I'm really big on looking at Leafs draft options, prospects, depth etc. but I didn't want to clog the main thread with talk about them, so this is a dedicated thread for myself and anyone else interested to discuss the leafs depth, draft options, reserve list, prospects, etc.

Just wanted to avoid clutter

The Leafs currently have 8 picks in the 23-24 draft,

Breakdown as follows:

1st Round
3rd Round (NYI)
4th Round
5th Round
5th Round (VAN)
5th Round (CHI) *Worst of their 5th rounders*
7th Round
7th Round (OTT)

(2nd was traded last season in the ROR / Acciari deal, 3rd was traded in 21-22 TDL in the Giordano & Blackwell trade, 6th was traded last night for retention on Lyubushkin.)
(The 3rd from NYI was received last TDL for Engvall, the 5th from CHI was a part of last years McCabe/Lafferty Deal, the 5th from VAN is from the Lafferty trade at the beginning of the season, and the 7th from OTT is from summer '22 when the leafs traded for Murray.)

Positional Needs Breakdown Ranking:

1. RD - With just Niemela and Villeneuve, the Leafs have a very small pool of RD prospects, this needs to be addressed, although they are both decent prospects with Niemela being TOR's current best defensive prospect.
2. LD - A bit bigger with the likes of Chadwick, Rifai, Kokkonen, Fusco and Koster, but leaves much to be desired as I only feel Chadwick here has a shot rn to become a full time NHLer someday.
3. LW - Bobylev, Lisowsky, Hirvonen, Voit, Abruzzese and Steeves (Omitting Knies due to NHL experience). Aside from Steeves who has looked okay in a few NHL games, most of these are long shots at best (High hopes for Lisowsky from me), no real guarenteed NHLers here.
4. RW - Tverberg, Ellis, Miettinen, Kizimov, Moldenhauer, Grebyonkin and Slepets. Grebyonkin looks like he has a decent chance of making the NHL, winning KHL's rookie of the year last year. Moldenhauer is a nice prospect to keep your eye on in the next few seasons, and Tverberg has been sneakily good with the Marlies. As I was making this, Slepets' rights have been traded to the Leafs, not an earth shattering player right now, but will be cool to see how he can progress nonetheless.
5. G - Omitting Woll (for same reason as Knies), the leafs have Hildeby, Peksa, Akhtyamov, and Petruzzelli. I think at his large stature and decent play, Hildeby will play in NHL games for sure. Peksa has taken a bit of a step back, posting a .898 in the ECHL with the Growlers, Akhtyamov has been above .920 in both the VHL and KHL, Petruzzelli is ok for a EBUG, but don't expect much. I think they're doing decent on G for now.
6. C - C is where the Leafs have by far the most talent, the main two being Cowan and Minten, Cowan is currently on the longest point streak in London Knights history, putting up an incredible OHL season so far, and Minten has gotten into a few NHL games already at the start of the year while also being Canada's Captain in the WJC. Aside from them, the Leafs have Ovchinnikov, Kressler, Chebykin, Der-Arguchintsev, Kara, Malinoski, Miller & Schingoethe. Of these, Ovchinnikov and miller are the ones I'd watch right now. Ovchinnikov is doing decent in AHL and Miller has been almost a PPG with Harvard, while Kara and Chebykin are most likely not going to see the NHL IMO.

Draft targets to follow.

Its a real shame Yakemchuk has surged up the rankings as of late, he was a guy I thought the Leafs had a chance of getting. Kiviharju is my personal favourite prospects in this years draft, feels like he could fall due to his prolonged absence to start the year after getting injured. Also missed the WJC which is a big factor. Im not convinced the Leafs will pick him just based on what we need, but I really like the guy and will always be cheering for him. I think the Leafs want a big bodied defenseman. This years draft class has so many fantastic defensemen, it's actually crazy. Its a real shame we wont get any of the uber elite guys like Dickinson, Parekh, Buium, Silayev, or Levshunov.

