2010 NHL Draft: Why the Toronto Maple Leafs Draft Won't Be Meaningless

In the upcoming 2010 NHL Entry Draft, the Toronto Maple Leafs only have picks outside of the first two rounds. But who knows what Brian Burke might pull off? The list of draft picks that the Leafs currently have are as follows:

Round Three -

62nd Overall (Own Pick)

Round Four -

112th Overall (From Coyotes)

Round Five -

122nd Overall (Own Pick)

Round Five –

144th Overall (From Devils)

Round Seven –

182nd Overall (Own Pick)

Round Seven –

202nd Overall (From Coyotes)

When you look at these picks you think to yourself, “Oh great, we’ll draft a bunch of no-names, and they probably won’t amount to anything.”

But that’s not necessarily true.

From 2005-2009, I have analyzed the success of Leafs' draftees picked from rounds three to seven. These are all players that have, or will challenge for, spots on the club in the coming years.

Although there is no guarantee that major, junior, college, and junior national success will translate to professional success, it doesn't hurt to stock up on good, young players who will perform.

The below list was whittled down from EVERY player selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in rounds three through seven from 2005-2009.

Jerry D’Amigo, FWD, 5’11", 196 lbs.

Round six—158th overall.

Three stints with U18 US team: 98 games, 87 points (36 G, 51 A).

Fourth-leading scorer in the 2010 WJHC, behind Eberle and Stepan. Tied with Hall with 12 points (6 G, 6 A).

Freshman at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: 35 games, 34 points (10 G, 24 A).

Mikhail Stefanovich- FWD -6’2", 202 lbs.

Round four—98th overall.

Three seasons with the Quebec Remparts (QMJHL): 171 games, 210 points (106 G, 104 A).

Dale Mitchell- FWD - 5’9", 200 lbs.

Round three—74th overall.

Five OHL seasons (Oshawa and Windsor): 228 games, 294 points (136 G, 158 A).

(AHL): Nine games, three points (2 G, 1 A).

(OHL): Won two Memorial Cups: 2009/2010 with Windsor.

Joel Champagne- FWD - 6’4", 220 lbs.

Round five—129th overall.

Four QMJHL seasons (Chicoutimi, PEI, and Victoriaville): 249 games, 202 points (86 G, 116 A).

Juraj Mikus- D - 6’4", 185 lbs.

Round five—134th overall.

Three seasons with Trencin Dukla (Slovakia) and one with AHL (Toronto): 108 games, 11 points (3 G, 8 A).

(Trencin): 68 games, 23 points (5 G, 18 A).

Chris Didomenico- FWD - 6’1", 170 lbs.

Round six—164th overall.

Four QMJHL seasons (Saint John and Drumondville): 203 games, 251 points (90 G, 161 A).

Carl Gunnarsson- D - 6’2", 196 lbs.

Round seven—194th overall.

Four seasons in the SEL (Linkoping), NHL, and AHL (Toronto): 250 games, 34 points (10 G, 24 A).

(Linkoping): 12 games, two points (0 G, 2 A).

(Marlies): 43 games, 15 points (3 G, 12 A).

Korbinian Holzer- D - 6’3", 190 lbs.

Round four—111th overall.

Three seasons in the DEL (DEG Metro Stars—Germany): 125 games, 38 points (12 G, 26 A).

Viktor Stalberg- FWD - 6’3", 210 lbs.

Round six—161st overall.

Three seasons NCAA (U of Vermont), one season in NHL/AHL (Toronto): 117 games, 84 points (41 G, 43 A).

(Vermont): 39 games, 33 points (12 G, 21 A).

(Marlies):  40 games, 14 points (9 G, 5 A).

Tyler Ruegsegger – FWD - 6’0", 185 lbs.

Round six—166th overall.

Four seasons in the NCAA (U of Denver): 147 games, 123 points (56 G, 67 A).

Chad Rau- FWD - 5’11", 178 lbs.

Round seven—228th overall.

One season USHL (Des Moines), four seasons NCAA (Colorado College), one season AHL (Houston): 57 games, 71 points (31 G, 40 A).

(Des Moines): 59 games, 140 points (73 G, 67 A).

(Colorado College): 79 games, 38 points (19 G, 19 A).

Of these players, only Chad Rau is currently not in the Maple Leafs system; he is now a part of the Minnesota Wild organization

All of these players are young talents and have shown promise for their respective teams and/or national teams.

So as you can see, just because the Leafs are left out of the first two rounds of the NHL Draft held in June of 2010, does not mean that they won’t come away with some good, young talent. But this also doesn’t mean that Burke is resigned to late-round draft picks only.

All stats from www.hockeydb.com

All stats are regular season, PLAYOFFS NOT INCLUDED.

Leafs draft history can be found at:

http://www.nhl.com/ice/draftsearch.htm?year=All&round=All&team=TOR&supl=N