Scout reveals one of the major traits that the Leafs have targeted since Dubas and company took over

Some GM's and scouts look for size and strength. Others focus less on a player's build or stature and more on the speed or the overall skill of a player. In the case of Leafs GM Kyle Dubas, he directs his scouting staff to find players with a particular trait. According to Sam Tirpak, a European scout who works for Dobber Prospects, Dubas tends to target players who have a high hockey IQ above anything else.

You're never wrong to bet on intelligence, and while we have yet to see the fruits of Dubas' labour on the draft floor pay off on NHL ice (aside from Rasmus Sandin and a splash of Nick Robertson), we are beginning to see some prospects beyond them emerge as potential NHL players.

Nick Abruzzese has already suited up in 9 NHL games after coming over from the NCAA at the end of last season. In addition, Swedish winger Pontus Holmberg won a Swedish League championship with Vaxjo HC in 2021, produced nearly a point per game with Vaxjo last season before coming over to North America at the end of the season and immediately making his presence felt with the Marlies, notching 4 points in his first 6 games on North American ice.

The early returns on players like Roni Hirvonen, Matthew Knies, Topi Niemela, Ryan Tverberg, Mikko Kokkoken, Ty Voit and Vyacheslav Peksa have all been pretty good as well, though we're still a ways away from many of those names playing on NHL ice. Knies is the obvious standout here. We could see Knies up with the Leafs near the end of this upcoming season.

Ultimately, the intelligent players are the ones who tend to be able to figure things out. There are some examples of players who have all the skill in the world, but do not have the mental capacity to figure out the timing and find their rhythm at the NHL level. Nail Yakupov and Griffin Reinhart come to mind. More recently, Olli Juolevi and Alex Nylander are also some names who went in the top 5-8 range who have been unable to live up to the hype.

Dubas' first draft as GM of the Leafs was the 2018 crop. Two players from that crop have combined for over 150 NHL games (Sandin, Durzi). The Leafs also have Mac Hollowell, Filip Kral and Pontus Holmberg coming out of that draft. All 3 of those players have pro games under their belts with the Marlies and two of them (Hollowell, Holmberg) could see NHL action as soon as this season. The next couple of years are going to tell us a lot about whether drafting for hockey IQ was the right move or not. But again.. betting on intelligence is never a bad idea.