Toronto Maple Leafs reaping benefits of good drafting and development

[HF Article]

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The Toronto Maple Leafs strong start can be attributed to the depth they have accumulated over previous seasons. Under general manager Dave Nonis, the Maple Leafs continue to foster the development of their youth in hopes they will one day become NHL players.



At the AHL level, the Toronto Marlies saw a massive turnover of their roster including former head coach Dallas Eakins (now coaching the Edmonton Oilers). The club is built on a foundation of draft picks that have been developed over the last four seasons.

Left Wing

The left wing position in the Maple Leafs system is loaded with pro ready depth that is beginning to push for NHL positions.… read more



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[FreeBird]

​

The Toronto Maple Leafs strong start can be attributed to the depth they have accumulated over previous seasons. Under general manager Dave Nonis, the Maple Leafs continue to foster the development of their youth in hopes they will one day become NHL players.



At the AHL level, the Toronto Marlies saw a massive turnover of their roster including former head coach Dallas Eakins (now coaching the Edmonton Oilers). The club is built on a foundation of draft picks that have been developed over the last four seasons.

Left Wing

The left wing position in the Maple Leafs system is loaded with pro ready depth that is beginning to push for NHL positions.… read more



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Wow, looks like we'll be watching a lot of playoff games in June.

 

[AustonMitchWilly]

We just finally seem to be on the right track.

 

[lebdafor norris]

Meh, who was the last player the leafs drafted outside the top 10 that is/has the potential, to be a top pairing D/1st line player? The last one I can think of is Kaberle (maybe Steen but he really didn't work out during his time here). Overall the scouting/development has been decent but nothing amazing, kinda expected more considering the amount of resources the Leafs have in their disposal.

 

[Wheels]

Drafting and developing lots of bottom-6 forwards and bottom-pairing defencemen is nice, but we need some frontline talent in the system. Unless some of the younger long-range prospects really take some major steps forward (Herzog, Nilsson, Johnson, etc.) it doesn't look like we have any top-end guys left in the pipeline with Rielly now in the NHL with the possible exception of Gauthier.

 

[ULF_55]

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0039912014.html

http://theahl.com/stats/statdisplay...ament_id=0&leagueId=4&division_id=-1&confId=0

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0000382014.html

Contains the results of their drafting.

 

[Hero]

The Leafs are 50% of the NHL. They money they can put into drafting could be ridiculous. No excuse to not be the best team at it, and we're not the best team at it.

 

[soulie]

I really wish the brass would give D'Amigo a chance. Kadri, D'Amigo, Frattin were one of the best marlie lines.

 

[Delicious Dangles*]

Drafting and developing lots of bottom-6 forwards and bottom-pairing defencemen is nice, but we need some frontline talent in the system. Unless some of the younger long-range prospects really take some major steps forward (Herzog, Nilsson, Johnson, etc.) it doesn't look like we have any top-end guys left in the pipeline with Rielly now in the NHL with the possible exception of Gauthier.

When you have your entire young top-6 locked in for the foreseeable, I don't see why this is a problem.

Not to mention that we do have prospects that have top-6/top-4 potential, just not 1st line/top pairing potential.

 

[Wheels]

When you have your entire young top-6 locked in for the foreseeable, I don't see why this is a problem.

It's not a problem if you believe we have Cup-caliber top six, or if you believe you don't need to develop other young assets in case of injury, or as trade. Are you counting Bozak and Clarkson among our "young top six"? Remember, young players are cheaper and thus create more cap room to fix other holes.

 

[BigWilly]

When you have your entire young top-6 locked in for the foreseeable, I don't see why this is a problem.

Not to mention that we do have prospects that have top-6/top-4 potential, just not 1st line/top pairing potential.

I think Matt Finn has top pair potential. I think he's the only prospect with that upside though.

 

[lebdafor norris]

When you have your entire young top-6 locked in for the foreseeable, I don't see why this is a problem.

Not to mention that we do have prospects that have top-6/top-4 potential, just not 1st line/top pairing potential.

They may have top-6/top-4 potential (Rielly not included) but the likelihood of them reaching isn't very certain (meaning none of them are top 50 prospect material let alone blue chippers). Thinking about it who was the last PROVEN top 6 forward the leafs drafted that isn't a top 10 pick? Kulemin looks likes a bottom 6 player at this point (albeit a very good one) so I guess Steen who was drafted more than 10 years ago? For a team that has as much resources as the leafs that is pretty pathetic if you ask me.

