A look at players that were drafted in the 28th overall range; some of the names might surprise you

Since 2013, there have been a number of players selected with the 28th overall pick and just after (29th-32nd). Many have gone on to have successful NHL careers and others have struggled to catch on, which include a few former Leafs. Jason Dickinson, Ryan Hartman, Brendan Lemeiux, Adrian Kempe, Anthony Beauvillier, Trent Frederic, Sam Steel, Eeli Tolvanen, Rasmus Sandin and Joe Veleno have become full-time NHLers, as has Shane Pinto, who has unfortunately had to deal with a number of injuries in his short time as a full-timer. Josh Ho-Sang had a tumultuous tenure with the Islanders where he was up and down between the NHL and AHL and was hoping that a fresh start with the Marlies would lead to a full-time spot. Unfortunately for him, it never materialized, while Sens prospect Ridly Greig managed to get into 20 games with the Sens this past season posting 9 points and played fairly well.

Many of the previous drafts that the abovementioned players were selected in were not perceived as deep drafts, but teams were still able to find solid NHL players with late first and early second round picks. The 2023 draft is regarded as one of the deeper drafts in recent memory, so it is possible that the Leafs, should they keep their first round pick, end up with a very good prospect late in the first round.