The one guy I really really like as a target for us that I'm pretty confident will be available to us is Anthony Cristoforo. If we trade back from the mid 20s to the early second to pick up an additional 3rd or something I would be very happy. I could definitely see a trade with Chicago materializing, they have quite a few 2nds. Cristoforo projects to be a mid to late 2nd round selection with some draft boards even pitting him in the third round. He could give us some real good value that late. Trading back to pick up Melvin Fernstrom and Fransen (or Cristoforo if one isnt available) would be a SAVVY piece of work

Some of the guys I like that should be available in our pick range are:
1. Jesse Pulkkinen
2. Beckett Sennecke
3. Terik Parascak
4. Henry Mews
5. Aaron Kiviharju

Fingers are crossed that Adam Jiricek falls to us, but that seems super unlikely. I think if we are looking for a defenseman in the later half of the draft, Cristoforo is a pretty sure-fire selection to fall back on. Just so solid at everything and is a real stout defensive presence. Connor Punnett is an over-ager who could go undrafted, in which case I would pursue him heavily. I think using one of our later picks in the 5th round (or more ideally one of our 7th rounders) to pick him up would be fantastic, he is EXACTLY what we need. Harrison Brunicke is another defenseman whose ranking is all over the place, but could be a solid pickup.

For the later rounds, I think guys like Sam O'Reilly, Anthony Romani, Alexandre Blais, Clarke Caswell, Marek Danicek, Melvin Fernstrom (👀), Noel Fransen (👀), and David Green (👀) would be excellent pick ups. If this is the draft class we walk away with, I will be extremely happy (of course this is assuming we don't trade back or anything)

1st Round (~24): Jesse Pulkkinen
- Smart, mobile, and high upside LD. One of my personal favourite prospects in this draft. Could be a slight reach at this stage in the draft (if possible, a trade back would be nice), but Im also just fine with reaching on a 6'6 defenseman who is as good as Pulkkinen.
(HM: Adam Jiricek*, Michael Branstedt Nygaard*, Aaron Kiviharju, Ryder Ritchie, Beckett Sennecke)

3rd Round (~80): Noel Fransen (👀)
- Super super super underrated prospect. The way this kid moves, his shooting ability, his intellect, his passing. He does so much right that I could genuinely see him going well before this pick. Maybe his lack of physicality will make other teams shy away, but this kid is elite. There are no glaring issues with this guy. Will likely be one of the bigger steals this season
(HM: Sam O'Reilly*, Anthony Cristoforo, Anthony Romani)

4th Round (~121): Melvin Fernstrom (👀)
- Fernstrom's ranking is generally significantly higher than where I have him, but he has notably been left off of McKenzie's rankings which could mean he is available at this stage in the draft. This kid is absolutely lighting it up and would be a stellar pickup, especially at this point. He's just so good.
(HM: William Zellers, Colin Ralph, Matyas Melovsky)

5th Round (~142): Aidan Park
- Relentless center who has produced well, albeit in a weaker league. His tenacity and two way ability are really the staples of his game
(HM: Clarke Caswell*)

5th Round (~153): Ondrej Becher
- Overager, but really impressed me at the World Juniors. Good frame and has pieced together a very solid WHL season thus far. Looks very good off of the puck and his defensive game has improved noticeably this season for Prince George.

5th Round (~158): Pavel Moysevich
- Huge Belarusian goalie with frankly incredible stats throughout his career. He is a slight over ager and has a contract that runs through 2026/27 (which is likely why he falls this far), but he is worth the wait IMO. So much potential here, and never hurts to draft a goalie

7th Round (~199): Connor Punnett
- He is an overager, so it is difficult to gauge where he goes in the draft (assuming he gets selected at all), but seeing as though we have so many picks I would really like to see us take Punnett rather than risking it on the UDFA market. Punnett is a bone crushing LD who has an absolute cannon of a shot. He brings everything our prospect pool needs and is closer to NHL ready given his maturity. Offensive production has taken a good step this season which is a nice bonus

7th Round (~217): David Green
- Has absolutely crushed his minutes in the OJHL as the Buzzer's #1 defenseman. Local kid with a good frame and very solid production. I really like the idea of taking a swing on him at this point in the draft, he deserves to be drafted much higher, but given the OJHL's reputation, he could fall. I would be more than happy to take him earlier than this for what it's worth.
(HM: Jack Sadowski)

* - Player could fall to our pick, but will likely be selected before ours

I think guys like Fernstrom, Fransen, and Green will be excellent value in those later rounds, granted I think Fernstrom will almost certainly be gone long before our pick (I just couldn't come up with a more realistic target for that stage in the draft). David Green in particular is a guy I really like and think we could get in the later stages. The sheer volume of picks we have and the depth of this draft could mean that we have a stellar draft. I have full faith in Wes Clark, so excited to see what he cooks up and what players fall.

I always appreciate @MatthewsFan 's outlook on prospect and draft targets for the Leafs, so I'll ping him and see if he wants to add anything

Also forgot to mention Mazden Leslie (who I was really hoping we were going to sign last summer). Could be a solid target for the later rounds of the draft, I like his game quite a bit, and realised that Connor Punnett is no longer draft eligible (which means the Leafs could just sign him right now 👀)

Excellent write up!! I’ll post my draft targets later today, we have some in common!

