Puck notes: Revisiting 2015 draft as Leafs pick Bracco departs for Finland
Jeremy Bracco was once considered a steal of a draft pick, a gifted scorer and playmaker who was a second-round selection by the Leafs in 2015. But he spent the last three seasons with the AHL Marlies before signing as free agent with Carolina in October. Bracco was released this week — he didn’t play an NHL game with Toronto or Carolina — and is joining KalPa of the Finnish league.
The 2015 draft for Toronto, co-run by Kyle Dubas and Mark Hunter, was an interesting one. The Leafs had two first-rounders, and landed Mitch Marner fourth overall. They also had Nashville’s pick, 24th overall. They had Travis Konecny rated fairly high, in their top 20, but the Flyers wanted him more, and the Leafs traded down for the 29th and 61st picks. Then they traded down further, moving the 29th pick for 34th and 68th selections.
The took defenceman Travis Dermott at 34, Bracco at 61 and Latvian forward Martins Dzierkals, now in the KHL, at 68.
At the time, Dubas was praised for his trade-down philosophy. In retrospect, the Leafs traded Konecny, who is
eighth in scoring from that draft class, for Dermott and two long shots that didn’t make it. It might also be pointed out Carolina’s Sebastian Aho, fourth in scoring from that class, right behind Marner, was taken 35th, one spot after Dermott. Woulda, coulda, shoulda.
> Good line: “Starting pitchers have not been announced.” — TSN’s Gord Miller, in promoting the upcoming three-game series between the Canucks and the Leafs.
> Farewell, Jim: Jim Rutherford managed Stanley Cup winners in Carolina and Pittsburgh. Quite a remarkable feat. It’s
only happened once before that a GM was the boss of Cup winners in different markets: Tommy Gorman, who won with the Black Hawks (1934), the Montreal Maroons (1935) and the Canadiens (1944, 1946). Rutherford, rightly, is in the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder. And one of his Detroit Red Wings masks is in the goaltender display. But his career with the Leafs? Yikes: 4-10-2 with a 5.12 goals-against average in 1980-81. He played for three teams that season, and eight more games the next two before his 13-year NHL career ended.
> The search begins: I had a former executive tell me this week he “can’t understand” how Mark Hunter is not a GM in the NHL. The former Leafs assistant GM apparently is on the Penguins’ list as they look for a full-time replacement for Rutherford. So is former Leafs GM John Ferguson Jr. And current Leafs assistant GM Laurence Gilman.
> Road stories: With players having to stay in their rooms on road trips, Red Wings veteran Bobby Ryan has gone old school between the morning skate and the game. “There’s eight hours to fill with nothing but a meal and books to read,” said Ryan. “I’m into ‘The Road’ right now. I’ve got ‘Cannery Row’ by Steinbeck up next. I brought five. Better be prepared.”
It was suggested to him he add “War and Peace” to his list. “I’m going on the ‘100 Books Every Person Must Read’ I found on a website. I’ve done 12 or 13 the past six months. I don’t drink anymore. I’ve got a lot of time to kill. I’ve got to find things to do.”
> Trivia time: With Alexander Steen’s recent retirement, Anton Stralman is the last active NHLer to have played alongside Mats Sundin in Toronto. There are of course a few players still around from the Sundin era, like
Joe Thornton, but none were Leafs at the same time as No. 13.
> Interesting week: The NWHL had a fairly solid start to its bubble season in Lake Placid, N.Y. Then things went sideways. First off, I’m impressed with the NWHL’s overall presentation so far. The Twitch feeds have worked. Their website is solid. Their coverage includes reporting from places like NBC and Sportsnet. But the Metropolitan Riveters withdrew due to COVID and the league appears to be at war with Barstool Sports. Barstool CEO Erika Nardini wants to buy a team but the league says it wants nothing to do with podcasting platform that has been criticized for offensive views and commentary. If nothing else, the NWHL’s profile rose.
> Who knew? The Canadian national women’s team was quiet by comparison. The training camp for the world championship, which hopefully takes place in April in Halifax and Truro, N.S., wrapped up Friday in Calgary. Did you even know? Coverage seemed to be limited to two tweets a day from @HockeyCanada and hardly any at all from @HC_Women. Our national women’s team deserves better.