 

[Rants Mulliniks]

They may have top-6/top-4 potential (Rielly not included) but the likelihood of them reaching isn't very certain (meaning none of them are top 50 prospect material let alone blue chippers). Thinking about it who was the last PROVEN top 6 forward the leafs drafted that isn't a top 10 pick? Kulemin looks likes a bottom 6 player at this point (albeit a very good one) so I guess Steen who was drafted more than 10 years ago? For a team that has as much resources as the leafs that is pretty pathetic if you ask me.

Why do we have to focus on drafting them? Drafting is nice and certainly has it's advantages but you can produce quality teams with very little drafting.

 

[TheJet11]

I agree that we lack true "Top Prospects" in our prospect pool.

Plenty of depth and some players that look like they could come in and contribute a little bit, but nobody that makes you think thery could single handedly win you a playoff series.

Kadri has performed well since joining the club full-time, and I think Holland will be a good player.

I'd love to move Bozak and resign Bolland.

.... Does anyone else wish we had kept Grabo instead of resigning Bozak? We could have used Grabo's buy-out on Liles, and used that money at the deadline if we need to bring in big pending FA for the playoff push.

Certainly missing Bozak in the line-up, but I believe we could have done better than resign him.

 

[The_Chosen_One]

I think Matt Finn has top pair potential. I think he's the only prospect with that upside though.

I agree. Finn has a lot of potential. Our drafting - especially amongst D - is pretty good, and, personally, I still see a lot of promise in Ashton and Biggs.

 

[Patience]

No agenda against Holland, hopefully he's a good addition, but teams that are "reaping the benefits of good drafting and development" don't usually need to use draft picks to get a young center. They call up one of their young drafted centers.

 

[Wheels]

Why do we have to focus on drafting them? Drafting is nice and certainly has it's advantages but you can produce quality teams with very little drafting.

You can, but it sure helps!

PIT - Crosby, Malkin, Letang, Fleury, J. Staal (traded for Sutter), Goligoski (traded for Neal), etc.

BOS - Lucic, Bergeron, Krejci, Seguin (traded for Eriksson), Marchand, Raycroft (traded for Rask), etc.

CHI - Toews, Kane, Keith, Seabrook, Saad, Bolland, etc.

DET - Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Franzen, Howard, Ericsson, Kronwall, etc.

COL - Duchene, O'Reilly, Stastny, MacKinnon, Landeskog, etc.

SJ - Couture, Marleau, Hertl, Pavelski, Vlasic, etc.

 

[Delicious Dangles*]

It's not a problem if you believe we have Cup-caliber top six, or if you believe you don't need to develop other young assets in case of injury, or as trade. Are you counting Bozak and Clarkson among our "young top six"? Remember, young players are cheaper and thus create more cap room to fix other holes.

Bozak and Clarkson are both under 30. It is definitely a top-6 that you can win a championship with. 4 players who are PPG-capable are more than able to carry a top-6. We have a good mix of size, speed, skill and grit.

While I don't like the Clarkson signing myself, he is more than capable of being a good #5-6 in a top-6, and he is still capable of putting up 20-30 goals with opportunity. The only real weak spot I see in the top-6 is Bozak, but he can handle the minutes and does enough of smaller stuff that allows Kessel and JVR to play their game, that the line is not weakened by it. Obviously, with Bozak there, the potential of a line that has Kessel and JVR on it is not maximized, but it is still one of the better lines in hockey.

Yes, young players are cheaper, but we have no cap problems with our top-6. JVR and Lupul are steals, as is Kadri for the time being (it remains to be seen what his next contract wil be, but he is an RFA for another 2 years after that). You don't save money with your top-6. You do like Chicago does and use your prospect pool to fill in the lesser roles for cheap instead of filling them in through FA for ridiculous prices.

Yes, you want people to fill in for injuries, but we have that. Our entire 3rd line is capable of filing for a top-6 role. It remains to be seen who we end up keeping, but we DO have prospects who can fill in in a top-6 role as well. Leivo, Holland to name a couple, and we have a few prospects putting up big numbers in the juniors.

Your team is not "bad at drafting" just because you don't have potential superstars in waiting. That is unrealistic.

It is also foolish to not include Rielly. He is clearly not contributing to the team to the same extent that he will in the future, and he still has plenty of cheap years ahead. You can't just say "oh, he's on the team, so this is what we have. There is no help coming". To lesser extents, the same can be said of Gardiner and Kadri.

