Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Leafs Focus On Size In ‘16 Draft Class; RFA Qualifying Deadline On Monday

June 26, 2016, 10:25 PM ET [774 Comments]
Mike Augello
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Toronto Maple Leafs chose the most well regarded and highest rated prospect in Auston Matthews on Friday, but unlike the draft in Sunrise, FL last June when Director of Player Personnel Mark Hunter and the scouting staff focused on adding skill, the direction of the Leafs at the 2016 Draft in Buffalo NY went towards size and adding players who may be able to contribute much quicker.

Toronto selected a pair of overage defensemen in Andrew Nielsen and Stephen Desrochers in 2015, but concentrated on speed and skill regardless of size in selecting Mitch Marner, Travis Dermott, Jeremy Bracco and Dmytro Timashov.

On Saturday, the Leafs selected four players (second rounder Yegor Korshkov, fourth rounder Adam Brooks, fifth rounder Vladimir Bobylev and sixth rounder Jack Walker) that will be 19 or 20 years old by the time that training camp opens in September and added six players (Matthews, Korshkov, third rounder James “JD” Greenway, fourth rounder Keaton Middleton, Bobylev, sixth rounder Nicolas Mattinen and seventh rounder Nikolai Chebykin) who are 6’2” or taller and more than 200 lbs.

“We just watch what we see and we think (overage players) can still develop more and still have more upside.” Hunter said following the draft on Saturday. “We added some size, Greenway and Mattinen are big boys and we believe they have some good skills.”

Matthews talents have been apparent long before playing Friday, but Hunter provided some insight on the 10 other selections from Draft weekend:

Yegor Korshkov - “I saw him at the World Juniors….big strong guy, good skills. Yevgeni Namestnikov (father of Tampa Bay forward Vladislav) who does some scouting for the Leafs, he coached him all year. He’s the one who pushed (Nikita) Soshnikov.”

“He’s going to play in the KHL, he played in the KHL this year. He has no issues there, we’ll let him develop. It’s a good league and it’s just a matter of when he is ready and hopefully he can step into our lineup.”

Carl Grundstrom - “He’s spunky, plays a hard two-way game. He’s tough. A game I went to see him, it was in Northern Sweden, first shift he gets kicked out, hit some guy from behind.”

“He’s a gritty player, smart player. I think he’s a (Leo) Komarov kind of player.

Joseph Woll - “Brian Daccord, who has been doing some scouting for us on the goaltending side really loved this goalie and believes he is on an upward swing. He’s big (6’3”), going to a good program to play in Boston (Boston College). He’s athletic and very strong mentally.”

JD Greenway - “He’s a big boy….and we believe he has some skills”

Adam Brooks - “(Brooks) brought it every night. Very competitive player, very intelligent. Is somebody that willed his team into winning hockey games. Their team went to seven games against Red Deer and he was one of the main reasons. (Regina) had a very young team and he was one of the older guys who led the way.”

“We’ll have to wait and see at our (Development) camp and see how he looks. See how he feels and hopes he gets a little bit stronger. He’s somebody that we’ll give an opportunity to play, but if its better for his development to go back to the Western Hockey League, we’ll do what’s best for him.”

Keaton Middleton - “He defends very well, he’s a big strong kid. One of the tougher kids we believe in the draft. He has to make quicker puck decisions and if he can do that, there’s good upside on his will.”

Vladimir Bobylev - Was not mentioned during Hunter’s remarks.

Jack Walker - “Walker is very fast, can shoot. We believe his speed is exceptional. He played D for two years before (playing a) year and a half at forward, so we really believe he’s on the upswing with his offensive ability.”

Nicolas Mattinen - “He got hidden in the Memorial Cup, (London) had a good team. Knew him, drafted him, so I feel good about his upside. He’s a big strong kid that just needs a little bit of time and he’ll get ice time next year to show how good he is.”

Nikolai Chebykin - “Our scouts liked him, (Director of European Scouting) Ari (Vuori) wanted him and (European scout) Thommie (Bergman), so we stepped up and took him. He’s at KHL camp right now.”

*******

The deadline for extending qualifying offers to restricted free agents is 5pm on Monday. The Toronto Maple Leafs have nine RFA's (forwards Peter Holland, Sam Carrick, Colin Smith, Josh Leivo, defensemen Connor Carrick, Frank Corrado, Martin Marincin, Stuart Percy and goaltender Garret Sparks) that will need to be offered a 10% increase of their 2015-16 salary or will become unrestricted free agents.

It is expected that the Leafs will qualify most of their RFA's, but there has been some chatter that Sparks will not after a poor showing at the end of the NHL season and being mostly the backup to Antoine Bibeau during the Calder Cup Playoffs.

*******

Listening to "The Convo" with myself and CTV's Norman James discussing the NHL Draft and the Stamkos situation:




*******If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact” button at the top of the page.*******

Note : Continue to check back to my column on Hockeybuzz throughout the day for the latest Leafs updates or on Twitter

KINDLE USERS: Please sign up for Maple Leafs Buzz, which includes a free-of-charge 14-day trial and is just 99 cents per month afterwards. For more information click here.
Join the Discussion: » 774 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Mike Augello
» Leafs Frustrated And Immature In Loss To Devils
» Practicing Load Management Down The Stretch; Leafs vs. Devils
» Woll Wonderful In Loss To Canes; Keefe Downplaying Samsonov Injury
» Podcast Sunday – Off The Post Radio
» Hyman Aiming For 50; Leafs vs. Oilers