Scout believes the Leafs have hit a homerun with 5th round draft pick
Following a disastrous run on the draft floor under former AGM Mark Hunter, the Leafs have enjoyed a higher perceived level of success under now GM Kyle Dubas. The Buds have a lot of intriguing prospects in the pipeline and a few already making an impact at the NHL level.
Perhaps the most impressive feat is what Dubas has been able to find beyond the first round. Players with legit NHL upside coming from the later rounds are hard to come by. Not only has Dubas already found one in Pontus Holmberg (6th rounder), but he's got a few on the way in Ryan Tverberg (7th rounder), Ty Voit (5th rounder), Brandon Lisowsky (7th rounder) and Nikita Grebyonkin (5th rounder) who could also make an impact at the NHL level. According to one scout, Grebyonkin could be a full-time NHLer by this time in 2-3 seasons with the way he's going.
Grebyonkin, at 19 years of age, is already making an impact in the KHL, which is a league that is historically very tough on young players. It's a challenge for players in this age range to see consistent playing time, but it's even more challenging for them to produce because of how the league operates and how coaches tend to favor veteran players in most situations.
So far this season, Grebyonkin has produced 5 goals and 15 points in 28 games, which has him sitting in 2nd for scoring among U20 players in the entire league. Not bad for an overaged 5th round pick. If he continues at the rate he's going, he could already be in line to transition over to the AHL as soon as next season, carving out a regular role in the one that follows. By 2025-26, as Slovak scout Sam Tirpak points out, we could see Grebyonkin in the NHL on a full-time basis.
It's a bit scary to think that Kyle Dubas still does not have a contract extension in place in Toronto. For the work he's done on the draft floor and the work he's done with the team under flat cap circumstances, he absolutely, unequivocally deserves to be extended by the Leafs. The fact that it hasn't happened already after the way his team has performed for much of this season is a bit concerning.
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 8 | 197 ANSWERS Scout believes the Leafs have hit a homerun with 5th round draft pick Will Nikita Grebyonkin be a full-time NHLer by 2025-26? | ||
| Yes | 93 | 47.2 % |
| No | 36 | 18.3 % |
| Who? | 68 | 34.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
