Toronto Maple Leafs

So Much For Making A Splash At The Draft

Perhaps its all an ironic twist on my recent posting regarding immigrants playing the game of hockey in Canada.  Perhaps Brian Burke didn’t quite do any of the things he planned on.  Perhaps I’m a bit confused as to what the plan was on draft day.

The Leafs selected London Knights forward Nazem Kadri with the 7th overall pick at the 2009 NHL entry draft in what can’t be seen as anything but a departure from what has been described repeatedly as classic Burke hockey.

Nazem Kadri is not an overly physical player.  He is brash and confident.  He is Canadian, and not Swedish or Russian, but he plays a very slick play making style, that doesn’t appear to bear a huge resemblance to a power game.

He finished with 1 point less than Matt Duchene in the regular season for the OHL London Knights, scoring 25 goals and registering 53 assists for 78 points.  He would have been the team’s leading scorer if not for a midseason trade that brought in John Tavares.

Kadri is on the small side for an NHL centre at 6′ and 177 lbs.  He’ll have to put weight on to withstand the rigors of an NHL season.  He’s likely 2 or 3 years away from the NHL at this point… despite what he has to say about hoping to make the team out of training camp.  Despite my personal problems with this selection, I will concede that he immediately upgrades the Leafs skill level, and will help produce points at the NHL level.  He should turn out to be a decent offensive forward, as his competitive drive is very high, and he’s dogged determination should serve him well in reaching his objectives at the NHL level.  He should develop into at least a decent second line scoring centre in the NHL.  Should he develop physically, and improves his conditioning drastically he has the potential to play the role of a top line pivot.

The Leafs didn’t have the rights to their original 2nd round pick, but they picked up the Rangers and Hurricanes picks later on in the round.  With the 50th overall selection they picked solid checking RW Kenny Ryan from the US National Team Development Program.  He has verbally committed to attend and play for Boston College in the fall, where he’ll suit up alongside fellow Leafs prospect Jimmy Hayes.

Touted as a strong skater who is hard to knock off the puck, Ryan is considered defensively responsible, strong in the corners, and his offensive outlook pegs him more as a shooter than a playmaker.  Chris Ralph (aka The Hockey Spy) compares him to Jere Lehtinen (that’s likely a bit optimistic) and ranked him 55th overall.  ISS ranked him 59th, Central Scouting 56th, and The Hockey News had him 66th.  He was the highest ranked player from the state of Michigan heading into the draft.

The Leafs must have liked the rugged aspect to his game, and probably thought highly of the fact that his favourite NHL player growing up was Darren McCarty, who his family came to know through a summer swim club.  He also has a brother and father that played NCAA football at Michigan and Notre Dame respectively, so physically speaking he comes from good stock.

The 6′0″, 204 lb Ryan was drafted by the Windsor Spitfires in the OHL also, but has elected to go the NCAA route which likely means he’s probably about 3 years away from signing with the Leafs.  His physical development is top notch, as it often seems to be for the US-NTDP players.  He was one of ONLY 7 players at the NHL scouting combine to recieve high grades for both his upper and lower body development.

He’ll likely end up in the NHL as a 2nd or 3rd line physical winger who can score some goals.  His speed and physical play make him a valid NHL prospect, but his offense will need some work if he’s to become more of an impact player.

With their second pick of the 2nd round, the 58th overall selection, the Leafs then selected local boy, and Windsor Spitfires D man, Jesse Blacker.  At 6′1″ and 190 lbs, Blacker could still add some more muscle to his frame if he hopes to continue his style of play as a rugged defender in the NHL.  He’s an explosive skater that plays a reasonably sound positional game, but is not particularly developed offensively at this point, and still has a lot to learn.  He was in the regular rotation as the Spitfires went on to win the Memorial Cup also so he has some experience in pressure situations.  Expect him to take a few years before he gets a shot at the NHL level.

In the 3rd round, the Leafs retained their originally allocated draft position and selected Jamie Devane, of the Plymouth Whalers of the OHL 68th overall.  Devane stands at 6′5″ and 210 lbs, and is what one would best describe as a “tough guy” at the OHL level.  This past year he registered 14 fights in the regular season, and another 4 tilts in the post season.

A quick visit over to hockeyfights.com will give you a rundown of Devane’s fight card for this past season.  He is considered by many scouts to have been the toughest player in the OHL last season, and as a rookie in the OHL he registered 92 penalty minutes in 64 games.  Considering 70 of those minutes were from fighting majors, that means he only had an additional 22 minutes from minor penalties over the course of a 64 game schedule.  Frankly that’s a good sign that Devane isn’t a dirty player, and he plays a reasonably clean game aside from the rough stuff when the gloves come off.

