Scouting survivor likes Maple Leafs’ draft options

Toronto has two first-round picks for rich and deep set of young players

The purge began immediately.

A day after the regular season ended, the Toronto Maple Leafs fired general manager Dave Nonis, head coach Peter Horachek and his entire coaching staff, as well as 16 members of the scouting department. Even the team’s video coordinator was let go.

Amid the rubble, one of the few survivors (again) was Dave Morrison.

Hired as the team’s director of amateur scouting in 2004, Morrison has worked under five general managers in Toronto. Each has had a different approach, which might explain why Morrison is the same person who drafted Tuukka Rask and Nazem Kadri, but also Tyler Biggs and Brad Ross.

Of course, he also never got to draft Tyler Seguin or Dougie Hamilton, because the team traded away the picks.

Entering his 12th draft with the Leafs — and first under interim general manager Mark Hunter — Morrison suggested the team’s approach will be similar to what we saw last year in president Brendan Shanahan’s first draft, when Toronto selected William Nylander with the eighth overall pick.

“The philosophy changed,” Morrison said at this week’s NHL Draft Combine in Buffalo. “But I think that’s gradually been happening over the last year as Shanny’s imprint is being made on this team. It’s being made on us, in terms of management and scouting.

“We know what we’re looking for and what we want and philosophically how things are going to be run. There may be a greater emphasis on a certain type of player, certain things.”

Ask what Shanahan’s philosophy is at the draft and you get a bunch of non-answers regarding choosing the “best player available” and “guys with upside” and “NHL potential”. Read between the lines, however, and it is clear that the emphasis is on top-end skill.

The Leafs, who have been criticized over the years for drafting conservatively, do not simply want NHL players. They are looking for NHL stars.

And with two first-round picks — No. 4 and No. 24 — the expectation is that they should be able to find them.

“It looks like a good one,” Morrison said of this year’s draft class. “The best one of all time? I have a hard time tagging it better than the ‘84-85 group of kids (in the 2003 draft that produced players such as Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Eric Staal) back in the day. But it’s good. It’s a good first round.

“Clearly, the top couple of guys there are special type players. So when you’ve got them right off the hop, it gives it a feel of it being something special. Time will tell what it produces.”

Barring a blockbuster trade with either Edmonton or Buffalo, it appears that Toronto will miss out on consensus No. 1 pick Connor McDavid and No. 2 pick Jack Eichel. But depending on who the Arizona Coyotes select at No. 3, the Leafs should be able to choose between Erie Otters’ centre Dylan Strome, London Knights’ winger Mitch Marner and Boston College defenceman Noah Hanifin.

“It all depends on what Arizona does,” said Morrison. “The Top 2 are straightforward and then who knows? Hopefully, as it gets closer, we have a better idea. But when there’s a team in front of you, we might not know until they call a name out. We’ll be prepared either way.

“If they take Player X, we’ll take Player Y. If they take Player Y, we take Player X or Z. But there’s players to be excited about, that’s for sure.”

For the Leafs, the bigger selections could come later in the first round with the draft pick that they acquired from the Nashville Predators as well as the other rounds. In the last six years, the Leafs have not had a player selected after the first round who has played more than 31 games in the NHL.

That has to change. And Morrison, with the help of Hunter and the analytics department (“they’ve added a different insight and are helping us make decisions,” said Morrison), is hoping to change that.

“At this point, where we’re at is we’re trying to turn this thing around,” said Morrison. “This draft should certainly help us.”