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erikvm · 03-13-2023, 04:36 PM

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Toronto in any way, I am just super into their whole rebuild plan and I loved seeing this draft come to fruition.

As Chad Kroeger of the legendary Canadian band Nickleback just stated, look at this photograph and tell me what you see. I’ll wait. No, it’s okay, keep looking, are you seeing what I’m seeing, because I’m seeing Sam Hinkie levels of tanking and draft capital from the Toronto North Stars, and I love it. 25% of the first 2 rounds of picks went to Toronto, overall 10 picks in the first two rounds, and I’m going to talk about the implications of this draft. Not every player will be a slam dunk pick, but if every player is at least semi to mostly active, this is a core that could carry Toronto to a dynasty.

Toronto blowing up an entire core of players at the tail end of their championship window was a brave move when management was at a fork in the road. They could go for one last ride and try to win again, or blow it up and set the groundwork for a potential dynasty, and I think they made the right choice based on the competition coming out of both the eastern and western conferences. As we saw Philadelphia win it all this year, you have to wonder if Toronto could have even competed against them, they went on a roll towards the end of their playoffs and beat a favored Winnipeg team in 5 games, and this makes Toronto’s choice to blow it up even more savvy.

Let’s look at the first two rounds by player and see what they can potentially bring to their new team once they are SHL eligible, and if they will end up being called up early due to Toronto’s need for skaters at the pro level.

Stars

Pick #4 - LW Alvin Wong - Alvin had a great season on a rebuilding Yukon team, his game rating was 4 higher than anyone else on the team at 75, and he had 39 points in 66 games in his rookie season. His signature also rocks, so that’s definitely a positive, can’t wait to see the Toronto one in the future.

Stars

Pick #6 - RW Kyle Latrielle - Kyle was rocking on the third line on a very stacked Grizzlies offense, he took advantage of limited ice-time, also putting up 39 points in 66 games. He will have a chance to shine on a Grizzlies team that will be using Bobby McGinnis and Hai Nam Hoang to SHL call-ups, Wong and Latrielle could be future perennial linemates in Toronto.

Stars

Pick #8 - LD Ace Lightning - Ace was a 2nd line defenseman on a Nevada team that was coming out of their championship window, but Ace can be a key factor in bringing Nevada back to the cup in the future, plus Toronto is showing a lot of faith in him as the future of the North Stars blue line.

Stars

Pick #14 - RW Nathan Cormier - This was a steal of a pick, I thought for sure he was a top 10 pick this draft. A key contributor to a bit of a cinderella run to the cup championship, QCC beat 4th-ranked Great Falls, 5th-ranked Newfoundland and 1st-ranked Detroit to win the cup, and Nathan had 53 points in 66 games on the team and will be a key component in QCC’s cup window.

Stars

Pick #23 - G Rhett Carpet - A potential first-round pick, Rhett is the future in net in both Newfoundland, and now Toronto. Rhett has the potential to lock down the net for this core of players, and I love the pick.

Stars

Pick #24 - RW Smurfunkle Dothe - Another absolute steal, someone who had the potential go top-10, with 55 points in 66 games on a great QCC team, he and Nathan Cormier are going to potentially be teammates throughout all of their SMJHL and SHL careers, and the chemistry will be there, after already winning in the J.

Stars

Pick #26 - RW Josh Latrielle - Get the brotherly connections! Josh’s numbers don’t jump off the page, but getting him to play with his brother in the future is something that can inspire loyalty to from both players to the Toronto franchise, and who knows, maybe next year it will be Josh’s turn to lead the brothers in points, but Kyle will have words to say about that!

Stars

Pick #33 - C William Tree - I love this pick value-wise as well, William had a solid season on a great Maine team, and as a center brings a lot of value up the middle with this winger-heavy draft out of Toronto. Look for him to center the 2nd line in Toronto in the future, and maybe even the 1st if he reaches his potential.

Stars

Pick #38 - RW Anthony Simmons II - This draft is just amazing in my opinion, Anthony is a solid winger and a rough but up-and-coming Vancouver team, that has the potential for first-round talent, and he will have to prove that he can hang with the other wingers of this Toronto class.

Stars

Pick #40 - C Wednesday Addams - User issues aside, Wednesday is a solid two-way center that Toronto likely got at steal value because of said user issues, but if Wednesday can keep her head down and put in the work, as a center she is in a great position to succeed with class stacked with solid wingers.

This draft pretty much is an S-tier draft for me, because it solidifies the winger position for years to come, and they can continue focusing on the rebuild to get more centers and defensemen in the coming years. Ace and Rhett might have their work cut out for them when they come up their first year but I think this team has a bright, bright future, and I think their success getting quality players to replace their core they traded these picks for shows that the front office of Toronto had a clear idea what they wanted to do this draft and they executed on it.

***Wally*** · 03-13-2023, 04:59 PM

Really excited for the future and the teamwork going forward... Great article! Stars

*Eggcracker* · 03-13-2023, 06:10 PM

SUPER TEAM.... ASSEMBLE!!!!
Stars

***_Blitz_*** · 03-13-2023, 06:25 PM

Hey! Looks like quite the article. As a heads up, though, it doesn't appear in Dark Mode. You can fix it by going into the Source Edit mode and remove the font tag at the top that changes the text to small, black lettering. This formatting can be avoided in the future by pasting as plain text with Ctrl+Shift+V.

*Carpy48* · 03-14-2023, 03:09 AM

Hype!

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