The Leafs scouts have also said he has decent hockey sense and a decent pair of hands for a tough guy, so while his rough and tumble ways might be what bring him to the NHL, he hopefully won’t be a liability on the ice in other areas of the game.

With their 5th round pick, 128th overall, the Leafs selected late blooming 19 year old Eric Knodel.  He’s a 6′6″ 216 lb defense man who has been playing with the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers in the US Tier 1 Junior A Hockey League.  He has made a commitment to play in the USHL with Des Moines Buccaneers next season.  He actually maintains a blog of his own, which has obviously been overwhelmed by Leafs fans looking for info on him and has now been blocked so only “invited” readers can check it out.

*note* I managed to catch a glimpse of it around noon before it was blocked … the updates were around 25 words in length and it didn’t provide a lot of detail.  Don’t worry if you can’t view it, you aren’t missing a huge biopic or anything.

Knodel wasn’t really on NHL teams’ radar until late in the scouting season, and he wasn’t initially heavily scouted by US college programs either.  As the season wore on, his size and potential became a bit more noticeable around scouting circles and his profile grew quickly.  It’s hard to miss a 6′6″ 216 lb blue liner I suppose.  Here is a list of all the other teams and college programs that scouted Knodel in the brief time his name was on the radar:

Nanaimo; Penticton; Westside Warriors - BCHL

NH Monarchs; NJ Hitmen; Valley Warriors - EJHL

Albert Lea Thunder; Wichita Falls - NAHL

Tri City Storm; Indiana Ice; Fargo; Green Bay Gamblers - USHL

Union College; Quinnipiac; Cornell - ECAC, NCAA

U Conn; Holy Cross - Atlantic Hockey, NCAA

Ohio State; Michigan State; Bowling Green - CCHA, NCAA

U Maine - Hockey East, NCAA

Wisconsin- WCHA, NCAA

Toronto Maple Leafs; Boston Bruins- NHL

Obviously he attracted some notice if 2 NHL teams, and 10 Division 1 NCAA programs were interested in his services.  He is a somewhat raw prospect, but his skating improved drastically this season, and he has a good sense for making the small defensively astute plays in his own end.  He makes effective use of his reach, and while he says his defensive idol is Nik Lidstrom, he also says he patterns his game after Braydon Coburn of the Flyers.

Knodel says he considers himself to be a shutdown defender, and while he is known for the defensive aspects of his game, he feels his offensive abilities have been underrated as he often takes a team first attitude which sacrifices some offensive opportunities.  He strongly prides himself on his +/- stats.  He plans on putting on another 10 to 15 pounds over the summer before playing Junior in the fall, so he should tip the scales at almost 230 lbs by the winter time.

Part of the reason he hasn’t popped up much in scouting circles prior to this year is the fact that he has always played close to home.  The rink he played in this year with the Jr. Flyers is 5 minutes from his house, and it’s the same rink he has always played in.  Making the trek to Des Moines next season is the first major movement he’ll have made as a hockey player.  His main reason for sticking with the minor system in Philadelphia for so long was a desire to complete high school, prior to selecting a Division 1 NCAA college program.

His current plans are to skate for 1 year in the USHL and then start playing for a Div. 1 squad in 2010, and he is leaning heavily towards a major conference school in Hockey East, ECAC, or CCHA.  Now that he has been drafted by the Leafs it will be interesting to see what sort of decisions he makes in that regard.  I would be shocked if Boston College doesn’t come calling based on the fact that two other Leafs prospects are already on their roster.

Thinking long term, the Leafs are probably looking at Knodel turning pro in about 3 or 4 years, so while we’ll keep tabs on him, he isn’t about to turn up in the Blue and White this upcoming season.

In the 7th round, the Leafs drafted another American from the US-NTDP, Jerry D’Amigo.  Highly skilled from an offensive perspective, D’Amigo has been criticized by some scouts (HockeysFuture.com) for lacking in mental focus, and irresponsibility with the puck.  They observed a tendency to make bad giveaways, and fairly regular mental lapses, which may have contributed to his slide down the draft charts.

Coming into the draft, D’Amigo had been ranked as high as 40th by International Scouting Services, 67th amongst North American skaters by Central Scouting, and seemed to fall around the 50th pick in many mock drafts.  The fact that he slid all the way to 158th may have been a bit of a blow to his confidence.

