Leafs 2015 NHL Draft Recap

By Alex Hobson

Well, the 2015 NHL Entry Draft has passed. The speculation, the mock drafts, the possible trades, it was all forgotten on June 26th, 2015. This was an exciting team for fans of teams of NHL teams, whether they be contending or rebuilding. Leafs fans were looking forward to this day for an extremely long time. It would be the day where the official rebuild began, the day where, at the time, 8 new prospects would join the Leafs' system as prospects. So how did the draft go by for the Leafs? Let's take a look.

To kick off the draft, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman took to the stage and gave his introduction, and then things took off. The Edmonton Oilers, who owned the first overall pick, walked up to the podium and selected generational talent Connor McDavid, to the surprise of no one. The Buffalo Sabres then made their pick and drafted the world's best consolation prize in Jack Eichel. And then, things began to heat up.

The three prospects that all Leafs fans were debating over were Dylan Strome, Mitch Marner, and Noah Hanifin. Whoever the Arizona Coyotes took with the third overall pick in the draft, would potentially dicate who the Leafs would draft at #4. The Coyotes stepped up, and drafted Dylan Strome. That left Marner and Hanifin as possibilities. A few minutes later, Leafs' Director of Player Personnel Mark Hunter took to the podium and announced a name that could bolster their prospect pool. That name was Mitch Marner.

 The trade generated a number of different reactions from Leafs fans. Half thought he was too small, the other half loved his skill. The reality is, Marner is now the Leafs' best prospect, and you can't go wrong with a player of his skill. The first round progressed, and right around pick #23, lots of Leafs fans were on their feet. They held the 24th overall pick in the draft, but then an announcement was made. The Toronto Maple Leafs had traded the 24th overall pick in the draft to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for the 29th and 61st picks in the draft. This seemed like a smart move, the draft was so insanely deep that the Leafs were essentially trading down to get more picks. The time came around again for the Leafs to pick at #29, and then another trade was announced. The Leafs had traded the 29th overall pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for picks #34 and #68. And voila, the Leafs turned a late first round pick into an early second, a late second, and an early third. Things were shaping up for the buds at the draft, so what came next?

It was the next day, June 27th, 2015. The Leafs had re-acquired their own second round pick, and there was tons of talent still availible. Names such as Brandon Carlo, Paul Bittner, Daniel Sprong, and Jansen Harkins, all projected first round picks, were still on the board. The Leafs went off the board a little bit at #34 and selected Travis Dermott, a six foot, 196 pound defenseman. Dermott was projected to go anywhere in the second round, but don't let the sudden pick scare you away. He was the Erie Otters' number one defenseman, and recorded 45 points in 61 games in the regular season, and had a postseason to remember, recording 15 points in 17 games. Later on in the second round, the Leafs went and selected a very small winger by the name of Jeremy Bracco, out of the USNTDP. Bracco was largely overlooked by his size, standing at 5'10 and 165 pounds, but this guy can score like a machine. He is third in all time scoring in the USNTDP, sitting behind only Patrick Kane and Phil Kessel. A couple picks later, the Leafs went with defenseman Andrew Nielson, a solid defensive defenseman from the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the WHL. They then picked up a Latvian player by the name of Martins Dzierkals, a small scorer playing in Russia. Later on, they picked up defenseman Jesper Lindgren, a big, puck moving defenseman out of MODO of the Swedish Hockey League. The draft was going well so far. This is where it gets even more exciting.

With the Leafs' fifth round pick, they drafted a Ukrainian-Swedish winger named Dmytro Timashov, a player who most scouts reckoned would be gone by the end of the third round. The Quebec Remparts scorer put up an outstanding 90 points in 66 games in his first year of competition in the QMJHL. A pass-first type of player, he recorded above an assist per game with 71 assists over the 66 games he appeared in. With their sixth round pick, they drafted reliable defenseman Stephen Desrocher, who recently helped his OHL team, the Oshawa Generals, to a Memorial Cup. He recorded 23 points in 66 games as a defenseman, and is not shy in his own zone either. And finally, the Leafs drafted a huge steal in Nikita Korostelev, a big, scoring winger of the Sarnia Sting. Many scouts considered him as second or third round talent. He recorded 53 points in 55 games on the Sting, and he has a blistering wrist shot along with size.

This marked the end of the Leafs' draft. They steadily bolstered their prospect pool at the hands of Mark Hunter and Kyle Dubas, and chipped in lots of prospects to help out in the rebuild. If they were to be given a grade for their efforts in this draft, they would be given a B+. They without a doubt added lots of solid prospect depth, but they are already stacked on the wing and could have used a centre prospect or two. That being said, they still did a great job at the draft and there are very few regrets to be made.

What do you think, Leafs fans? Are you satisfied with the draft? Weigh in below.