Prospect Info: Leafs 2018 2nd Rd Draft Pick - Sean Durzi (6'0 196lbs, RD , Owen Sound Attack)

[WTFMAN99]

Well the real cost of anything is leaving something else behind. Truth is we need at least 2 years to even see where these kids are trending so for now I'm just liking the criteria being used to make the decisions.
And I would add Druzi in that like list. He was a standout for me at the rookie camp last year. I had no idea who he was but noticed his play then. Add that with the year he put up and he could be a steal.

I hope so.

I wanted any of Morozov, Addison, Olofsson, and Hallander over him. It also sucked Thomas went right before Durzi.

 

[saltming]

I hope so.

I wanted any of Morozov, Addison, Olofsson, and Hallander over him. It also sucked Thomas went right before Durzi.

I hope so too!
It was a pretty weird draft from pick 3 though. It seemed like a lot of teams went off the board to a certain degree

 

[Kiwi]

Sandin - okay
Durzi - Way better guys at that slot
Way better picks available then the littleRussian
Hollowell was a massive reach
Stotts I feel tops out as a 3rd liner
Kral - <3
Don't know enough on 6 and 7 rounders.

- I think Sandin is better than OK, he's got the talent to be a very good player
- Durzi's D+1 production was outstanding, if we had of picked him in the 2nd last year and he put up those points totals we'd be doing backflips the only worry I have with him is injuries
- we took a boom bust cut in the 3rd, I don't see any problems with that, the kids seriously skilled and if he can up his explosivness skating wise he could do very well
- I agree on Hollowell but he's on a strong upward trajectory with reasonable stats so why not that late in the draft, it's not like hes a top 100 pick?
- Stotts started brutally but really came on later in the season after he was traded, he's got decent tools so I don't see the problem, if he becomes a bottom 6 center I'm stoked with that pick

 

[Judas Tavares]

I think 2017 may have been more underwhelming than this year. 2015 and 2016 were both much better.

Now obviously the two guys at the top of those drafts make it an absolute win no matter how you slice it. But I loved 2015 as a whole, maybe the only pick I didn't like was Desroscher. 2016 started off with a bang but was like a tale of two drafts. I loved the first 6 picks all the way to Brooks. The last 5 were all puzzling and seemed like a waste. But hey at least it was the back half.

Lily is the amazing part of 2017 but it really stops there. Rasanen might be overrated here in terms of him filling an exact need, but I think he will need to overcome a lot to become a player. The rest of that draft... yawn. The fact the I'm 2nd most intrigued by Gordeev from that class isn't saying much.

This year doesn't seem much better, but as a whole I'll give it marks for a common theme of skill and iq, which while it may completely fail, I also think it will still get us more players than 2017, which I think will only be 1.

 

[WTFMAN99]

I hope so too!
It was a pretty weird draft from pick 3 though. It seemed like a lot of teams went off the board to a certain degree

- I think Sandin is better than OK, he's got the talent to be a very good player
- Durzi's D+1 production was outstanding, if we had of picked him in the 2nd last year and he put up those points totals we'd be doing backflips the only worry I have with him is injuries
- we took a boom bust cut in the 3rd, I don't see any problems with that, the kids seriously skilled and if he can up his explosivness skating wise he could do very well
- I agree on Hollowell but he's on a strong upward trajectory with reasonable stats so why not that late in the draft, it's not like hes a top 100 pick?
- Stotts started brutally but really came on later in the season after he was traded, he's got decent tools so I don't see the problem, if he becomes a bottom 6 center I'm stoked with that pick

We'll see how it goes. I didn't like our draft much but like I said, happy to be proven wrong because it will mean the Leafs will only get better.

 

[93LEAFS]

I'm not super familiar with the CBA but are we sure that Durzi and Hollowell have to be signed right away? I'm aware they are '98s and next season will be their OA year but did we not retain Jack Walker's rights when he went back to Victoria to play his OA season? Walker is a '96 and picked in 2016, are the rules different for Durzi & Hollowell?

edit: I guess 93leafs did not say specifically that we need to sign him right away or lose his rights, my bad

We could sign them to some weird deal to play in the AHL this year, but, I highly doubt an agent would accept it.

