C Mikhail Abramov - Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, KHL (2019, 115th, TOR; traded to STL)

[Caser]

 

[Caser]

 

[Caser]

 

[GTA]

Are you even a Leafs fan? Do you pay attention at all?

Robertson - 2nd round, just had a season in the OHL that had him on pace to score 81 goals if he played a full season. He is in the top 30 all time for goals in a single season in the OHL. Was one of the best forwards for team USA at the WJC and played in the NHL as an 18 year old.

Abramov- had 76 pts in 63 games in the Q last year playing on a horrible team. The next best point producer had 41. Abramov had 35 goals for comparison. He's looked great the last 2 games for Russia. Not bad for a 4th rounder.

Abruzzese- finished 2nd in NCAA scoring last year as a rookie with 44 pts in 31 games. Not bad for a 4th rounder.

Niemela - plays top pairing minutes for his team in the top league in Finland and is currently tied with the most pts for a D man in the WJC while being really good defensively. Currently 9th in the tournament for pts. Not bad for a 3rd rounder

Hirvonen- currently playing on the top line for team Finland and has 4 pts in 3 games. Also plays as the 1C for his team in the top league in Finland. 2nd rounder

Kral- is dominating in the Czech league right now and had almost a ppg as a d man in the WHL last year. 4th rounder.

Hollowel- dominated the OHL 2 years ago and had a good first year of pro hockey in both the ECHL and AHL. He has also been named to the Taxi squad for the Leafs this year iirc. 4th rounder

Miettinen- currently 2nd on his team in pts as a rookie in the NCAA. 6TH rounder.

Koster- producing well in his rookie year in the NCAA and is getting lots of praise from his coaches. Played great on USA shutting down the top dogs for team Canada including Lafreniere and Dach at the U18s

All these player have good NHL potential. Who knows if they get there but so far the drafting under Dubas/Lilley are tracking better than the non 1st rounders by Lou/Hunter or Burke/Nonis/Morrison. Who have these guys produced that are showing this kind of early returns?

There are many areas that Dubas can be criticized for but drafting is not one of them. The Leafs pool might not have high end guys that you would get in the top 10 but it is fairly deep.

Always fun to go back to these threads