 

[Delicious Dangles*]

They may have top-6/top-4 potential (Rielly not included) but the likelihood of them reaching isn't very certain (meaning none of them are top 50 prospect material let alone blue chippers). Thinking about it who was the last PROVEN top 6 forward the leafs drafted that isn't a top 10 pick? Kulemin looks likes a bottom 6 player at this point (albeit a very good one) so I guess Steen who was drafted more than 10 years ago? For a team that has as much resources as the leafs that is pretty pathetic if you ask me.

We were a good team and our old management traded away a lot of our good draft picks for garbage. Then, when Burke brought in the culture change, our first draft picks were traded for an established NHL superstar. And then we sucked, so we got top-10 picks. Why does it not count if it's a top-10 pick? News flash. Majority of blue-chippers come from the top of the draft. Any decent draft picks that we have had in the last 2-3 years have not had enough time to develop to really know if they will be top-6 players.

And why only forwards? We got Gunnarsson. Plus, Bozak was undrafted but still targeted and developed by us.

You seemed to set up this question in a specific way so that you could justify your viewpoint.

 

[Delicious Dangles*]

I think Matt Finn has top pair potential. I think he's the only prospect with that upside though.

Perhaps. I agree, Finn does look very good.

 

[InShannyWeTrust]

I think Matt Finn has top pair potential. I think he's the only prospect with that upside though.

your not counting reilly im guessing

 

[The_Chosen_One]

your not counting reilly im guessing

Rielly isn't a prospect anymore. He's an NHLer and will be on the top pairing in the near future.

 

[goonx]

Those "top prospects" don't grow on trees. What most people are looking for are top 5 picks which is reilly.

The leafs have been drafting well from europe. Our scouts there seem to be finding gems that are missed by others. They are definitely not all-stars (none yet anyways) but they can play at the NHL level.

Our NA scouts however is the biggest criticism. We haven't had any grade A prospect come out of NA for a while. That being said, our trades has really filled the hole in this department. Our late and 2nd rounders haven't amounted to anything these past years. Blacker and Ryan are particularly poor picks. Our goalie prospects are quite shallow as well.

I would hope that we are also getting some Russians in our system as well. There are some top-tier russian prospects that are passed up by teams (KHL) and we should scoop them up. Tarasenko, Orlov, Kuznetsov. High-risk high return.

 

[lebdafor norris]

We were a good team and our old management traded away a lot of our good draft picks for garbage. Then, when Burke brought in the culture change, our first draft picks were traded for an established NHL superstar. And then we sucked, so we got top-10 picks. Why does it not count if it's a top-10 pick? News flash. Majority of blue-chippers come from the top of the draft. Any decent draft picks that we have had in the last 2-3 years have not had enough time to develop to really know if they will be top-6 players.

And why only forwards? We got Gunnarsson. Plus, Bozak was undrafted but still targeted and developed by us.

You seemed to set up this question in a specific way so that you could justify your viewpoint.

Did you not get the whole purpose of the post? I was stating the fact that the leafs never got any blue chip caliber prospects (since Kabs) aside from their top 10 picks, which is pretty pathetic for a team that has so much resources. Just look at the Bruins drafts steal the last 10 years, they got 1st line caliber players such as Marchand, Lucic, Bergeron and Krejci all of which are drafted in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, now that's what I call excellent scouting. Now lets looks at the Habs (another team with excellent scouting) draft steals; Subban (2nd rounder), Streit (9th rounder), Gallagher (5th rounder), Patches (22nd overall) and some others I'm to lazy to list. Now do you see where I'm getting at? A lot of teams has managed to draft themselves at least 1 top quality skaters the last 10 years without needing a top 10 pick, while the leafs hasn't (I like Gunnar and all but his not really top pairing material).

 

[crazyaces**]

Meh, who was the last player the leafs drafted outside the top 10 that is/has the potential, to be a top pairing D/1st line player? The last one I can think of is Kaberle (maybe Steen but he really didn't work out during his time here). Overall the scouting/development has been decent but nothing amazing, kinda expected more considering the amount of resources the Leafs have in their disposal.

Its not that easy to draft elite/top end talent without getting a guy that's in the top 10. In fact its not really expected. However they have got:

Steen (has been good for st louis, and right now has 17 g 26 Pts in 20 games)
Gunnarsson(1st pairing with Dion, oneof our safest dman),
Reimer (#1 goalie),
Rask (#1 goalie, and one of the best in the league),
Tlusty (played with Staal and Semin top line 40 goal 65+ point pace)
Kulemin (at one point was with his 30/30 season)
Brad Boyes (obviously has gone down hill getting older now, but peaked for a few years, 40 goals 70+ points)