My main point was, I don't think they have slide years left (and if they do it is only 1), although, I could be wrong on this. To get clarification I'll ask HFboards local cap and CBA expert.

@mouser

Do Hollowell as late 1998 birthdays and therefore D+2 players this year, have any remaining slide years like Dermott did (who had a slide in his D+2) and if they are on the Marlies on an NHL ELC, do they both count towards the 50 contract minimum.

 

[mouser]

We could sign them to some weird deal to play in the AHL this year, but, I highly doubt an agent would accept it.

My main point was, I don't think they have slide years left (and if they do it is only 1), although, I could be wrong on this. To get clarification I'll ask HFboards local cap and CBA expert.

@mouser

Do Hollowell as late 1998 birthdays and therefore D+2 players this year, have any remaining slide years like Dermott did (who had a slide in his D+2) and if they are on the Marlies on an NHL ELC, do they both count towards the 50 contract minimum.

You have it right. Neither player can have their ELC slide. One of the presumably intentional quirks with the system.

Age 18 players with birthdays from Sep 16th to Dec 31st can sign in their draft year before Dec 31st and have their contracts slide two times (e.g. Dermott). If those same players were signed on Jan 1st or later their contracts can't slide even once. In a similar vein, late birthday players drafted at age 19 like Durzi and Hollowell can't have their ELC slide. If an ELC can't possibly slide then it counts against the 50 contract limit--so both Durzi and Hollowell would count if playing in the AHL on NHL contracts this season.

Of course the Leafs hold rights to both players for two years now and are not required to sign them immediately. So far as I'm aware it's perfectly legal for the Leafs to sign them to AHL deals while still holding their NHL draft pick rights as you point out.

 

[The Best Leafs Ever]

Even though he is an over ager he still missed significant learning time due to injuries. You may say he has played one more season than others but is it really the case? Liljegren fell from consensus #1/#2 to our pick last season and even that was after being recognized by the scouts for years before his draft years.

We should be happy with his production and his age too, because it won’t take long for him to start developing on Marlies.

 

[glucker]

Went back to 2012, and only 2 CHL dmen taken in the first had better draft+1 seasons offensively(probably holds true for later rounds, but who knows). Those dmen are Josh Morrisey and Tony D’Angelo. The latter has played parts of the last two seasons at the NHL, and the former has looked pretty good for Winnipeg.


Durzi had decent numbers in his draft season as well, surprised nobody picked him up with a late pick.

 

[bonjovi0308]

I think Durzi could be a dark horse (relatively to other Leafs draft picks this year) and Dubas must be in love with him.

 

[Boutette]

You have it right. Neither player can have their ELC slide. One of the presumably intentional quirks with the system.

Age 18 players with birthdays from Sep 16th to Dec 31st can sign in their draft year before Dec 31st and have their contracts slide two times (e.g. Dermott). If those same players were signed on Jan 1st or later their contracts can't slide even once. In a similar vein, late birthday players drafted at age 19 like Durzi and Hollowell can't have their ELC slide. If an ELC can't possibly slide then it counts against the 50 contract limit--so both Durzi and Hollowell would count if playing in the AHL on NHL contracts this season.

Of course the Leafs hold rights to both players for two years now and are not required to sign them immediately. So far as I'm aware it's perfectly legal for the Leafs to sign them to AHL deals while still holding their NHL draft pick rights as you point out.

In addition, since they are turning 20, if there isn't enough room on the Marlies to give them sufficient TOI for their development, and since Dubas wants to use the Growlers for player development, it might be worthwhile to send them to the Rock to get top minutes playing against men, and then moved up to the Marlies once they've proven they can handle the grind. I doubt either of these guys would benefit as much developmentwise rolling out another year in the OHL.

 

[613Leafer]

-
- Durzi's D+1 production was outstanding, if we had of picked him in the 2nd last year and he put up those points totals we'd be doing backflips the only worry I have with him is injuries

Yep. 49 points in 40 games would be 83 points in 68 games had he played all season. He also led the team in points in the playoffs. That's very very good production. Morgan Rielly's draft +1 year he put up 54 points in 60 games by comparison.

