RealGM

Hey guys,

I'm not the biggest Leaf fan but I've always been a fan of the NHL drafts and I think that this year's draft looks pretty good for the Leafs.

I was just reading up and watching video on the top 5 prospects and it looks like any one of them wil be a nice building block towards a Stanley Cup in this newer, faster NHL.

As Canadians, most of us are familiar with Stamkos, but have you guys seen the video on Nakita Filatov? He's tiny but incredibly fast; like Pavel Bure in his prime fast. Take a look...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6iiORCOAlo

Beach also looks like a star. He's got leadership abilities, a nice shot and good playmaking instincts.

This is a good year to have a top 5 pick; probably better than most lately.

ppl are weary of the Russian League and its players after the Malkin situation, so I dont think Filatov would be a good investment for the Leafs, plus we have Kulemin who'll be here next year.

Stamkos, Doughty, Beach, Wilson all look like good players the Leafs could build with

Double Helix wrote:Hey guys,

I'm not the biggest Leaf fan but I've always been a fan of the NHL drafts and I think that this year's draft looks pretty good for the Leafs.

I was just reading up and watching video on the top 5 prospects and it looks like any one of them wil be a nice building block towards a Stanley Cup in this newer, faster NHL.

As Canadians, most of us are familiar with Stamkos, but have you guys seen the video on Nakita Filatov? He's tiny but incredibly fast; like Pavel Bure in his prime fast. Take a look...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6iiORCOAlo

Beach also looks like a star. He's got leadership abilities, a nice shot and good playmaking instincts.

This is a good year to have a top 5 pick; probably better than most lately.

The top 5 is definitely strong, but no real consensus is formed out of the group. The talent is spread so widely, that we could see this draft be extremely unpredictable. One thing is certain, there is an extreme amount of solid defensive prospects in the top 10. If we don't get Stamkos, I'd rather us draft a defensive shutdown type of defenseman to pair with the likes of Carlo, Stralman and Kaberle heading forward.

I don't know about Beach being the greatest leader at the moment. He's had some run-ins and one of his apparent flaws is his poor attitude.

Beach supposedly has no fire and is lazy. Thats what I heard (from a relative. My dad lol. So, not sure)

but Nathan Horton supposedly had no fire either and turned out pretty good

hard to tell who has grit and all that just from the OHL. Elite talent guys sometimes coast and I can't blame them. It's a league filled with utterly useless hockey players on the same ice with freaks

Ya the top 5 is good too bad the Leafs wont have a top 5 pick because of there regular lame late season push for a playoff spot. Anyways this is a deep draft and we will still get a good player at #9-#11 where you could possibly grab a player like Colin Wilson, Boedker, Boychuk or whoever slides (possibly Beach).

I still think Fletch will trade up in this draft and grab one of the stud defencemen if he cant trade up for Stamkos.

I would DEFINITELY take the risk on Filatov because he has all the raw talent that other Russian draft picks in the past have had, except he doesn't have the attitude. I highly doubt he drops past 4-5. And I would not be looking at Beach, because as I've said before, his attitude problems are intense and that's really why he's dropping down rankings (not to mention his poor play). ^Well trading up seems extremely difficult at this point.