Former Leafs AGM Mark Hunter really set the Leafs back; here's how bad his drafting was
With the cap constraints that have been put on many teams thanks to COVID and the flat cap, now would be a good time for their draft picks to start contributing to the main roster. Draft picks from 2015 to 2017 are just entering or are in their early 20s and have had a few years to develop. Unfortunately for the Leafs, while Kyle Dubas was still new to the club and was learning the ropes so to speak, AGM Mark Hunter took the reigns for the 2015-2017 drafts. For someone that built a powerhouse organization in the OHL (London Knights) through drafting, Mark Hunter failed to live up to expectations at the NHL level.
From 2015-2017 outside of first round picks, the Leafs had 24 picks and do you know how many of those players picked in rounds 2-7 have played any significant amount of games? Two. Yes, 24 picks and only 2 have seen more than 50 games. Travis Dermott and Carl Grundstrom, who were both second round picks. Let's also not forget that Mark Hunter pushed for drafting Egor Korshkov with the first pick of the second round in 2016 over Alex DeBrincat.
Thankfully, Dubas has been able to build up the depth of the prospect pool since 2018, adding the likes of SDA, Hollowell, Kral, Holmberg, Abramov, Abruzzese, Knies, Voit, Hirvonen, Niemela among others in rounds two or later. Hopefully the Leafs will find themselves with some prospects from the 2018 and 2019 drafts pushing for roster spots in the upcoming season as they need them to go from prospects and Marlies players to NHL contributors.
Previously on Maple Leafs Daily
| POLL | ||
MAI 19 | 399 ANSWERS Former Leafs AGM Mark Hunter really set the Leafs back; here's how bad his drafting was Have you been impressed with Kyle Dubas' drafting abilities? | ||
| Yes | 233 | 58.4 % |
| No | 85 | 21.3 % |
| Too early to tell | 81 | 20.3 % |
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