Latest news with #MarkLeach
National Post
8 hours ago
- Sport
- National Post
LEAFS NOTES: Toronto not feeling a first round draft as picking starts
The Maple Leafs weren't out to quench any thirst for a first in Friday night's first round of the National Hockey League draft. Article content Having made their bed, trading the 25th pick to Chicago for Jake McCabe two years ago, they seemed ready to sleep through the opening chapter versus trading up and get back to work Saturday morning. They will have six picks in the ensuing six rounds, starting at 64th overall. Article content Article content General manager Brad Treliving was suggesting this week there was an equal chance the Leafs move further down the order, not higher, if another team liked a player at 64th and perhaps offers them two picks in return. Article content It's not unheard of for Toronto to find a diamond in the rough at 64, with 1990s forward Frederik Modin and current defence prospect Topi Niemela, but any choices at that position are usually long-term projects. Article content 'I'm just interested in the best available talent and the guy who competes and works hard,' amateur scouting director Mark Leach told reporters on Thursday of what he would seek at that spot. Article content TAVARES SEEING RED Article content When we asked newly re-signed John Tavares where his game is at in his mid-30s, he threw his name in the ring for another shot with Team Canada at the 2026 Olympics in Milan-Cortina. Article content Tavares has played on various national sides in his career and it was a huge letdown for him not to be invited to the 4 Nations Face-Off last February. But it will have been 12 years since he won Olympic gold in 2014 at Sochi and this time he'd be nearing age 36. Article content Article content 'I really take a lot of pride in how I try to get better, approach the game and my craft,' he said. 'There's a tremendous amount of belief in who I am and what I can do. Article content 'I have always stated my desire to give it every opportunity to play for Team Canada on the biggest stage at the biggest events. You hope you can earn that, There's tremendous amount of belief I have to play at an elite level and continue to evolve. Article content The Canadiens announced this week that their Prospect Showdown returns to the Bell Centre, Sept. 13-14. The best young Habs and Leafs will be joined by the Ottawa Senators and Winnipeg Jets. Toronto plays the Sens at 1 p.m. on Sat. Sept. 13 and Montreal at 3 p.m. next day.
New York Times
a day ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Draft guide: Picks, best fits and analysis
The Toronto Maple Leafs have six picks in the 2025 NHL Draft: Nos. 64, 86, 137, 153, 185, 217. Here's what to expect. Toronto hasn't had many high picks recently, so the system is thin, but especially after trading Fraser Minten, the Maple Leafs' thinnest position is up the middle with no real NHL prospect on the way at center. In recent mock drafts, Corey Pronman has projected the following picks: 63. Peyton Kettles, D 86. Lasse Boelius, D 137. David Rozsival, RW 153. Emile Guite, LW 185. Josh McGregor, D 217. Dawson Gerwing, LW Despite not having a high pick, the Leafs believe new director of amateur scouting Mark Leach's 28 seasons scouting for the Detroit Red Wings and the Dallas Stars provided him with the know-how to unearth gems outside of the first round. Advertisement '(Leach's) feeling is that there are players to be found in every round,' Leafs GM Brad Treliving said at his end-0f-season availability. 'His history has shown that.' The Leafs will hope to hit with their late second-round pick just as they did in 2021 with Matthew Knies (57th overall). How Leach approaches this draft could mark the beginning of a new era for the Leafs at the draft table. What do Fraser Minten, Easton Cowan and Ben Danford have in common? All were projected to go lower than where the Leafs picked them with their first selections in the 2022, 2023 and 2024 drafts. And all project to have NHL careers, too. Former director of amateur scouting Wes Clark's picks might have been considered way off the board by some, but they all showed his preference to draft based on prospects' drive and determination. Now, Leach isn't low on competitiveness by any means. He simply prioritizes skill and hockey IQ and isn't afraid to let players take their time developing to see that skill (possibly) play out at the NHL level. What does that mean for the Leafs at the 2025 draft? If there is skill and size to be found when the Leafs make their first pick, they might not overthink their pick that much. Here's a look at some players who might be available — and on the Leafs' radar — when they announce their first pick (assuming it remains No. 64 at the end of the second round). — Joshua Kloke (Photo of Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
National Post
2 days ago
- Sport
- National Post
LEAFS NOTES: Experiencing a long-distance draft, and a new job for Rick Vaive
