future bottom nhl'er is great but easy to fill on the market/Ahlers... The real thing here is toronto is loaded with young talents on the team and have been indeed drafting well, so there will be a continuity of influx of talent to surround this team (names mentionned above). They've been losing in playoff and people have been frustrated with their results but they will still ice one of the most talented line up in the league for years to come...

 

[Dump Itch]

At this rate, better than Byfield.

 

[nobody]

I'm a leaf fan. I just thought top 5 was too much. I'd have them in low double digit.

Yea. I'm just saying what I've seen. I'm happy with what we have. Dubas has done a fantastic job with the drafting and developing of players in his tenure as a GM.

Getting Amirov and Hallander for Kapanen seems like an absolute steal of a deal too. He absolutely destroyed the draft last year too. Robertson, Koster, Abramov, Abruzzesse, Kokko. Legitimately, all 5 of those guys have a real shot at being NHL players.

This year we're looking at Hirvonen, Niemela, Ovchennikov, Rindell, Miettinen and Akthyamov on top of Amirov (obv 1st rounder) who are looking like they're well on track at their ages to become impactful players and potential NHL options.

Low key, I think we are going to get a couple of high impact star-level players from these 2 drafts alone. And a ton of serviceable NHLers that we can plug and play.

 

[LeafChief]

He looks like he's got some size to him too. Thicc boi.

 

[Caser]

 

[Knies iT]

It's actually 16P in 11GP. Averaging 1 assist per game right now.



Wish Larionov took advantage of the kid's one-timer at the WJC. This video doesn't do it justice but he has a wicked release.

 

[bukwas]

^ I was surprised he didn't play more for Russia. Thought he looked good and was playing hard.

 

[Caser]