Maple Leafs turn to Erie Otter star at the fourth pick At four, the Leafs will still have options despite the picks at one through three

One thing we know about the NHL is these days: The league crowns a Stanley Cup champion and it’s not the Toronto Maple Leafs. Oh I know it is easy to pick on a team that hasn’t won hockey’s greatest prize since 1967, but maybe for the first time in a long time, things are looking up for Toronto with the hiring of former Detroit Red Wings Head Coach Mike Babcock.

Despite the hiring the Leafs have their work cut out for them. The Leafs did not rank higher than 20th in any of the main team categories. They do however have two first round picks this year in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft. The first is their own with the 5th overall pick, the other was originally from the Nashville Predators.  The odd thing is the Leafs picked a good time to be bad considering how deep this year’s draft is shaping up.

The good news is that they at least three scorers with 20 or more goals led by James Van Reimsdyk who had 27, a career best. Phil Kessel and Tyler Bozak also cracked the 20-goal mark. With two first round picks and a high second rounder, you can bet offense is high on the list of priorities for the Leafs. . The bad news is they ranked 24th in offense.

Prospect wise, Toronto has a little bit of everything position wise. No one position is either a strength or a weakness. William Nylander is a center but they have mostly wingers who are closer to making the current roster.

The Leafs had to wait until the third round after taking Nylander to take a blueliner and he turned out to be the only one Toronto took in the draft. Toronto needs someone to take pressure off Dion Phaneuf. Unless Noah Hanifin falls to four where the Leafs are picking they will wait until later in the round with Nashville’s pick. With Dylan Strome and/or Mitch Marner sitting on the draft board when they pick you can bet the Leafs won’t pass up the chance to take either one no matter how highly touted defensive prospect Ivan Provorov is when the Leafs pick is up at four.

“With the fourth overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, the Toronto Maple Leafs select, from the Erie Otters, Dylan Strome.”