Christian Thomas
The word out of Los Angeles today remains that Brian Burke has yet to receive an acceptable offer for Tomas Kaberle. While talks are said to be heating up according to Pierre LeBrun's twitter (rumoured to involve Buffalo, Boston and Los Angeles), Burke appears to be tempering expectations and maintaining the possibility that Kaberle remains a Leaf come Saturday. It could well be that Burke quietly slips out of Los Angeles with only with only six third - seventh round picks to his name. TSN has released a sleeper list with some names Leafs fans can keep an eye on for Saturday:
There is no saying that Brian Burke won’t find some way to improve the Leafs lot come draft day, but as things stand this very moment the Leafs will not be making a selection until the third round. Where the Leafs went off the board early last year taking the nameplate-less Jamie Devane in the third, in a draft marked by big-bodied rough-and-tumble types, chances are this season, Burke and his staff will be looking for a player with a more immediate skill set. Not only would this partially appease a disheartened fan base, the Leafs will enter the draft wary of saturating the cupboard with leviathan sized bodyguards. [more…]
Big thank you to Mark Seidel, Chief Scout of North American Central Scouting and contributor to The Hockey News, for taking the time to chat about the upcoming 2010 NHL Entry Draft. His agency's latest rankings can be seen here on THN. This time around, Leaf fans won't be having the opportunity of watching one of the draft's elite youngsters, such as projected top pick Tyler Seguin or Taylor Hall, fall into their lap. But nonetheless, the draft is always a hot topic in the hockey world.