Thx bud! Always appreciate your takes also.

Preliminary list:

2024 NHL Draft targets

Arsen Taimazov

Alexander Siryatsky

Noel Fransen

Elias Straume Vatne

Gabriel Eliasson

Pavel Moysevich

Alfons Freij

Marek Vanacker

Cole Davis

Mikhail Yegorov

Harrison Brunicke

Josh Van Mulligen

Daniil Ustinkov

Dominik Badinka

Harrison Brunicke

Riley Patterson


Disclaimer:
Not a scout, just players I’ve either seen or scouts I like to follow mention.

I haven't finished my draft targets yet but here are where I project current prospects to project

RL - Stay on reserve list, won't get a contract
Minors - AHL or below
Fringe - Slots in for some NHL games, but not a regular
Depth/Callup - Could be called up due to injuries

A. Akhtyamov (VHL / KHL) - 3rd stringer
A. Steeves (AHL) - Fringe
B. Kressler (OHL) - Minors
B. Lisowsky (WHL) - 4LW / Fringe
C. Webber (NCAA) - B4
D. Hildeby (AHL) - Backup
E. Cowan (OHL) - T6
F. Herzog (NL) - RL
F. Minten (WHL) - M6
H. Malinoski (NCAA) - 4C/Depth
J, Miller (NCAA) - Minors
J. Fusco (NCAA) - Minors
K. Slepets (KHL) - RL
M. Ellis (AHL) - Minors
M. Kokkonen (AHL) - 7D
M. Koster (NCAA) - Minors
N. Abruzzese (AHL) - Fringe
N. Chadwick (WHL) - 3LD
N. Chebykin (KHL) - RL
N. Grebyonkin (KHL) - M6
N. Moldenhauer (NCAA) - B6
R. Hirvonen (AHL) - 4LW
R. Tverberg (AHL) - Fringe
S. Der-Arguchintsev (KHL) - B6
S. Kizimov (KHL) - RL
T. Niemela (AHL) - 3RD
T. Voit (ECHL) - Fringe/Depth
V. Bobylev (VHL) - RL
V. Kara (KHL) - RL
V. Miettinen (NCAA) - Fringe/Depth
V. Peksa (ECHL) - Minors/Depth
W. Schingoethe (NCAA) - Minors
W. Villeneuve (AHL) - 7/8D

Here is my initial draft targets list... will change in time

Round 1

Carter Yakemchuk (RD) - Yakemchuk is a 6'3" 194lbs RD which is good size, although rising up draft rankings to 14-22 which may not be within the leafs pick range, but he seems to be one of the best Dmen in the draft, being a great 2 way D with 60 pts in 56 games in the WHL this season.

Charlie Elick (RD) - Charlie Elick is 6'3" which is good size, something most of our D prospects lack (except Chadwick at 6'4" and Webber at 6'6"), he has decent offensive production in the WHL with the Brandon Wheat Kings at 4G 25PTS, but he is a defensive defenseman primarily, something the Leafs don't have much of. (Ranked 28 by Bob McKenzie.)

Henry Mews (RD) - Mews is 6'0" which is a little smaller than average for a Dman, more offensive than defensive, but doesn't seem to be any sort of liability on the back end having a +2 and 50 pts in 52 games in the OHL. (Projected to go end of 1st to early 2nd)

Adam Jiricek (RD) - A 6'2" 168 lb RH RD who I have below the others but is ranked highly, which may be helped by the fact he is the brother of David Jiricek. Not to knock him though, he certainly is a solid pick.

Luke Misa (C) - A smaller forward at only 5'10" 165, Luke Misa is tied for 14th in OHL scoring with 24G 55A 79 PTS, not as highly regarded as his brother Michael, I think he could be a great playmaker who can play in the top 6 once developed fully.

Round 2 (No pick here, only if trade down occurs)

Dominik Badinka (RD) - 6'3" 183lbs

Sam O'Reilly (F)

Harrison Brunicke (RD)

Colton Roberts (RD) - 6'4" 194lbs


Round 4

Anthony Romani (C)

Troy Pitner (RD)

Herman Traff (W)

Jack Bodin (RD) - 6'4" 220lbs

Alexis Bernier (RD) - 6'1" 190lbs

Evan Gardiner (G)

William McIsaac (RD) 6'3" 192lbs


Round 5 (3 picks)

Austin Baker (LW)

Jack Pridham (RW) - 6'2" 174 (Yes, he is the son of cap magician Brandon Pridham)

Owen Allard (C)

Evan Gardner (G)


Round 7

Mazden Leslie (RD) - As a D+1 overager, Mazden Leslie is someone I'd like the Leafs to take a shot with. He impressed me in the Traverse City prospect tournament when the Leafs brought him to play with them there. A more offensive defenseman who the Leafs already have some familiarity with.

