TORONTO, ON- The 2016-17 NHL season was a very successful campaign for the Toronto Maple Leafs, as they rose from a last-place finish in 2015-16 to a playoff berth this year. Though they ultimately fell short to the powerhouse Washington Capitals, this year was still a massive improvement for the franchise especially considering that just last June, Toronto owned the first pick.
Their turnaround is due in large part to the emergence of a three promising rookie forwards in Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander. Matthews scored 40 goals and 69 points, setting a new record for goals in a season by an American rookie. Meanwhile, Marner and Nylander both had excellent seasons in their own right, as each posted 61 point seasons.
The Maple Leafs are young and are just exiting a rebuild, meaning that the organization’s focus is still building for the future around their new, young core. With forwards like Matthews, Marner, and Nylander, the Leafs will be in exceptional shape up front for a long time. The defense, however, is an entirely different matter as the only member of Toronto’s top 2 defensive pairs under the age of 25 is Morgan Reilly.
The success that Nashville and Ottawa have had in this year’s postseason can be attributed to both of those team’s ability to drive their offense from the backend. This has reminded many around the hockey world just how valuable offensively-minded defensemen are. Although very talented, the 23-year-old Reilly is more of a 2-way guy and therefore is not the long-term offensive catalyst Toronto needs.
Given all of the young, talented forwards Toronto has at its disposal, and the need to drive the offense from the backend, drafting Erik Brannstrom; the best remaining offensively-minded defenseman in PHN’s 2017 Mock NHL Entry Draft makes all the sense in the world. Brannstrom, although slightly undersized at 5’10”, is an excellent skater and has shown tremendous offensive capabilities while playing Junior Hockey in Sweden, scoring 23 points in just 19 games last season.
“With the 17th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, the Toronto Maple Leafs select from Eksjo, Sweden, Erik Brannstrom.”
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