Hopefully though it turns into a motivator for the fiery competitor.  In interviews with the Leafs scouting department they described him as a fiery player, who showed an edge to his game.  US U-18 coach Ron Rolston described D’Amigo as follows:

“He’s a great, great character kid. He has a lot of leadership abilities for our team. He competes every night. You know what you’re getting out of him every single night. He’s got great speed. He makes things happen with his speed.”

His offensive production was extremely solid this season with 56 points in 53 games this past season.  At the world U-18 championships in Fargo he was the US team’s leading scorer with 4 goals and 9 assists for 13 points, en route to winning the gold medal and finishing 3rd in the tournament in overall scoring.

He apparently copes well with contact, and despite his short stature (5′11″) his stocky frame and solid build (196 lbs) will remind many of fellow Leaf prospect Dale Mitchell.  He is often compared to fellow American Zach Parise for his nose for the net, and his quickness.  According to ISS reports his speed and determination lead to him winning most races for the puck.

Expect a dogged and determined effort from D’Amigo with regularity, and look for him to make waves as he moves forwards with his career.  He was drafted by the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers but has committed to attending Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) of the ECAC in the fall.

RPI is the alma mater of former Leaf goalie Darren Puppa, and famed Blues centre/former Ron Wilson coached player with the Capitals Adam Oates.  another notable NHL alum from RPI that played for Wilson with the capitals is Joe Juneau.  Perhaps the magical connection can happen again?

Last but not least, the Leafs selected Barron Smith with their 7th round pick, 188th overall.  Smith is the son of former Edmonton Oiler, Chicago Blackhawk, and Calgary Flame defender Steve Smith.  He played one season with the Chicago Steel of the USHL in 2007-08, before playing in the OHL this past season.  He spent the first portion of the season with the London Knights before being dealt to the Peterborough Petes.

Barron started off with London in an effort to follow in his father’s footsteps, and while he succesfully made the squad out of training camp, the 6′4.5″ kid was quickly in a battle for ice time with the Knights.  A sizable stay at home defender, Smith’s offense is infrequent and he is considered a project at this point.  Following the deal to Peterborough, he played in 20 games and registered his first 2 points in the OHL, both assists.  He only weighs in at 191 lbs, so he definitely stands to fill out his frame, but considering his potential and blood lines it seemed like a risk worth taking in the later rounds.

At this point his play is mainly of a physical nature and he badly needs to work on his skating.  Hopefully as he finishes growing he will adjust into his body a bit and more fluidity will become apparent.  Working with the Leafs coaching staff will only help in this regard.

Considered extremely physical, he is often aggressive on the body, and will add a dose of the tenacious and truculent behaviour Brian Burke looks for in his teams.  Even if he never makes the NHL, Smith will likely get a shot at being a shut down player in the Leafs system a couple of years from now.

Unfortunately for Leafs fans, no wheeling and dealing was undertaken at the draft by Burke, and despite regular assertions to the contrary, it doesn’t appear that much movement was even possible as many GM’s from opposing franchises were wary of being caught up in the limelight that follows Burke like the plague.

Hopefully the addition of size in this year’s draft will combine down the line with last year’s crop of sizable skilled draftees to form the core of the team in four or five seasons.  It is noteworthy that Burke did not draft a single European today, and while he stated that he is unbiased towards any nation, the fact that he took at least 3 players who have a notably pugnacious nature to their game is not lost on anyone.

The NCAA content means this draft class will take a few years to get a solid read on, but hopefully down the line at least three of the 7 draftees will pan out into solid NHL’ers.  If only 2 do, which is frankly far more likely, the Leafs fortunes will strongly depend on which of them it is.  If three tough D men and no offensive talent arise from this set of picks, the Leafs will have shot themselves in the foot and missed the boat on one of the deepest drafts in NHL history.  The summer is only begun though, and with Free Agency opening up on the 1st, and the decision looming on Jonas Gustavsson’s part, I look forward to where the team is heading prior to next season.

Expect things to clear up a bit prior to Wednesday, and we’ll see how things go between now and then.

I’m teaching summer school starting on the 2nd of July and I’ll be wrapped up with that until the 29th, so don’t expect QUITE as many postings as you might be accustomed to.  I’ll get to things, but try to be patient.  I’m off for the month of August though, so as we head into rookie training camp I’ll try to fill in what I can heading into the end of summer.  Hope you all enjoyed the draft, it should be an interesting free agent season this year.