Maple Leafs hold top pick in NHL draft
The Toronto Maple Leafs are set to make the first overall selection in the NHL draft in Buffalo on Friday night. This marks a significant moment for the team, which is undergoing a transition with a new front office and coach after finishing last in the Atlantic Division. The draft takes place a decade after the Maple Leafs selected Auston Matthews with the first pick in the same arena.
Gavin McKenna, an 18-year-old winger from Whitehorse, Yukon, is widely projected to be the No. 1 pick. McKenna recently gave Maple Leafs General Manager John Chayka a tour of his hometown. Chayka indicated that the front office has reached a unanimous decision on their selection, although he did not reveal the player’s name.
McKenna, who is 5-foot-11, previously played for Medicine Hat in the WHL before moving to Penn State to compete against older players. He concluded his freshman season with 32 points in his final 17 games, tying for fourth nationally with 51 points. McKenna’s background includes not having a skills coach until he was 13, nor a skating coach until the same age, and not attending a gym until he was 15.
Uncertainty surrounds top-five selections
Despite McKenna being the projected top pick, the draft class is noted for being light on centres and deep with defencemen, leading to some uncertainty among NHL executives regarding the top five selections. San Jose Sharks General Manager Mike Grier, whose team holds the second and ninth picks, noted the unpredictability of this year’s draft.
Other top prospects include Swedish left winger Ivar Stenberg, centre Caleb Malhotra, and defencemen such as Latvia’s Alberts Smits, North Dakota’s Keaton Verhoeff, and Chase Reid, who is the top-ranked U.S.-born prospect. There is particular interest in Vancouver, which picks third, and the possibility of Malhotra being selected by a team where his father, Manny Malhotra, is the new head coach.
The Buffalo Sabres hold the fourth pick, followed by the New York Rangers. The draft order has already seen significant movement due to trades. Buffalo acquired the fourth pick by trading defenceman Bo Byram to Chicago. The ninth pick has changed hands three times recently, moving from Florida to Ottawa before being acquired by San Jose.
Grier has received offers for the second overall pick and has not ruled out trading it. Chayka also mentioned making an effort to secure another top-five selection. Such high-pick trades are uncommon, having occurred only four times since the 2004-05 NHL lockout, with only one of those trades happening after the selection order was determined.
Marlies celebrate Calder Cup victory
While the Maple Leafs prepare for the draft, their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, recently celebrated a championship. The Marlies secured their second Calder Cup by defeating the Chicago Wolves 4-3 in a five-game series. The victory was celebrated on Monday at Real Sports Bar & Grill in downtown Toronto.
Artur Akhtyamov, the Marlies’ goaltender, made 27 saves in the decisive Game 5 and was awarded the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the playoffs MVP. Akhtyamov was a fourth-round pick, 106th overall, by the Maple Leafs in the 2020 draft.
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Source: theglobeandmail.com
