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The Toronto Maple Leafs have drafted 20-year-old Regina Pats center Adam Brooks with their 92nd overall selection in the 2016 NHL Draft.

Brooks has been passed over twice in the draft but he led the WHL in scoring with 120 points in 72 games this past season. He is a rather extreme case of late blooming: He put up just 11 points in 60 games in his draft year, followed by 62 points in 64 games in his draft plus-one, and then nearly doubled his point production in 2015-16 with a 120 points in 72 games to lead all WHL scorers in points.

With Brooks drafted two years after his initial draft eligibility, the Maple Leafs have not shied away from taking players who have been passed over in the draft: Rinat Valiev and Stephen Desrocher in past drafts as well as Korshkov and Brooks today.

The 5’10, 174-pound Brooks is eligible to join the Toronto Marlies as he turned 20 in May.


Adam Brooks Draft Rankings

  • Ranked #57 by ISS Hockey
  • Ranked #148 by Future Considerations
  • Ranked #108 by McKeen’s Hockey
  • Ranked #72 by NHL Central Scouting (NA Skaters)

Adam Brooks Scouting Report

Brooks is a third time NHL draft-eligible who has progressively improved with each year. This culminated with a league-leading 120 points in regular season and a terrific 23 points in 12 playoff games output. While Brooks is already 20 years old, he did everything he could do to put himself on map in his third year of eligibility.

Brooks has clearly been one of the biggest offensive threats in the WHL this season. His game is based around skill, solid skating, quick hands and offensive zone timing and sense. Brooks’ stride is well above average as he has good acceleration as well as top speed. He possesses good agility and balance on his feet and can use his footwork to create separation against defensemen, especially in-tight. Brooks has nifty hands and controls the puck well and can produce offense both off the rush as well as from controlled possession.

While he is both skilled as well as fast, he doesn’t necessarily wow you in that respect. His hands and skating are both quite good but neither aspect would classify as elite at the next level. Brooks creates most of his offense through his instincts. He reads soft spots and breakdowns in coverage well and will consistently find spots with the puck on his stick in high-percentage areas. There he is smart enough to find open linemates or finish on his own. His shot is above-average, certainly good at the junior level as the release is fairly quick and his wrist-shot is accurate, however that shot would look just OK against pro-players.

Brooks doesn’t lack in compete, however he isn’t a true puck-hound on the forecheck and will also still need to get bigger in his own zone. Defensively, his reads aren’t problematic but there isn’t much there that spells out an above-average defender at the next level. Brooks could be a bit more physical and do a better job tying up guys moving across the slot. To Brooks’ credit, he did see PK minutes and was one of the bigger shorthanded threats in the WHL.

Brooks is an interesting prospect from an offensive standpoint. While in our opinion he does not project to be more than an average all-around player, his league-leading season has certainly put him into the spotlight and allowed him to be one of the prospects worth checking out for the 2016 NHL draft. As a 20 year old he has succeeded against junior-aged players, but while he has a varied arsenal of offensive weapons, it is concerning that there is a lack of that one skill that would truly project as high-end at the next level.


Adam Brooks Statistics

Adam Brooks Statistics

  SEASONTEAMLEAGUEGPGATPPIM+/-     POSTGPGATPPIM+/- 
 2011-12 Winnipeg Thrashers Midget AAA MMHL371724416| Playoffs71340
 2012-13 Regina Pats WHL55481213-10|
 Canada Western U17 WHC-1751012|
 2013-14 Regina Pats WHL60471124-9| Playoffs40110
 2014-15 Regina Pats WHL643032621824| Playoffs94376
 2015-16 Regina Pats  WHL7238821203041| Playoffs12716236