Will Dubas have an interest in this years NCAA crop?

[Duke16]

When is the earliest we could sign an NCAA player?

Veronneau and Kuffner could be signed now. Their season is done.

 

[DougGilmour93]

Veronneau and Kuffner could be signed now. they're season is done

Thanks.
I thought they could be signed as soon as their season was done but second guessed myself.

 

[jaric1862]

I dont expect these guys to be anything really considering that they are already 22-23, but i like Kauffner the most.

 

[DougGilmour93]

Any other sources out there stating Toronto has any interest in any of the NCAA FA’s?

 

[DougGilmour93]

So...interest in Hirose and Duszak.

 

[SprDaVE]

So...interest in Hirose and Duszak.

They probably had interest in most of them but sounds like they were able to get Duszak and potentially Hirose.

 

[DougGilmour93]

Lots of them signing today. Hope to hear the Leafs putting pen to paper.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Hirose, Teves, Kuffner and Veronneau are all gone. Those were most of the headliners.

There are some guys I think are not getting headlines who would be really good though. Alex Limoges really stands out to me.

 

[DougGilmour93]

What about Lucas Craggs and Nico Sturm?

 

[MyBudJT]

What about Lucas Craggs and Nico Sturm?

They're on my "wish list".

 

[Duke16]

Hirose, Teves, Kuffner and Veronneau are all gone. Those were most of the headliners.

There are some guys I think are not getting headlines who would be really good though. Alex Limoges really stands out to me.

I know nothing about him, but his meteoric rise and the fact that he is a natural C has me intrigued. I'm not in love with many more of the names available and could see us just handing out some AHL deals like we did with Ferguson, Pooley, Kestner, and Plouffe last year.

 

[MyBudJT]

Jimmy Shuldt and Josh Wilkins are two other guys to keep an eye on.

 

[93LEAFS]

2-3 NHLers

He didn't even get us AHL talent for the most part in 2016 outside of the Top 60, what are you trying to defend here?

Matthews - obvious pick
Korshkov - huge reach that is looking terrible
Grundstrom - awesome, traded
Woll - trending very well, goalies are voodoo
----Top 60 divider----
Greenway - USHL overager, trending horribly
Brooks - originally 2014 eligible, fine AHLer whose NHL potential is very much in question
Middleton - went unsigned
Bobylev - went unsigned
Mattinen - went unsigned
Walker - went unsigned
Chebykin - mediocre VHLer, will go unsigned

So you have an obvious pick in Matthews and then only Grundstrom (a Top 60 pick) as a near guaranteed NHLer. This Draft was nearly 3 years ago and there is really nothing to show for it other than Matthews (an obvious pick who Hunter should not get credit for) and a promising G prospect in Woll. Great, but he had 11 (!!!) Picks.

You can't just ignore the Grundstrom pick. He was arguably the main piece in getting Muzzin. If you get two NHLers from a draft you did fairly well.

I think people commonly ignore the actual odds of the draft. If 3 of Hunter's 5 2nd round picks actually become top-9 players or Top 4 players, that is a very high success rate given the odds (about 20% or less). Dermott is clearly an NHLer, Grundstrom looks to be a top-9 player, and Bracco has a solid chance. Past that, Woll and Scott are very good goalie prospects. Obviously, some of Hunter's shine goes away if he missed on Liljegren, but even that pick was basically a coin-flip odds wise. It also shouldn't be ignored that he went with Marner over Hanifin. The industry was heavily leaning Hanifin, so that wasn't a "give-me" choice. Would I rather have Debrincat, Girard, or Hart than Korshkov? Absolutely. But, I do think you are grossly inflating the rate the 31st pick becomes something of significant value. A good drafter doesn't mean a perfect drafter. Even teams who organizations who get often praised for great drafting like Tampa have sizable blemishes on their record (Koekkeok over Forsberg).

I don't think ELC's should be the primary source of measuring success in a late-round pick. For some reason, SDA has gotten one, and he hasn't come close to earning it this year. Also, when there is a regime change, the next regime may be less willing to sign guys from the previous regime to ELC's. SDA absolutely didn't get an ELC on merit, he got it because he was a flagship Dubas pick and that pick and move will be tied to Dubas for that. Nothing past Sandin from that draft is likely to be an NHLer or even has odds above 25% or so.

Hunter helped turn around an organization that was a complete disaster drafting outside the top 10 from anywhere outside of Sweden for years into something that was at least competent, to even good. Was he some "super-scout" the Toronto media went overboard with? Hell no. But, the Toronto media pretty much always overpromotes people until they can tear them down when it comes to hockey management.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Jimmy Shuldt and Josh Wilkins are two other guys to keep an eye on.

