Toronto Maple Leafs: Picking 17th in the NHL Draft

With the St Louis Blues being eliminated from the playoffs by the Nashville Predator’s, the Toronto Maple Leafs will officially pick 17th overall at this year’s NHL Entry Draft.

Ever since the Toronto Maple Leafs lost their series to the Washington Capitals, fans have been waiting for a certain thing to happen. Wherever the Leafs pick at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, depended on how far the Nashville Predators got in the playoffs.

If the Predators made it to the final four, the Leafs would pick 17th. If not, the Leafs would pick 18th. Fortunately for the Leafs, Nashville eliminated St. Louis on Sunday afternoon, so 17 it is.

So how much of a good thing is this? The common belief around this year is that it’s a “weak” draft. Analysts, insiders, management and fans like to throw that description around sometimes.

The way you classify a draft depends on what a specific team is looking for. Because the belief is so strong, this increases the chance that a good player drops.

Now back to the 17th pick. NHL talent has been selected at that position over the years. To name a few:

• Zach Parise (New Jersey 2003)
• Jake Gardnier (Anaheim Ducks 2008)
• Tomas Hertl (San Jose Sharks 2012)

If the Leafs were to stay at 17, they have options. TSN‘s Bob Mckenzie had St. Cloud State centre Ryan Poehling ranked 17th in his mid-season ranking. TSN’s Craig Button has Balashikha’ centre Alexei Lipanov at that spot.

Finally, Hockeyprospect.com has Kelowna defenceman Cal Foote ranked at 17. These are just a few examples, but you get the idea that there is no clear choice once you get lower in the draft.

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However, it’s possible the Leafs would want to move. Fans should know management plans to be active this offseason, potentially starting at the draft. Perhaps Toronto might look to move up and get a chance at selecting higher ranked defencemen in Cale Makar or Timothy Liljegren.

Trading down in the draft is another option. Many fans were caught off guard when the Leafs passed on taking Travis Konecny 24th overall and traded down for the 29th and 61st picks from the Philadelphia Flyers.

Not stopping there, the Leafs traded that 29th pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets for the 34th and 68th picks. The 34th and 61st picks turned into Travis Dermott and Jeremy Bracco respectively, who have grown to become two of the Leafs’ top prospects.

Next: Who will Leafs protect in the Expansion Draft?

The Leafs can move that pick or let Mark Hunter work his magic. Either way, the confidence in this management group is at an all time high. Whatever they end up doing at the draft, it’ll surely work out in the end.