The Maple Leafs' first 2025 draft pick, whoever he is and which day of the draft he is announced, likely will be 4,000 kilometres away from his new team when chosen. Article content But Toronto's hockey department, working out of their Ford Performance Centre office this Friday and Saturday, won't be alone with any separation anxiety in this de-centralized draft. Most other teams will be at home bases, while 100 or so prospects are gathered with commissioner Gary Bettman at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. Article content Article content While Leafs amateur scouting director Mark Leach told the Toronto Sun last week that things should go smoothly, given 'COVID' drafts in 2020 and 2021 had to be virtual, all teams and the viewing public will have to manage some technical challenges of being scattered across the continent. Article content 'We thought this would be simpler, and it's actually become way more complicated,' Steve Mayer, league president of content and events, told the Associated Press this week as he monitored the L.A. set. 'Everything has to be spot on. It was so much easier when you can look at (draft) table No. 6 and they were making their pick.' Article content The first 32 players will be chosen Friday night. Toronto's first-round pick is owned by Chicago from the Jake McCabe trade two years ago, meaning it won't pick Friday unless trading up, and is currently up 64th at the end of Saturday's second round. Article content SAINTLY REVIVAL FOR RICK Article content In the 1980s, Rick Vaive and other Leafs were familiar with coach John Brophy's stark description of being sent down the QEW in St. Catharines with the American Hockey League Saints. Article content 'It's 75 miles to get there and 75,000 miles back,' the late Brophy would direly warn the players, hoping to motivate them to fight harder for jobs with the parent team. Article content Now it's the 66-year-old Vaive who will be coaching where Brophy once did in St. Kitts, with the newly created senior Saints of the Allan Cup Hockey League. This will be a more player-friendly, a five-team league with roster ages in the late 20s and early 30s. Article content Vaive has been bitten by the coaching bug again. After AHL and ECHL jobs, the one-time Leafs captain last ran a bench in 2001 with the OHL's Mississauga IceDogs. Article content 'This just came up and I remembered how I loved doing it,' Vaive said. 'I'm starting from scratch, but I still love working with players. They have day jobs and we'll practice just once a week. And it could lead to something else for me, who knows.' Article content Vaive was impressed with St. Catharines owner Pat Smith's plans to renovate Bill Burgoyne Arena, which currently holds close to 1,000 spectators, and his plans to recruit local Niagara Peninsula hockey talent at October's training camp. Vaive, who lives in the area, agrees his NHL fame won't hurt in attracting other free agents.
West Australian
21-06-2025
- Politics
- West Australian
Never Again is Now leader Mark Leach in Perth to warn that anti-Semitism threatens Aussie way of life
Never Again is Now leader Mark Leach in Perth to warn that anti-Semitism threatens Aussie way of life
National Post
19-06-2025
- Sport
- National Post
Depth in picks won't necessarily turn into draft gold for Maple Leafs
Dig into that draft depth, Maple Leafs. Article content Currently with no selection in the 2025 National Hockey League draft until the last pick of the second round, Leafs amateur scouting director Mark Leach and his staff will have to bide their time next weekend. Article content Article content Barring trades by general manager Brad Treliving, the Leafs are about to embark on a run of three consecutive drafts without a first-round choice. Consider that since 2011, there have been only three drafts that the Leafs didn't announce the name of a prospect in the first round. Article content Article content In 2022, Toronto picked Fraser Minten with their first selection at No. 38; in 2021, Matthew Knies was snagged at No. 57 and, in 2019, Nick Robertson was taken at No. 53. Article content There might be a good prospect available when the Leafs make their first choice at No. 64. Whether they get it right, we're not going to know for several years. Article content Article content As for organizational needs, they're not really applicable without a first-round pick. Taking the best player available (as deemed by you and your staff) would be the most prudent route. Article content With this in mind, we take a look forward and a glance back to see where the Leafs stand heading into the draft. Article content The final order of the draft was set once the Stanley Cup final between the victorious Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers finished on Tuesday night. The Leafs will have six picks: Nos. 64, 86 (third round), 137 and 153 (fifth round), 185 (sixth round) and 217 (seventh round). Article content The Leafs have known for a while they weren't going to have a first-round pick this year, going back to the Kyle Dubas era. Article content In February 2023, in the trade with the Chicago Blackhawks in which defenceman Jake McCabe was the centrepiece coming to Toronto, a conditional first-round pick in 2025 was sent to the Blackhawks. The pick was top-10 protected and when the Leafs qualified for the playoffs early in April, it became Chicago's selection. It's going to be the 25th pick overall. Article content Article content The choice at 64th came via the Panthers in a swap of picks between the teams last June. Article content Originally, the Leafs would have had the 57th pick. Now owned by Seattle, the pick has changed teams several times since the Leafs traded a conditional pick to Arizona in February 2022 in a deal that brought defenceman Ilya Lyubushkin to Toronto. The Coyotes had a choice between the Leafs' third-round pick in 2023 or the second-round pick in '25 and went with the latter before trading it (now in Utah) to Tampa Bay. Article content The 86th pick was acquired in the trade last October that sent defenceman Timothy Liljegren to San Jose. The Leafs would have had the 89th pick, but traded it to Anaheim (which then sent it to the New York Rangers in the Chris Kreider trade last week) in a February 2024 swap for forward Kirill Slepets.
