The Leafs may have landed an absolute steal in the 7th round of the 2022 NHL draft
Late round picks are largely viewed as ''dart board'' picks, because most of them have glaring holes in their game, even if they do excel at one specific thing. The odds are heavily stacked against 5th, 6th and 7th round picks right out of the gate and it's not often that you see a late round pick go on to become a legit NHL star. It happens, but it's definitely rare.
In the case of the Leafs, they have a couple of very intriguing prospects, whom they had drafted very late in Ryan Tverberg (213th overall in 2020) and Brandon Lisowsky (218th overall in 2022) - both of whom are a point-per-game or better this season in their respective leagues.
Tverberg, 20, has a couple of years on Lisowsky, 18, but they're both undersized forwards who like to shoot the puck. In Lisowsky's case, he likes to shoot the puck a lot. In fact, he's currently 4th in shots in the WHL, behind only 17-year-old phenom and consensus #1 pick in 2023, Connor Bedard and a pair of 19-year-olds - both of whom were selected in the 2nd round in their draft year.
Lisowsky was originally slated by some to be a late 3rd round draft pick. However, at just 5'9, the Port Coquitlam, BC native fell to the Leafs in the 7th round, largely due to his size. Say what you will about Kyle Dubas and liking small players - when a projected 3rd rounder falls to the the 7th round, you literally have nothing to lose by taking a chance on him.
So far this season, Lisowsky has registered 8 goals and 11 assists for 19 points in 17 games. He's also a +9 on the season. He currently sits 39th in scoring in the WHL, just behind the likes of Jagger Firkus (2nd round pick by Seattle in 2022) and Matthew Savoie (1st round pick by Buffalo in 2022). He's also tied with Conor Geekie (1st round pick by Arizona in 2022), having played the same number of games.
Have the Leafs found themselves a diamond in the rough in the 7th round this summer? It's pretty early, but it's really beginning to look that way.
| POLL | ||
13 NOVEMBRE | 169 ANSWERS The Leafs may have landed an absolute steal in the 7th round of the 2022 NHL draft Will Brandon Lisowsky end up being an NHL player for the Leafs? | ||
| Yes | 84 | 49.7 % |
| No | 85 | 50.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
