After much speculation regarding whether they would move up or down in the draft order, the Toronto Maple Leafs kept their fifth overall selection at the 2012 NHL Draft, taking defenceman Morgan Rielly early in the first round.

Rielly, a 6-foot, 190-pound defenceman, recorded three goals and 15 assists for 18 points in 18 games with the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League during the 2011-12 campaign. The Vancouver, British Columbia native missed a large portion of the season after tearing his ACL and undergoing knee surgery early in the year.

The scouting report on Rielly is that he may be the top puck moving defenceman available in the draft, possessing great skating and play-making abilities. The 18-year old blue liner is a smart player with great hockey sense and tends to be two or three plays ahead of his opponent with the ability to maneuver around the opposition with his elusive speed and skill. Rielly compares his play to that of Piitsburgh Penguins rearguard Kris Letang, saying he's a good two-way defenceman who can put in minutes on the power play.

Rielly joins a talented and promising Leafs defensive core, joining the likes of Luke Schenn, Jake Gardiner and 2011 first round pick Stuart Percy on the team's blue line in the system. Rielly told reporters after being drafted that he was looking forward to joining the Leafs' depth on defence.

"I've always been a player that has to prove myself," Rielly explained. "I'm not too concerned about all that right now. But I don't think that had any impact on how I thought it was going to go. They do have a talented back end and I'm happy I can add to it."

"I didn't really know what to expect, but it's a huge honour and I'm extremely proud to be a Leaf today, so it went well. Obviously growing up in Canada, I was hoping I had a chance. But obviously to hear my name called, it was pretty special."

Leafs president and general manager Brian Burke spoke with the media after making his pick at the 2012 NHL Draft in Pittsburgh. He explained that the addition of Rielly follows his belief in building from the blue line and that he was happy to get the player the team had at the top of their list, praising the young defenceman's work ethic.

"I think everyone knows my feeling on it is that winning championships begins and ends on the blue line," Burke said. "We had this player (Rielly) rated first overall. I wouldn't say that if it wasn't true just to build up the pick. But this is a guy, had we had the first pick in the draft, we would've taken him. He's got a high hockey IQ, a high compete level, [makes] smart decisions -- the future's really bright for him. So we're excited. Our scouts are ecstatic."

"This is a guy that you don't have to tell where the weight room is, this a guy that you don't have to tell how to work hard, [and] this is a guy who knows how to practice. So he's probably going to, I'd say, be fast tracked because of the way he comes, but we're certainly not expecting him to play this year."

The Maple Leafs have only had two draft picks in the top five over the past 20 years, last selecting defenceman Luke Schenn with the fifth overall selection at the 2008 NHL Draft.

2012 NHL Draft - Round 1
1. Edmonton Oilers - Nail Yakupov (RW) - Sarnia, OHL
2. Columbus Blue Jackets - Ryan Murray (D) - Everett, WHL
3. Montreal Canadiens - Alex Galchenyuk (C) - Sarnia, OHL
4. New York Islanders - Griffin Reinhart (D) - Edmonton, WHL
5. Toronto Maple Leafs - Morgan Rielly (D) - Moose Jaw, WHL
6. Anaheim Ducks - Hampus Lindholm (D) - Rogle Jr., Sweden
7. Minnesota Wild - Matthew Dumba (D) - Red Deer, WHL
8. Pittsburgh Penguins (via Carolina) - Derrick Pouliot (D) - Portland, WHL
9. Winnipeg Jets - Jacob Trouba (D) - US West, USHL
10. Tampa Bay Lightning - Slater Koekkoek (D) - Peterborough, OHL
11. Washington Capitals - Filip Forsberg (RW) - Leksand, Sweden
12. Buffalo Sabres - Mikhail Grigorenko (C) - Quebec, QMJHL
13. Dallas Stars - Radek Faksa (C) - Kitchener, OHL
14. Buffalo Sabres (via Calgary) - Zemgus Girgensons (C) - Dubuque, USHL
15. Ottawa Senators - Cody Ceci (D) - Ottawa, OHL
16. Washington Capitals - Tom Wilson (RW) - Plymouth, OHL
17. San Jose Sharks - Tomas Hertl (C) - Slavia, Czech Republic
18. Chicago Blackhawks - Teuvo Teravainen (C) - Jokerit, Finland
19. Tampa Bay Lightning (via Detroit) - Andrei Vasilevski (G) - Ufa, Russia
20. Philadelphia Flyers - Scott Laughton (C) - Oshawa, OHL
21. Calgary Flames (via Buffalo) - Mark Jankowski (C) - Stanstead HS, Quebec
22. Pittsburgh Penguins - Olli Maatta (D) - London, OHL
23. Florida Panthers - Mike Matheson (D) - Dubuque, USHL
24. Boston Bruins - Malcolm Subban (G) - Belleville, OHL
25. St. Louis Blues - Jordan Schmaltz (D) - Green Bay, USHL
26. Vancouver Canucks - Brendan Gaunce (C) - Belleville, OHL
27. Phoenix Coyotes - Henrik Samuelsson (C/RW) - Edmonton, WHL
28. New York Rangers - Brady Skjei (D) - USA U-18, USHL
29. New Jersey Devils - Stefan Matteau - USA U-18, USHL
30. Los Angeles Kings - Tanner Pearson - Barrie, OHL

For up-to-the-minute Leafs news and updates, be sure to follow Ken Beckett on Twitter: Follow @KenBeckett

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