Toronto Maple Leafs: Breaking down second-round forward draft targets

Without a first-round pick in this upcoming draft, the Toronto Maple Leafs will be weighing their options in the second-round.

In the past two years, the Toronto Maple Leafs went away from taking forwards in the first round in order to shore up their depth on the back end. They selected Timothy Liljegren with the 17th overall pick in 2017 and then traded back and took Rasmus Sandin 29th overall in last summer’s draft.

Both players will feature on the Maple Leafs within the coming years. Liljegren has played two full AHL campaigns – however, both were derailed slightly due to injuries. Sandin, on the other hand, is coming off one of the best seasons by an 18-year-old defender in AHL history.

Coming into the 2019 draft, the Maple Leafs are without a first-round pick following the acquisition of Jake Muzzin in January.

Rather than going after another blue-liner, the Buds could have their eyes set on replenishing their forward depth.

With their former top three prospects – Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander – all playing for the big club full-time, there’s a need to re-stock the cupboards.

Tip of the Tower will be doing Leafs and Sabres draft coverage leading up to the day. For the Maple Leafs, we’ll be breaking down potential targets that may be available

As is the case with any draft, these names could be off the board by the time the Leafs take to the podium.

With that, let’s take a look at some of the forwards the Leafs could be looking at with their second-rounder.