As I said before, Alex Limoges as well. Has size, production, intelligence and two-way play the Leafs like.

I think the guys who really stand out are Wilkins, Limoges, Lee, Schuldt, Max Johnson (Bowling Green) and Brinson Pasnichnk (Arizona State). There are a long list of interesting guys, but I think most of them either have too many things to work on (especially for their age) or do not have enough upside. The nice thing about these guys is, besides Schuldt, they are among the youngest guys in the group. 97's and 98's. Not 95's and 96's. A guy who is already 23 or 24, unless they already look really close to NHL ready, is not going to be worth an ELC.

 

[TML1967]

Remeber not everyone who is in the NCAA has the same date for signing.
It depends on when they are eliminated, but not technically. Any of them can sign at any point BUT most dont until there season is done.

Sturm was and is my top target.
6'3C, PPG+, plays C on a in a top tier NCAA team. From the few games I have seen of him this year, his skating has improved a good amount. He could be a top 6C for us in the AHL right now without question. Plays a real solid 200ft game, has a 'meh' shot but drives the net well.

He would probably be the guy with the 4th most upside pretty quickly of our C's (Tav/Matthews/Kadri)
and by the time he is NHL ready, Kadri may be gone.

 

[teddygmr]

well Sturm turns 24 on May 3 while Limoges doesn't turn 22 until Sept 16 so that is quite significant! Little Hirose turns 23 June 30 and I notice he didn't score a single point during his last 5 games!
Taro Hirose Career Statistics
Limoges however scored 5 goals and 2 assists in the crucial 3 game series vs. Wisconsin to determine which team advances in their Big Ten Tournament.
Alex Limoges Career Statistics
"Penn State's season was extended for at least one more day as the Nittany Lions rolled past Wisconsin 6-2 to force a decisive Game 3 in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.
After giving up an early tally, Penn State turned a 1-1 first intermission tie into a 5-1 second intermission lead behind a torrent of shots paired with tenacious defense that gave the Badgers little room to respond.
Alex Limoges was brilliant yet again, adding two more goals to his season total and an assist to go with it. He sits at 46 points, one shy of the program's single-season record..."

 

[diceman934]

He is back up to nearly a 40 PT pace after an expected slow start where he only had 3 PTS in his first 19 games. He also just finished a stretch of games playing C. He will be just fine and be a consistent 60-75 PT guy for the duration of his contract following this season

34 point pace is not a 40 point pace. I agree that he likely gets around 60 to 70 points per year providing he plays with a guy who can drive a line.

 

[Duke16]

34 point pace is not a 40 point pace. I agree that he likely gets around 60 to 70 points per year providing he plays with a guy who can drive a line.

It was before last game, so 35, and I did use the word nearly

 

[jaric1862]

Wow considering Limoges is a 97, I would be all over that. Gives us more time to develop him with the Marlies

 

[DougGilmour93]

Anybody hearing anything on the remaining notable NCAA free agents?

 

[TML1967]

Anybody hearing anything on the remaining notable NCAA free agents?

Most of the other big names are not done their seasons. Rumors usually dont swirl until the seasons are done because they cant have agents while in the NCAA. Usually once eliminated the 'top list' of teams interested comes out.

 

[nuck]

Hunter did some good here, but his 2016 Draft was clearly terrible and I think 2017 will show to be similar outside of Liljegren (Scott and McGregor have increased their stock). I just believe that the skill trumps all approach Dubas took in 2018 (and that he was a big part of in 2015) is much wiser. You see multiple 2018 picks showing growth already and if you date back to 2015, of the 9 picks, the Leafs still have some sort of plan for Marner, Dermott, Bracco, Lindgren, and Timashov (and even Nielsen and Korostelev atleast made the AHL). That means 7/9 were atleast of some value, compared to 4/11 for Hunter in 2016 (Matthews, Grundstrom, likely Woll, and Brooks)

2016 was Lou's draft too and it may be that he was the one who wanted the emphasis on older players who could be more physically ready for the pro game sooner. Targeting size in general may have been Lou as the DPP makes the list but GM has the final word on who they take off it. Also we don't know that Dubas not signing Middleton or Mattinen was a smart move yet. I don't think the later picks in any of the last 5 years have proven much As for the 2018 picks, that looks as much like a one player draft as 2017 so far. I just think its a bit too early to be giving goat horns or a medal to anyone. AJ from 2013 just made his NHL splash this season and maybe we see Engval and Bracco next year. A lot can happen in the next couple of years.

 

[DougGilmour93]

ANy good defensive dman available via the NCAA route?