Second Round
Toronto selects Erie defenseman Travis Dermott at #34. Dermott had 45 points for the offensively potent Otters this season.
The 18-year-old Newmarket native was a teammate of 2015 top pick Connor McDavid with the York Simcoe Express and Erie Otters and models his game after Conn Smythe Trophy winner Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks.
At #61, Toronto selects US National Development Team forward Jeremy Bracco.
According to Sportsnet's Jeff Marek’s, Bracco is creative playmaking winger along the lines of Coyotes first rounder Nick Merkley and one of the most entertaining players in the draft. The lack of size (5'9", 173 lb) is a concern, but smaller players are in vogue with the ascendance of Tyler Johnson and Johnny Gaudreau.
Bracco is committed to Boston College.
Third Round
At #65, the Maple Leafs select Lethbridge Broncos defenseman Andrew Nielsen.
The 18-year-old has hockey bloodlines, as the nephew of former NHLers Mike and Randy Moller. A big, right-handed shooting defenseman, Nielsen's favorite hockey player is Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf.
Three picks later, Toronto selected Latvian Martins Dzierkals. The 5'11", 169 lb winger scored nine points(3 G, 6 A) for Latvia at the Under-18 Tournament.
Fourth Round
In Round 4, the Leafs went to Sweden for their pick at #95, selecting speedy defenseman Jesper Lindgren.
Lindgren played four games as a 17-year-old for MODO in the SHL and follows the long line of Swedish Leafs defensive prospects(Carl Gunnarsson, Viktor Loov and Tom Nilsson).
Toronto traded their pick at #107 to Edmonton along with the rights to RFA Brad Ross for defenseman Martin Marincin.
The 23-year-old Marincin split time between the Oilers and their AHL affiliate in Oklahoma City and was expendable after Edmonton acquired blueliners Griffin Reinhart and Eric Gryba in trades.
Fifth Round
Toronto goes skilled and speedy once again, selecting winger Dmytro Timoshov of the QMJHL's Quebec Remparts.
Timoshov is 5'10", 192 lbs but registered 71 assists in his first CHL season, after coming over from Sweden, where he played on the Under-17 team with 2014 top pick William Nylander.
Sixth Round
Leafs select 19-year-old defenseman Stephen Desrocher of the Memorial Cup Champion Oshawa Generals.
The 19-year-old Toronto native is 6'4", 198 lbs and like 2014 third rounder Rinat Valiev, Desrocher was picked in his second year of draft eligibility.
Seventh Round
Toronto's final pick was Sarnia winger Nikita Korostelev.
The Russian born Korostelev moved to Canada at age 14 and played on a line with Devils top pick Pavel Zacha with the Sting, leading the club with 24 goals.
*******
The Toronto Maple Leafs will be busy on Saturday at the NHL Draft in Sunrise, FL, with nine Day 2 picks thanks to a pair of trades from #24 and #29 overall.
Toronto acquired the last pick in the second round from Philadelphia by trading down from #24 to #29, which the Flyers used to select Ottawa 67's center Travis Konecny. The Leafs then traded out of the first round with the Columbus Blue Jackets, swapping #29 for the #34 pick overall and the Jackets third(#68).
Ironically, the 34th overall selection is Toronto's second rounder that was swapped two years ago to the LA Kings for Jonathan Bernier. The pick was then flipped to Columbus along with Matt Frattin and William Karlsson for Marian Gaborik.
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