Leafs Draft Targets - Full Tier list for 2020 and Prospect depth

Équipe: 2020-21 Maple Leafs de Toronto

Date de création initiale: 4 juin 2020

Publié: 4 juin 2020

Mode - plafond salarial: Basique

I am bored. As such I have been doing a whole lotta pre-draft reading. Here is my list of players whom I'd like the Leafs to draft with their current picks. After that, there will be a current prospect blurb and such to show the full possibilities of the organisation.

Prospects to keep an eye on for 2020 NHL draft
This is based on 'need' (aka few wingers and specific skill sets I think the Leafs could use) and not a full list of prospects I like, just interesting ones that fill a role as evaluated by myself. As this is a non-exhaustive list I am certain there are other prospects who would be good for the Leafs or who have other skills we might like out there but whom I don't find interesting enough to keep track of. Feel free to add your own in the comments and I might (probably) will look into them.
Order is loosely based on who I'd take ahead of each other but they should really be viewed as tiers.
No in person viewings (except for Stranges and Evangelista); based entirely on readings.

*IMPORTANT*
I should note that the place where I have the Leafs potentially drafting them does not represent where I think they will be drafted, just the pick I would use were they still available. This is especially true for prospects with the ^ beside their name who I think are overrated and will be drafted far higher than they should be.

Sources:
Dobber Prospects
Pronman's 2020 top 122
Wheeler's 2020 top 100 (50) + 50
PPP
MyNHLDraft
NHLDraftSite

Legend:
*= I Need more info
^= Projected higher than I'd draft
+= or later - ex: 4+ = 4th or later
-= or earlier (usually used to signify acquiring a pick in a round we don't have)

Name - Position - Leafs pick I'd use (round)

Marco Rossi - LC - n/a
Cole Perfetti - LW - n/a

Emil Andrae - LD - 2nd
Zion Nybeck - LW - 2nd
Noel Gunler - RW - 2nd^
Kasper Simontaival - RW - 2nd
Topi Niemela - RD - 2nd
Tyson Foerster - RW - 2nd
Dylan Holloway - LC - 2nd^
Justin Barron - RD - 2nd
Ty Smilanic - LC - 2nd
Kaiden Guhle - LD - 2nd^
Lukas Cormier - LD - 2nd
Braden Schneider - RD - 2nd^
Ryan O'Rourke - LD - 2nd
Martin Chromiak - RW - 2nd
Jean-Luc Foudy - RW/RC - 2nd+
Michael Benning - RD - 2nd+

William Villeneuve - RD - 4th-^
Tyler Tullio - RW/RC - 4th
Theodor Niederbach - RW/RC - 4th
Joel Blomqvist - G - 4th+
Antonio Stranges - LW/LC - 4th
Luke Evangelista - RW - 4th
Donovan Sebrango - LD - 4th
Will Cuylle - LW - 4th+
*Logan Morrison - RC/RW - 4th+

Veeti Miettinen - RW - 5th
*Helge Grans - RD - 5th^
Drew Commesso - G - 5th+
*Thimo Nickl - RD - 5th+

Emil Viro - LD - 6th
*Jacob Dion - LD - 6th
*Samuel Knazko - LD - 6th
Jan Bednar - G - 6th+
*Simon Kubicek - RD - 6th+

Lassi Lehtinen - G - 7th


The above generally agrees with where I think the Leafs are weak in both in the NHL and in the system as I will outline here.
Generally I think that the Leafs should draft some more centres, specifically right handed ones (although I always subscribe to BPA) to fill out a major need for the franchise.
I would also like for them to draft one decent RW that could help facilitate a Kapanen trade or just replacing him if he becomes too expensive down the road, otherwise we don't need RW's.
D-men are always needed although the Marlies are quite full of them right now so we are looking more at projects (aka 4th round and later) for the right side. The Left has more openings on the Marlies and could incentivize a foreign draft pick as they could be slotted onto the Marlies immediately.
I also think Goalies should be considered, more than one as they are voodoo and having a strong pipeline is a good thing. Goaltending is half the game unless you don't have it; then it is 100%.

Leafs top prospects that could be something. This is simply a visual list of what the Leafs have in the cupboards so you can see where they might want to add. I do not consider Barabanov and Lehtonen as prospects due to their age.

Sandin and Liljegren are basically NHL ready and should fully graduate next year from prospect status.
Robertson is the best forward prospect in the system as of right now.
SDA, Abramov, and Abruzzese all have middle 6 upside.
Woll has good fundamentals and wasn't terrible on a bad Marlies squad last year.

Everyone has that one prospect that they are crazy high on and Mike Koster is my baby in that sense. I've been high since his draft day and he has only been proving me right putting up similar numbers to Scott Perunovich while taking a similar path. He tops out as a 2nd pair guy which is why he is included on this list.

Some notable exceptions:
Ian Scott: Injured all year + goalies are voodoo. Need to see how he does professionally before I put him as more than depth. He could very well be something so I left him in the scratches section.
Egor Korshkov (Formerly Yegor Korshkov): I think he tops out as an okay 3rd liner. Definitely a skill set I'd like on the Leafs, but not a difference maker.
Lindgren, Duszac, and Hollowell: Depth guys, likely 3rd pairing if they make it. Being RHD they have a better chance of making it to a bottom 4 spot but even so they are just depth.
Brooks: 4th line centre for the Leafs.
Rubins and Kral: Same as the above 3 RD but on the deep left side, hurting their chances.
Kokkonen: Just for his name alone I want this guy to make it. He is well regarded but had a meh year with injuries so I left him off. He could very easily bounce back and be in the same spot as Koster in the future. He could very well be something so I left him in the scratches section.