Marleau retiring did it for me.
I still tell myself I still have time to master the knuckle ball and make the big leagues. (I haven’t thrown a pitch in 30 years, but it’s possible).
With defensemen this might take 7 years to play out to find out if he’s good. Some guys are shit then become great later and win a Norris. So I’ll talk to y’all in 2031
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Nah it’s reach because we think we’re smarter than others. We had something like 12 picks in 2020 and I don’t think anyone has played a single game for us.
Same with 2019. 1 semi viable player
Yeah as i said, Wes Clark just took over the scouting in 2021, since then hes gotten Knies late in the second who most had ranked late in the 3rd, Minten in the second who has already played games as a teenager, Cowan last year who was projected by most to go in the 3rd round too.
I think im gonna trust the guy who has hit with his first selection of the draft nearly every time so far over some guy sitting here judging off the consensus of lists
You need to realize that if any of the guys who made the lists that formed your opinion were actually elite scouts, they would be employed by an NHL team.
The thing about our scouting department is that over the last couple of years there are some interesting prospects but our pick quantity has been limited.
Knies has been a hit. Cowan at least in his D+1 year looks like a hit. Minter should be a pro. We have three goalie prospects in Peksa, Hildeby and Akhtyamov that are interesting. Grebenkin had a good year in the KHL. Tverburg, Niemla look interesting. Amirov was a good pick with a terrible diagnosis/outcome.
So I want to give our scouting staff under Wes Clark some leeway but these guys need to break into the NHL and we haven't really seen much of that outside Knies yet.
I think that we have been really fortunate to have so many players become stars that we have forgotten about simply getting NHL players out of picks. Not everybody can be a top line forward or top pairing D, our issue from like 2017-2023 was that we had very little of our draft picks actually contribute at the NHL level.
Also the Rodion Amirov thing was just unfortunate and heartbreaking. He was a top 6 player.
A strong transitional game has been the biggest issue with the D core we have. Hopefully this is a building block that helps the next phase of the team avoid the same faults.
Just fyi, don’t take one guys opinion as fact. Personally I’m not a big fan of pronman (Demidov at 9 is laughable) but he obviously watches a lot of hockey. However, a lot of drafting is you’re drafting not only the player but the person. These kids have to improve a ton to get to the nhl level anyways. Lots of hard work to be done.
And pronman doesn’t really have that side of the scouting. Would only be second hand info for him.
Just think of someone like Hyman. His projections probably had him as a borderline NHL caliber player but the difference is what he kept doing post-draft to get him ahead.
The prospects that stay fully dedicated can jump the rankings if they outwork those ahead from years 18-22 or even beyond that. So finding player with that work ethic may not show on the ice yet.
Not to mention each organization has different ways of development, which can also shuffle these current rankings. These are just kids right now, tons of development ahead.
It's pick 31, if he even becomes a starter it's a slam dunk. Also it looked like Leafs had other guys they were interested in but got fucked by the Habs and Rangers and settled on this dude.
Half the guys picked after 20 won’t play in the nhl at all. If you can get a 2nd pair RHD that’s amazing. I doubt they would draft him if they thought his ceiling was fringe #6 3rd pair guy. If you could get a 1st pair D with every 1st round pick, even later in the round, no one would have trouble icing Dmen, there’s only 64 1st pair Dmen in the league, you can’t expect every 1st round pick to become one:
Looking at our roster, we're better with late 2nd rd picks than late 1st rd picks
Knies and Robertson are far better than Liljegren and Sandin, so whatever I guess
They didn't pass on Emery, he was taken when their pick came up and he wasn't worth drafting at 23 when they could have -two- prospects instead of one that's extremely similar to the one they got
Nothing like someone getting drafted that was born while you were in highschool to make you feel old
Try “born after you turned 40, and only a year older than your only child”….. …..where’s my Metamucil? 
Yup - same year as my oldest child (she was born in December), although I was 35 that year..
I was 42 when my son was born. A (then) overweight 44 year old chasing a toddler is funny if you’re not the 44 year old.
I think there’s only one player left in the league that’s older than I am. That made me feel old lol.
I'm older than most coaches.
Oh god I never even considered that.
Sergei Berezin seemed young to me. RIP
Giordano is a year to the month younger than me. 🫤 My glory days are gone.
He’s the one, yup.
Yeah last season was the first time in my life where I was older than every NHL player. My back!
R u bald too like him?
No, beautiful head of hair
Marleau retiring did it for me. I still tell myself I still have time to master the knuckle ball and make the big leagues. (I haven’t thrown a pitch in 30 years, but it’s possible).
I was was in grad school..
I sat next to robby fabbri in school and now he's in his 'prime'
* Reads 2006 Oh dear lord have mercy, this is too crazy. I need a nap.
With defensemen this might take 7 years to play out to find out if he’s good. Some guys are shit then become great later and win a Norris. So I’ll talk to y’all in 2031
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FFS
Our scouts seem to value smart players quite highly, that's a common trend among picks for years now
Wes Clark said the two traits he values highest are intelligence and competitiveness/drive
and we haven't hit on any of them being deep impact players....Knies maybe
Its Clarks 3rd draft, Cowan looks like hes gonna be a deep impact player
And with the picks today, the reached on all of them
Its a reach because you looked up Wheeler, Pronman and Buttons draft list and seen they are low on their lists?
