- Mitch Marner – 4
- William Nylander – 6
- Kasperi Kapanen – 29
- Jeremy Bracco – 39
- Connor Brown – 72
- Andreas Johnson – 77
- Scott Harrington – 84
- Brendan Leipsic – 97
- Honorable Mention – Travis Dermott
Eight Maple Leafs in all (the average being 3-4 per team).
A couple of Pronman’s writeups below (click here and subscribe for the full read):
Jeremy Bracco:
Bracco ended up being selected 61st overall despite one of the best seasons ever by an NTDP player. Sure he’s very small, but he’s dynamic and skates well — with good speed and elite edge work. His skill/hockey sense IQ is also high-end. Bracco, despite his size, has frequently shown he’s an effective defensive player and a shorthanded threat. One quote from a Michigan-based scout stood out to me on Bracco this year: “I’ve watched nearly every game of his for the past two years; I don’t remember one bad one. He’s remarkably consistent.”
Andreas Johnson:
Johnson is a tough player to read. I see cases for him being a “just fine” prospect as well as a great one. He’s small and not that bulky, but his speed, skill, shot and hockey sense all grade as above average — and some even better. He has an offensive flair to his game and he has consistently impressed over the past few years, although he’s never been dominant. I am willing to bet at least one more year on Johnson as a top prospect.
Thursday Links:
- Arpon Basu: Martin Brodeur surprised to see Lamoriello go to Maple Leafs (NHL.com)
“I was really surprised,” Brodeur said Tuesday at a charity golf tournament hosted byMontreal Canadiens coach Michel Therrien. “I had some conversations with [Lou] and I knew what was going on a bit, but it was still surprising to see all the changes going on there. I hope it’s for the good of the organization.”
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- Gare Joyce: Maple Leafs fans could see even more Nylander (Sportsnet)
By virtue of the spotlight cast on his brother, Alexander Nylander is bound to be one of the most closely watched players eligible for the 2016 NHL entry draft. The watch is beginning in earnest this week at the Ivan Hlinka summer tournament in Bratislava and Breclav.
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- Thomas Drance: Simply acquiring the puck was a struggle for Maple Leafs’ top line (SportsLogIQ)
In terms of his size, speed and the raw physical tool kit, one would expect van Riemsdyk to post offensive zone loose puck recovery results more consistent with what fellow power forwards like Max Pacioretty and James Neal managed last season, rather than being outperformed in this area by Manny Malhotra.
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- Clrkaitken: Maple Leafs’ Top 25 Under 25: #22 Travis Dermott (PPP)
By virtue of playing on Connor McDavid’s team, Dermott got a lot of visibility this past season, as Sportsnet may or may not have had a camera crew simply following behind Erie’s team bus to broadcast their games. Regardless, if you could tear your eyes away from McDavid or teammate Dylan Strome, you would have noticed Dermott handling a large responsibility for the Otters on the back end.
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- Justin Bourne: Getting pucks through shot-blocking layers becoming coveted skill for NHL D-men (The Score)
Big and tough is great, but not if it’s always trapped in its own zone. Speed kills, but not when it’s forced to stand still. And hard shots inspire awe. Though, if a guy doesn’t have the meat calculator to know when to use it, it’s as good as a muffin. After all, the best NFL quarterbacks aren’t necessarily the guys who can throw the ball farthest.
