Toronto Maple Leafs: Mock Draft Monday 2.0
With the Toronto Maple Leafs season essentially over, we take a look at who the team might select in the upcoming NHL Draft.
Welcome to the Auston Matthews sweepstakes, Toronto Maple Leafs‘ fans! With 50 points in 57 games the Leafs are second last in the NHL, only ranking ahead of, you guessed it, the Edmonton Oilers. With that in mind, we decided to continue our early look at the draft and project who the Maple Leafs might select with their two first-round picks.
Related Story: Maple Leafs: Mock Draft Monday 1.0
Here’s a refresher of how we go about this process: using NHL Lottery Simulator.com, we simulated the upcoming lottery and projected who the Leafs would take in their simulated spot. Going forward, David Morassutti and I will complete a mock draft every third week leading up to the draft in June, and project who the Leafs might pick based on the simulation.
Here’s who we have the Maple Leafs selecting in the second instalment of the Tip of the Tower 2016 NHL Mock Draft:
No. 1: Edmonton Oilers — Auston Matthews, C
No. 2: Toronto Maple Leafs — Jesse Puljujarvi, RW
Chris Okrainetz: Clearly the simulator is broken and doesn’t realize that the Oilers simply can’t have another top pick. All joking aside, the Leafs are snake-bitten again by the Oilers, as they finish runner-up in the Auston Matthews sweepstakes, much like they did last year with Connor McDavid.
The consolation prize of Jesse Puljujarvi isn’t a bad one, however, if you even want to call him that. The crafty 6-foot-3 Finn uses his excellent blend of power and speed to wreak havoc in the offensive zone. He can also play in a variety of situations and isn’t scared to play physical.
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One of Puljujarvi’s best attributes is his relentless motor and compete level. During the World Juniors this was on full display, as he not only took over games with his unique skill set, he also regularly outworked opponents, which led to a number of chances.
While some would say his shot isn’t as refined as fellow countrymen Patrik Laine, I do feel that Puljujarvi is a better skater. The choice between the two is debatable, but for me, I’d take Puljujarvi over Laine because of his overall skill set and fierce competitiveness.
One thing you can bet teams will follow-up on with Laine is his 2014 incident with Finnish National Team coach Mika Marttila. Laine flipped Marttila off during a game against the Czech Republic and apparently went as far to issue physical threats, which eventually led to him being removed from the 2014 Hlinka tournament.
Though Laine was a 17-year-old kid at the time, teams will most certainly ask about this incident and try to figure out whether this was a one time thing, or a real character issue that needs to be addressed. These concerns don’t exist with Pujlujarvi. He flat-out competes on a nightly basis and that is something I think the Leafs’ brass will be drawn too. Right now, Laine is the more polished player, but long-term I think Puljujarvi will have the better career.
No. 3: Winnipeg Jets — Patrik Laine, RW
No. 4: Columbus Blue Jackets — Matthew Tkachuk, LW
No. 5: Buffalo Sabres — Jakob Chychrun, D
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No. 6: Calgary Flames — Alex Nylander, LW
No. 7: Vancouver Canucks — Olli Juolevi, D
No. 8: Montreal Canadiens — Pierre-Luc Dubois, LW
No. 9: Ottawa Senators — Julien Gauthier, RW
No. 10: Arizona Coyotes — Mikhail Sergachyov, D
No. 11: Minnesota Wild — Dante Fabbro, D
No. 12: New Jersey Devils — Tyson Jost, C
No. 13: Carolina Hurricanes — Michael McLeod, C
No. 14: Philadelphia Flyers — Jake Bean, D
No. 15: Colorado Avalanche — Charles McAvoy, D
No. 16: Nashville Predators — Kiefer Bellows, C
No. 17: Boston Bruins (from San Jose Sharks) — Logan Brown, C
No. 18: Toronto Maple Leafs (from Pittsburgh Penguins) — Logan Stanley, D
David Morassuti: There are a lot of players that the Leafs can take with the Pittsburgh Penguins selection, especially since after the top 10 there is no real consensus on which player goes where.
The obvious need for the Leafs is players with size to compliment their skill. While players like Max Jones, Logan Brown and Nathan Bastian fit the bill, the Leafs need to look at adding size on the blue line. I expect defensemen like Jake Bean, Charlie McAvoy, Mikhail Sergachev and Dante Fabbro to go somewhere in the top 15, which makes Stanley the next best choice.
At 6-foot-7, 220 pounds, Stanley has been compared to Zdeno Chara and Tyler Myers in terms of size, which, along with his reach, will help him shutdown forwards in the NHL. There are people who think his size makes him overrated, but some analysts believe that his skating and puck moving ability takes care of that. He does have a big shot but needs to use it more as he only has five goals in 54 games. He is not afraid to drop the gloves as he has 97 penalty minutes.
Stanley currently plays for the Windsor Spitfire in the OHL where Leafs assistant coach DJ Smith used to play, so that could give the Leafs an advantage in determining whether he is someone who the Leafs should draft. If Stanley can provide more offence in his development, the Leafs should consider him when looking at their lack of size in their prospect pool.
No.19: Detroit Red Wings — Max Jones, LW
No. 20: New York Islanders — Riley Tufte, LW
No. 21: Anaheim Ducks — German Rubstsov, C
No. 22: Boston Bruins — Alex DeBrincat, RW
No. 23: Tampa Bay Lightning — Carl Grundstrom, LW
No. 24: Carolina Hurricanes (from Los Angeles Kings) — Sam Steel, C
No. 25: Arizona Coyotes (from New York Rangers) — Tyler Benson, LW
No. 26: Florida Panthers — Nathan Bastian, C/RW
No. 27: St. Louis Blues — Brett Howden, LW
No. 28: Dallas Stars — Luke Kunin, C
No. 29: Chicago Blackhawks — Kale Clague, D
No. 30: Washington Capitals — Markus Niemelainen
Next: Leafs: Thoughts on the Shawn Matthias Trade
Who do you think the Toronto Maple Leafs should select in this year’s NHL Draft? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.