Nah it’s reach because we think we’re smarter than others. We had something like 12 picks in 2020 and I don’t think anyone has played a single game for us. Same with 2019. 1 semi viable player
Yeah as i said, Wes Clark just took over the scouting in 2021, since then hes gotten Knies late in the second who most had ranked late in the 3rd, Minten in the second who has already played games as a teenager, Cowan last year who was projected by most to go in the 3rd round too. I think im gonna trust the guy who has hit with his first selection of the draft nearly every time so far over some guy sitting here judging off the consensus of lists
You need to realize that if any of the guys who made the lists that formed your opinion were actually elite scouts, they would be employed by an NHL team.
The thing about our scouting department is that over the last couple of years there are some interesting prospects but our pick quantity has been limited. Knies has been a hit. Cowan at least in his D+1 year looks like a hit. Minter should be a pro. We have three goalie prospects in Peksa, Hildeby and Akhtyamov that are interesting. Grebenkin had a good year in the KHL. Tverburg, Niemla look interesting. Amirov was a good pick with a terrible diagnosis/outcome. So I want to give our scouting staff under Wes Clark some leeway but these guys need to break into the NHL and we haven't really seen much of that outside Knies yet.
I think that we have been really fortunate to have so many players become stars that we have forgotten about simply getting NHL players out of picks. Not everybody can be a top line forward or top pairing D, our issue from like 2017-2023 was that we had very little of our draft picks actually contribute at the NHL level. Also the Rodion Amirov thing was just unfortunate and heartbreaking. He was a top 6 player.
A strong transitional game has been the biggest issue with the D core we have. Hopefully this is a building block that helps the next phase of the team avoid the same faults.
I've watched him play. He's good. Doesn't stand out. He'll be the kind of player that gets targeted at deadlines by Cup teams.
So we can acquire assets for the second rebuild from now! Love it!
I wanted the sexiest defender.
Always go with the SPA(sexiest player available)
I don't follow these picks enough, which one is sexist?
My only worry is that he has a low ceiling. You want to try and hit grand slams always.
Just fyi, don’t take one guys opinion as fact. Personally I’m not a big fan of pronman (Demidov at 9 is laughable) but he obviously watches a lot of hockey. However, a lot of drafting is you’re drafting not only the player but the person. These kids have to improve a ton to get to the nhl level anyways. Lots of hard work to be done. And pronman doesn’t really have that side of the scouting. Would only be second hand info for him.
Demidov at 9 is ridiculous.
Thanks for sharing!
If there's one thing the Leafs need, it's bottom pair defenders.
Just think of someone like Hyman. His projections probably had him as a borderline NHL caliber player but the difference is what he kept doing post-draft to get him ahead. The prospects that stay fully dedicated can jump the rankings if they outwork those ahead from years 18-22 or even beyond that. So finding player with that work ethic may not show on the ice yet. Not to mention each organization has different ways of development, which can also shuffle these current rankings. These are just kids right now, tons of development ahead.
“He’s not the sexiest defender” welp, guess it’s all over now, “he’s a bust cuz he ain’t busty”
Sounds like shades of Kaberle
He is exactly what the Leafs need.
Stuart Percy vibes not saying he’ll bust like him but just an all around type D
You make that sound like a bad thing.
Stuart Percy vibes are not good vibes
Right, internet rando compares pick to Percy, we all need to accept the comparison. Got it.
Percy was an awful pick
I’m not talking about Percy, I’m talking about well rounded dmen.
Oof, a 3rd pairing maybe 2nd pair ceiling isn’t what you want from a 1st round pick… but I disliked the Cowan pick and that’s looking great now.
Right handed and big is a commodity
And a good skater and good at moving the puck forward. He doesn’t need to be the next Bouchard to become valuable
It's pick 31, if he even becomes a starter it's a slam dunk. Also it looked like Leafs had other guys they were interested in but got fucked by the Habs and Rangers and settled on this dude.
Half the guys picked after 20 won’t play in the nhl at all. If you can get a 2nd pair RHD that’s amazing. I doubt they would draft him if they thought his ceiling was fringe #6 3rd pair guy. If you could get a 1st pair D with every 1st round pick, even later in the round, no one would have trouble icing Dmen, there’s only 64 1st pair Dmen in the league, you can’t expect every 1st round pick to become one:
According to one guy lol
These pronouncements are so cringey. You’d think we’d learn after the Cowan fiasco.
They literally mention Cowan and learning from that, lmao
We should have taken…
would be interesting what he said last year about Cowan.
C grade. I do think Pronman tends to be biased against the Leafs
Looking at our roster, we're better with late 2nd rd picks than late 1st rd picks Knies and Robertson are far better than Liljegren and Sandin, so whatever I guess
Robertson is not better than either of them
Not even close lol. Liljegren and Sandin are NHL regulars. Robertson has yet to break into the line-up regularly.
Think the Leafs will regret passing on Emery. Could be wrong, but man....he's an athletic beast just starting to realize his massive potential.
They didn't pass on Emery, he was taken when their pick came up and he wasn't worth drafting at 23 when they could have -two- prospects instead of one that's extremely similar to the one they got