The Toronto Maple Leafs continued to focus on acquiring skill and adding players that will have extra time to develop on Day 2 on the 2020 NHL Draft. After selecting winger Rodion Amirov 15th overall on Tuesday, the Leafs selected 11 players and made three trades to move up and down.
Although Director of Amateur Scouting John Lilley indicated that it was a coincidence, Toronto appears to have implemented a strategy of selecting players playing in Europe or bound for U.S. colleges that gives them extra time to evaluate before signing them to NHL contracts. Of the dozen players selected (three Russians, four Finns, three Americans, and two Canadians). six are currently playing in the Finnish SM-Liiga, KHL or junior levels), five headed to the NCAA, while only one is playing in the CHL. Here is a breakdown of the Leafs picks from Lilley and other draft evaluators:
Lilley : We took (Hirvonen) out of Assat in the Finnish Elite League, played last year as a 17 year old in a pro league, he's back there again. A really smart cerebral player, who can improve his outright speed, but he has good edges. Has good offensive instincts and a player that plays on the Finnish national team. We've seen a lot with them. He's got good offensive upside and he's a competitive kid. I know he's not a bigger kid, but he's certainly competitive and hard on pucks.
Lassi Alanen of Elite Prospects : Though he only showed it in flashes at the Liiga level last season, Hirvonen is a very skilled playmaker who makes his money running a power play from the right half-wall (though he played a lot on the bumper spot last season, which is wasting his talents). He’s a creative handler who can fool defenders while attacking off the rush, utilizing a rather long stick for his size. Hirvonen showed these skills more at the international level and in the junior ranks, and I’ll fully expect that he’s going to be able to use them more in Liiga in the upcoming seasons as he gains strength and experience.
TOR picks Roni Hirvonen at 59 overall.
Such a smart forward. Really good playmaker, really good skill level. Projects as a winger rather than center due to average skating and lack of size. #Leafspic.twitter.com/L2wnB6AaI5
Lilley : He's a 5' 11 1/2" defenseman. He's a really good defender, really quick to close gaps, take away time and space. Last year as a 17 year old he played the Finnish Elite League, and was excellent defending. He's a first pass guy, not necessarily going to run your power play. Good instincts....not the biggest guy, so not overly physical at this time since he's playing against men. One of the best defensive instincts in the entire draft.
Alanen EP : It speaks volumes about Niemelä that coaches at seemingly every level like and trust him. He’s a strong skater in both directions and has very impressive lateral movement. He’s a confident player with the puck, showing no fear against forecheckers in Liiga. He can distribute the puck through layers on the breakout and also has the feet to carry the puck up the ice himself. Defensively, he was able to hold his own against pro-level opposition.
Toronto picks Topi Niemelä at 64 overall.
Really good value at this point of the draft. Strong, mobile skater with really good smarts. Really good in transition, both making outlet passes and making stops at the blue line. Offensive game is a bit of question mark. #Leafspic.twitter.com/4TTsBn0oJy
Artur Akhtyamov – G - 4th round – 106th overall – Kazan Jr. (Russia)
Lilley : (Akhtyamov) is a guy that we did a lot of work on with all our goalie guys. He's a little bit older, but we felt he's got potential. Had a great save percentage and a good season in the MHL over in Russia. He's a goalie, so it's gonna take time, but we thought he was worthy of the pick where we selected him.
William Villeneuve – D - 4th round – 122nd overall – Saint John(QMJHL)
Lilley : He had about 49 assists last year, really good puck mover. A little bit raw, has some things to work on with this skating, but really offensive, good on the power play and a competitive kid.
Lilley : We saw (Ovchinnikov) maybe a quarter way through the year. We didn't have as much intel on him the last few years, like we do with a lot of these guys. He's playing in the KHL right now, splitting (time) between there and the MHL. Really good speed, good offensive instincts and someone who just valued his offensive abilities.
Veeti Miettinen – RW – 6th round – 168th overall – St. Cloud St. (NCAA)
Lilley : He played Finnish junior, scored a lot. He's good goal scorer. He is committed to St. Cloud in the NCAA, he's waiting on his visa, so he's not actually playing right now but we saw him numerous times with his club team, but also he played some national team games as well.
Alanen : He cracked Blues’ U20 squad for the first time in 2017-2018 and followed that up with a dominant campaign in 2018-2019 playing together with formerly mentioned Roni Hirvonen. While Hirvonen moved on to Liiga, Miettinen opted for the NCAA route instead and decided to stay for another season.
He’s got a very quick wrist shot that he uses to beat goalies off-the-rush and in close. Miettinen is a dangerous player when he gets too much space on the half-wall as he’s got a good two-step acceleration that he employs to gain separation before unleashing his shot.
Axel Rindell – D – 6th round – 177th overall – Jukurit (SM-liiga)
Lilley : He's a 2000 (birth year), so he is a little bit older, a little bit of a late bloomer. I think you're 22 points last year in the Elite League. Moves the puck well, can skate well, so another guy that we valued where we took him. We think he's got upside and plays the right way.
Alanen : A former forward who transitioned to a defenceman quite late into his career, Rindell’s strengths are on the offensive side of things. He’s got a dangerous wrist shot that makes him a power play threat, but he can also find players in the slot with passes and activate from the point without hesitation when he sees an opening. Rindell’s hands also get a good grade from me and he definitely has the confidence to use them. It’s always fun to see a defenseman trying between-the-legs deke off the rush.
Joe Miller – C – 6th round – 180th overall – Blake (Minn H.S.)
Lilley : Miller played in Minnesota high school last year. He's in Chicago in the USHL, on a path to go to the University of Minnesota. He's really underdeveloped young man, with blazing speed, can score. Just as a lot of upside, a lot of growth his game
John Fusco – D – 7th round – 189th overall – Harvard (NCAA)
Lilley : Fusco is committed to Harvard, he's at Harvard taking remote classes. He played high school prep hockey at Dexter last year. Really competitive, this kid plays the game hard, wants to win, was the captain of his team.
Lilley : (Schingoethe) is a good two way player and just under a point a game this year. He's got another year in Waterloo and then he's off to University of Denver, so a really good development plan for him. We saw value in him late, he's got a long development path.
Ryan Tverberg – C – 7th round – 213th overall – Toronto Jr. Canadiens(OJHL)
Lilley : A local kid, we got a ton of kind of looks on in the last year. He's another kid that's committed to Harvard, not this year...he's going back with the Canadiens. A lot of guys really went to bat for him, especially late. We acquired a pick for him tech forum and we like his development path, he's got time on his side.
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Listen to some excellent pre-draft talk with myself, Sportsology’s Russ Cohen, Anthony Mingioni, and Shane Malloy.
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