Tanner Henricks (RD) - Stay at home defensive 6'3" defender, seems like a fine choice for the leafs to take a chance on in a late round.

Dawson Cowan (G)

Jack Good (C)

Adam Kral (RD)

Finn Harding (RD)

Nathan Free (F)

Ilya Protas (F)


Disclaimer: I AM NOT A SCOUT!!

I just do this for fun and find guys I've seen and liked, seen mentioned a lot, or they just stick out to me.

Starting to look into more prospects as of late, Im a big fan of Charlie Elick. He could be a serious candidate for our first selection in this years draft. Luke Osburn has also been catching my eye. Leafs could walk away from this draft like bandits, lets hope Clark gets us that stud defenseman we've all be salivating over 🤞

Yeah Elick was my #1 pick in my draft rankings (that isn’t supposed to go before our pick)

Been eyeing guys viewed as later picks on the ranking charts as honestly I feel trading down is just the best option rn

It gives us a chance to get some more picks while also getting some prospects

And Brad has had some nice late round picks

If he can trade the 1st get 2 mid 2nds then go from there im good as this draft be kind of meh

Like if he can get some picks for next draft to im also good with that

Noel Fransen in the 2nd round and Anthony Romani in the 3rd would be a tidy bit of business

Fransen is tricky as 2 scouting reports have him high 2nd round and another two have him late third round

Romani is on my list of wants though will say that

Guy been eyeing as a 2nd round option = EJ Emery

Tremendous rush defender (RD) who uses his skating to close gaps wherever he finds them. Offensive refinement could see him become a second-pair staple in the NHL. He often compare's himself to wanting to be like K'Miller

McKenzie has him #39 and Dobber has his NHL certainty score at 8

Another guy = Veeti Väisänen (for 3rd round)

Kids got 2 goals and 8 assists in Liiga so playing against men Dobber NHL certainty has him at an 8.0 but his fantasy upside be a 4.0

But he and Niemela could make for an intriguing finish 3rd pair

If the Leafs don't trade down; Henry Mews seems like a nice option...

Owen Allard is another good target and seems like a Tre guy

And Cooper Cleaves is candidate for steal of the draft... 37 points in 34 games and is 6'4"

As much as I want the Leafs to trade down, I'd be more surprised if they did than if they didn't. Guys like Sennecke, Hemming, Parascak, Elick, Emery, and Letourneau all scream Leafs to me.

https://nhlentrydraft.com/mock-draft/

Someone on Twitter recently brought this website to my attention, and I honest think it's pretty neat. Id be curious to see what you guys are able to put together using the mock draft tool. I really wanted Moysevich but he got taken off the board
'
Here's what I got:

God I hope its not Jesse Pulkkinen with the 24 OA pick....LUL

Dam sims lul

Ill admit 24 for Pulkkinen is a little high, but he is so so so good. Giant frame, fantastic skater, incredible defensively. Yes in his DY+1 so he's closer to NHL ready than most other prospects. There are a few other guys I really want in the first round, but Pulkkinen is right at the top of my list alongside Kiviharju.

Also FYI the mock draft only Sims for other teams, you make the picks for whatever team you want (all 7 picks in the attached mock draft were made by me). Give it a try!

He's good but hes more of a early to mid 2nd round draft guy. Drafting him early feels like a mistake unlike Cowan as it honestly gives me Eemeli Räsänen vibes

If we absolutely are gonna use the pick go get Charlie Elick

Definitely a fair critique. You really cant go wrong with any of the defensemen in round 1. Elick, Emery, Mews, Pulkkinen, Jiricek (maybe), Kiviharju. Hell, there are even a ton of great forwards to pick from with Sennecke, Hemming, and Letourneau. Not overly concerned with who we get in round 1, I know its going to be a solid pick.

heres mine, although some of the late picks weren't there for me (I think bc they are overagers?)

Some NCAA FA graduates the leafs may be able to pursue this offseason

Collin Graf (RW)
Jaxson Nelson (C)
Jacob Bengtsson (LD)