Were there some more recognizable names still on the board (e.g. Calen Addison)? Sure. But after looking at the guy we got, it doesn't look like we took a crazy reach or anything. I'm more hesitant about the Hollowell pick, but at least that was later in the draft.

 

[Zybalto]

Went back to 2012, and only 2 CHL dmen taken in the first had better draft+1 seasons offensively(probably holds true for later rounds, but who knows). Those dmen are Josh Morrisey and Tony D’Angelo. The latter has played parts of the last two seasons at the NHL, and the former has looked pretty good for Winnipeg.


Durzi had decent numbers in his draft season as well, surprised nobody picked him up with a late pick.

He actually went pointless in his first 9 games back after his foot surgery for his draft season and finished with 40 points in 51 games to close out the year.

Maybe one of those guys someone should have seen coming.

I wonder if Dubas was pushing for him at last years draft and got overruled.

 

[Walshy7]

He actually went pointless in his first 9 games back after his foot surgery for his draft season and finished with 40 points in 51 games to close out the year.

Maybe one of those guys someone should have seen coming.

I wonder if Dubas was pushing for him at last years draft and got overruled.

may also line up with why we brought him to camp, hunter said no but he could invite him to camp if he wasn't drafted.

Hunter was on his giant fridge run and durzi was a bar fridge at best, maybe even only a cooler

 

[Brobust]

If you want to blame someone for not signing Durzi last offseason, blame Lamoriello.

 

[Mr Hockey]

He actually went pointless in his first 9 games back after his foot surgery for his draft season and finished with 40 points in 51 games to close out the year.

Maybe one of those guys someone should have seen coming.

I wonder if Dubas was pushing for him at last years draft and got overruled.

I am willing to bet Dubas did zero scouting and was just the the Marlies GM and assisted Lou, not his department ...

 

[gregreg]

Leafs didn't have a ton of contracts to hand out last year.

Unlike most of you here I love this guy and I have high hopes for him. He had a big jump this season for the Attack and they missed him a lot when he was hurt. Can't wait to see him in the blue and white!

 

[Ovate]

Durzi could easily end up being the best player we took this year. He has top pairing potential, offensively.

 

[Apotheosis]

Durzi could easily end up being the best player we took this year. He has top pairing potential, offensively.

Yup, his numbers are quite good. You have to also think that with time missed, there's more room for a longer trajectory of development. He's also 6'0 200 pounds, which is great size. An assortment of Rielly, Dermott, Sandin, Durzi, Liljegren in the next few years sounds enticing. Swedish-Canadian connection.

 

[TheDoldrums]

It's silly to bemoan the lost opportunity to sign him last year. That's a sunk cost at this point. You have to judge the pick for what it is. We've seen defensemen picked in the draft the year after being passed over that turned into steals. Just because they could have been signed the year earlier doesn't make those picks any less fantastic.

Also, it's weird to blame the current front office when there's been such change. Impossible to say what would have happened if Dubas was running the team last year.

Also I may have said this earlier at some point, but being in his D+1 is a bonus for us since we need RHD and quickly. Not that I would like choosing the quicker path over the higher ceiling, but he should be ready pretty quickly for a 2nd round defense pick.

 

[Sergei Berezin]

Any chance he makes the CDN WJC squad?

 

[kk87]

Any chance he makes the CDN WJC squad?

He won't be eligible since he's a late 98, unfortunately

 

[MagicalRazor]

Do yourself a favour and please watch his draft interview its about 6 mins but holay crap this kid talks about details of the game like no other player dose , how he carries his self and presents his self he has some real star qualities . I got a really good feeling about this young man

 

[Duckrider]

going into this draft I was very optimistic. Had absolutely no expectations of getting excited about anyone being drafted this year, and thats mainly because where we drafted from. Not only do I not think we made a bad decision on our first pick but this pick is something. He really could be our out of no where pick. How did this guy not go in the first round dis bight him being a overeager? With those numbers and Defensively responsible as well? How?

 

[crump]

How did this guy not go in the first round dis bight him being a overeager? With those numbers and Defensively responsible as well? How?

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