PHN Mock NHL Entry Draft: Toronto Maple Leafs

TORONTO, Ont- Another year, another year without the playoffs for the most patient fans in the NHL, the Blue and White of Leaf nation. Yet again Toronto Maple Leafs fell short of the playoffs for the third season running finishing 12th in the Eastern conference.
Finally the owners and management have realized the need to invest in the future and start over by building a franchise instead of buying or trading for one. However, that is easier said than done as Interim General Manager Cliff Fletcher found out at this season’s trade deadline as a number of veteran players were not willing to wave their no trade clauses freeing up valuable cap space or gaining the much-needed draft picks.

Instead, Fletcher had to turn to less profitable players like Hal Gill, Chad Kilger and Wade Belak. Trading Gill to the Pittsburgh Penguins, as well as Belak and Kilger to the Florida Panthers, will give the Leafs an extra three draft picks, which gives them 10 this year which is a boost for the Leafs as the re-building begins. But it is the all important seventh pick overall that the Leafs are counting on. With any of the top seven players available, the Leafs should come away with a top quality player. While the draft isn’t particularly bolstered with talent, the top ten is especially loaded with talent at the defensive position. The only problem the Leafs have is they need good prospects in nearly every position apart from goaltending as Justin Pogge and James Reimer have that position sewn up.  For the 2008 draft, the Leafs should focus their attention on the defensive position for their first pick. There is too much talent available to overlook for a center or winger, although Danish left winger Mikkel Boedker looks to be a quality proposition.
With the likes of Bryan McCabe and Pavel Kubina likely to be leaving Toronto in the summer, this will leave a void that will need to be filled. The depth in the Leafs system isn’t great due mostly to poor drafting in previous years with only Staffan Kronwall, Jaime Sifers, or at a, push possibly Juraj Mikus ready for the NHL. The emphasis on a puck-carrying defenseman seems to be the fashion of the NHL which is why a lot of media and Leafs fans have turned their attention to Luke Schenn of the Kelowna Rockets. The young defenseman is a good choice and does have the ability to do well in the NHL, but a key to his success in the WHL with Kelowna was his partnership with giant defenseman Tyler Myers. The 6′ 7″ blueliner is one of the tallest in this year’s draft, and currently ranks fourth in the ranking order just above Schenn by Central Scouting. Born in Texas (1990), the young defenseman played his junior hockey for the Notre Dame Hounds in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA league before signing with the Kelowna Rockets.  Myers’ ability has gathered steam throughout his second season in Kelowna which hasn’t gone unnoticed by scouts seeing his draft ranking move up from his mid-season ranking of sixth to fourth. With his size, comparisons are made to the Boston Bruins Zdeno Chara, but thedifference is at 18 years of age, Myers has good skating ability while Chara did not. Combine his skating with a good poke check and a powerful shot and Myers is a talent worth nurturing. Although his stats are not wonderful, Myers is thought very highly of by scouts for his ability and technique. A towering defenseman with skating and shooting ability is exactly what the Leafs are crying out for. Either way, we see the Maple Leafs pick coming from the Kelowna Rockets. Out of the two defenseman, Myers and Schenn, Myers just barely edges out Schenn to the finish line, so come the NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa, we expect whoever the Leafs General Manager is to announce. “With the seventh overall pick overall in the 2008 NHL Entry draft, the Toronto Maple Leafs select, from the Kelowna Rockets, defenseman Tyler Myers.” Contact the author at Kevin.oconnor@prohockeynews.com
 
Photos courtesy of the NHL