The Leafs appear to have landed an absolute steal in the 3rd round of the draft
First round draft picks are a nice luxury to have, but if you're Leafs GM Kyle Dubas, they don't appear to be necessary. Dubas doesn't have the greatest history when it comes to winning trades, but he does seem to excel on the draft floor and has also landed several excellent UFA signings over the course of his time in Toronto.
In terms of how he's handled himself on the draft floor, it's nuts to think that he hasn't had a first round pick in 3 of the last 5 years. If you go over the past 5 drafts, Dubas' top picks are as follows:
2018 - Rasmus Sandin (1st round)
2019 - Nick Robertson (2nd round)
2020 - Rodion Amirov (1st round)
2021 - Matthew Knies (2nd round)
2022 - Fraser Minten (2nd round)
Obviously, given his devastating diagnosis back at the beginning of 2022, it would be unfair to include Amirov in any discussions his overall development and where he's at as a player, so that essentially knocks him out of the discussion - which means, in 3 out of 4 drafts, the Leafs haven't had a 1st rounder.
Thankfully, the lack of first round picks hasn't seemed to matter to Kyle Dubas. He has (arguably) landed 4 first round talents across those 4 drafts. Robertson is an NHL-ready player and a dynamic top-six shooting threat. Knies is a high-end power forward with a physical edge who is expected to make an impact for the Leafs at the end of this season. Lastly, Minten came into his first ever NHL training camp as a newly-minted 18-year-old and blew the coaching staff, players and leadership group away with his skill level, intensity and intelligence. Not to mention, the Leafs had him ranked 15th overall on their draft board.
Well, Dubas is not just good at finding 1st round talent in the 2nd round. He's also good at finding NHL talent in the mid-rounds of the draft as well - and may have found another absolute gem in 2022 3rd rounder Nick Moldenhauer.
Moldenhauer suffered a freak injury in his first USHL season in 2020-21, catching an errant skate to the face, slicing him wide open and ending his season after only 6 games. The injury required emergency surgery and 175 stitches to repair. Moldenhauer also had to undergo a blood transfusion due to the injury. Scary stuff to say the least.
He returned with a vengeance last season, notching 43 points in 41 games and came into this year's draft as the 39th ranked North American skater, according to NHL Central Scouting. He had the makings of a 2nd rounder, but ended up slipping to the Leafs in the 3rd round. Now, in this, his 3rd USHL season, Moldenhauer is putting everyone on notice. He is at the top of his game and plans to be a top USHL player this season.
Already having scored 7 goals and 9 points in 6 games, Moldenhauer went into Friday's game with the league lead in both goals and points. He extended his lead with this first period tally and now holds a 3-goal lead over the league's second leading scorer, Jack Harvey (Moldenhauer's own teammate). Harvey currently sits in a 3-way tie with Jack Musa and Sam Harris, who have all scored 5 goals this season.
It's looking more and more like the Leafs have found a real player in Moldenhauer, who has great hands in tight, a high compete level and a solid hockey IQ.
| POLL | ||
15 OCTOBRE | 378 ANSWERS The Leafs appear to have landed an absolute steal in the 3rd round of the draft Where do you think Nick Moldenhauer will top out in the organization? | ||
| Marlies top line | 46 | 12.2 % |
| Marlies top 6 | 74 | 19.6 % |
| Leafs top six | 125 | 33.1 % |
| Leafs bottom six | 133 | 35.2 % |
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