{"id":128940,"date":"2022-05-26T09:47:14","date_gmt":"2022-05-26T13:47:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=128940"},"modified":"2022-05-25T19:10:43","modified_gmt":"2022-05-25T23:10:43","slug":"leafs-player-development-playoff-failures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2022\/05\/26\/leafs-player-development-playoff-failures\/","title":{"rendered":"Poor Player Development Hurting Toronto Maple Leafs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nikita Kucherov<\/a> was taken with the 58th overall pick of the 2011 National Hockey League draft. 57 other players were deemed better prospects. It’s laughable when looking back at it in hindsight. Fans of Ontario’s franchises might want to cry. The Ottawa Senators<\/a> and Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> had multiple cracks at him and passed.\u00a0 Such is the precarious nature of any professional draft. Generational prospects like Connor McDavid<\/a>, Auston Matthews<\/a>, Mario Lemieux<\/a>, and Sidney Crosby<\/a> are slam-dunk picks that are tough to botch. However, championship organizations in any professional sport stand out above all others in one key area. They find “gems” late in the draft and develop them into key contributors. However, the Leafs player development has been underwhelming and is a reason for their recent playoff failures.<\/p>\n

Leafs Player Development Leaves Them Lacking<\/h2>\n

Comparison<\/h3>\n

Look at the roster of any champion and you are likely to find many examples of late-round contributors. Kucherov is not the only one on the roster of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Key contributors Brayden Point<\/a>, Alex Killorn<\/a>, and Anthony Cirelli<\/a> were all third-round draft picks. Ondrej Palat<\/a> was taken in the seventh round. Fourth-round pick Ross Colton<\/a> was a twenty-goal scorer this year.<\/p>\n

Yes, Andrei Vasilevskiy<\/a> was a first-round pick. It is rare for goalies to be taken this early. When you pick a goalie here, you better not miss. The Lightning didn’t. High draft picks Steven Stamkos<\/a> and Victor Hedman<\/a> have also been key cogs to their long-term success. But they don’t become multiple-time champs without their successful late-round picks and proper player development. The Leafs, on the other hand, boast few late-round successes. This makes it difficult to supplement their roster.<\/p>\n

Leafs Successes And Failures<\/h3>\n

In the early years of president Brendan Shanahan<\/a>‘s rebuild, the talent-thin roster resulted in the many high first-round picks. Luckily, the team made the right choice with these picks. Auston Matthews ahead of Patrik Laine<\/a>. Mitch Marner<\/a> over Noah Hanifin<\/a>. Taking Morgan Rielly<\/a> fifth overall in the 2012 draft was a hit. William Nylander<\/a> at number eight overall in 2014 was also a good choice. The problems arise when looking for successes later in the draft.<\/p>\n

Pierre Engvall<\/a> was the only late-round Leafs pick this past season who regularly contributed to the team. That’s it. One player. He was drafted in the seventh round of the 2014 NHL draft. He was also part of their American Hockey League championship Marlies team in 2018. Almost all of the Leafs’ key players are their high first-round picks or came from other organizations. The Leafs are often forced to look at free agency to fix their shortcomings. In a salary-cap world, this often leads to problems.<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>