Toronto Maple Leafs: Looking Back at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft

With the 2012 NHL entry draft rapidly approaching, Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke will soon be finalizing his big board for more than just his ever-so-important fifth overall selection.

As previous drafts have shown, some of Toronto's better prospects and some of its current roster players were actually selected in the latter rounds of their respective drafts.

In this five-part series, I'm going to take a look back at the Leafs' five previous drafts, leading up to the June 22-23 entry draft in Pittsburgh, Penn.

We'll begin in 2007, when the Toronto Maple Leafs were without a pick in the first two rounds of the draft following a draft-day trade that sent their first- and second-round selections in 2007 and a fourth-rounder in 2009 to the San Jose Sharks for netminder Vesa Toskala and forward Mark Bell.

The Leafs would also pick up an additional fourth-rounder in 2007 from Boston via Phoenix.

Without further ado, let's take a look at how the Leafs used their picks in 2007 and how each pick turned out.

3rd Round

With their third-round selection (74th overall) in the 2007 entry draft, the Maple Leafs drafted hometown boy Dale Mitchell of the Oshawa Generals.

In his 2006-2007 campaign with Oshawa, Mitchell netted 43 goals and assisted on 37 others for a total of 80 points in 67 games.

He also showed some grit, amassing 81 penalty minutes in those 67 games.

Unfortunately for the Maple Leafs, Mitchell, like many other mid-round selections, would not see that success translate to the professional level.

In 102 career minor league games split between the American Hockey League (AHL) and the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL), Mitchell only managed to put up 51 points, a plus-1 player rating and 96 penalty minutes.

Verdict: Swing and a Miss.

4th Round

The Maple Leafs ended up with two picks in the fourth round of the 2007 draft thanks to the deal that took place on November 27, 2006, sending goalie Mikael Tellqvist to Phoenix in exchange for Tyson Nash and what turned out to be the 99th overall pick in 2007.

That 99th overall pick turned out to be Matt Frattin, one of the Leafs' top young guns this season.

While Frattin would stay at the University of North Dakota for a few seasons and go through some rough patches in his personal life, the Leafs were able to sign him to a two-year entry level contract in 2011.

Needless to say, that fourth-round selection ended up panning out, even if it took a few years for Frattin to materialize into the player the Leafs had hoped he'd become.

Once the Leafs had chosen Frattin, management's focus shifted immediately to its next pick, just five selections later, at 104 overall.

With that pick, the Leafs chose New Westminster, British Columbia native Ben Winnett.

Now 23 years old, Winnett has only played one game at the professional level for the Wheeling Nailers (made famous by Twitter superstar Paul Bissonnette).

This year, he played in 21 game for the Dayton Gems of the Central Hockey League (the lesser-known CHL), tallying nine points.

Suffice it to say, that pick didn't work out too well for Toronto.

Verdict: Success. Late-round picks aren't expected to pan out, so one of two is a job well done.

5th Round

Toronto's lone pick in the fifth round of the 2007 draft was the 134th overall selection, with which they selected big, Slovakian defenseman Juraj Mikus.

After spending another two seasons in the Slovak league, Mikus finally made the jump to North American hockey when he joined the AHL's Toronto Marlies for the 2009-2010 season.

While his point totals may have declined in each successive season he's played with the Marlies, his player rating has improved each year, going from minus-13 to even to plus-21 in his time with the team.

Mikus has also played in all 13 of the Marlies' playoff games this season, racking up four assists and playing disciplined hockey (he's taken only one minor penalty this postseason).

Behind Korbinian Holzer (another late-round Maple Leafs pick), Mikus may be one of the most NHL-ready defensemen the Leafs have in their system.

Verdict: Another successful pick for Toronto.

6th Round

With the 164th overall selection in the 2007 draft, the Leafs took promising youngster Christopher DiDomenico.

In his four years in the QMJHL, DiDomenico was a stud for the Saint John Sea Dogs and Drummondville Voltigeurs.

In Saint John, DiDomenico marked 204 points in just 166 games and racked up 47 points in 37 games for Drummondville.

DiDomenico was also part of the Canadian junior team that won gold in 2009.

Now in the Blackhawks system, DiDomenico has spent the past two seasons bouncing around Rockford of the AHL and Toledo of the ECHL.

Verdict: Great find for the sixth round, player just didn't pan out.

7th Round

The Toronto Maple Leafs' final pick in the 2007 draft may be one of their top picks of the last five years.

At 194th overall, the Leafs took defenseman Carl Gunnarsson.

He had spent the 2006-2007 season with Linkoping of the Swedish Elite League and also spent some time at Vasteras of the league below the SEL.

After two more season with Linkoping, Gunnarsson joined Toronto and has played all but 12 of his games at the NHL level, often finding himself as one of the two defensemen on the Leafs' second pairing.

Though he may not be an All-Star, Gunnarsson is certainly one of the better seventh-rounders currently playing in the NHL, and at just 25 years old, he still has plenty of time to improve his game.

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