There were some surprise picks in the first round, which means some guys I wouldn't have expected to be available in the second round suddenly are. The more players get pushed down, the clearer it is who will be available when Toronto's next pick comes up.

While I heard there was a possibility of guys like Jonas Lagerberg Hoen and Jaxon Cover being taken in the late first round, it's sad to see them be taken... and both by Ottawa, no less.

My Top Players Still Available

Aside from the players I'll mention below, the top players I profiled that I would take in a heartbeat if they're available at 60th would be:

  • Ryder Cali – Pronman mocked him at 37th, and Wheeler mocked him at 36th so he's a stretch.
  • Alexander Bilecki – Pronman AND Wheeler both mocked him to Toronto at 60th, which I would be ecstatic about.
  • Måns Gudmundsson – Pronman mocked him at 32nd, but Wheeler mocked him at 59th.

If I were to rank the three I would have Cali and Bilecki basically tied, but gun to my head I'd take Bilecki if I had to choose between the two. Gudmundsson would also be a very good pick. Behind Gustafsson, Bilecki is probably my favourite prospect in this draft... so naturally I expect he'll be taken by Boston (56th), Carolina (57th), or Dallas (59th) right before Toronto's pick comes up. He's someone I would honestly use the 60th and 69th picks to trade up higher to guarantee getting, honestly.

Who Could Slip Into Toronto's Range?

Some of these looked like they were more likely to fall out of the first round even weeks ago. Others only looked like they could potentially be available on day two as the final mock drafts came out the past week. Regardless, I'll list the ones I've already profiled or talked about here:

Any of those five are very interesting to me. But they wouldn't be the most desired picks for me, that would be one of these two who, despite surprisingly falling out of the first round will most assuredly be gone before 60th comes up. But a guy can hope... and the Hockey Gods owe me for so cruelly taking Malte Gustafsson away from me! Who knows, maybe the Leafs love one of them and have an opportunity to trade up to get them.

Casey Mutryn

  • Position: Right-shot winger
  • League(s): US National Development Team
  • Height: 6'3"
  • Weight: 203 lbs
  • Birthdate: Jul 5, 2008

What if Matthew Knies, but a right shot? That's actually not a great comparable other than them both being big power wingers. Pronman mocked him at 28th, Wheeler at 32nd, so while it's not a major surprise that he fell out of the first round, I thought for sure the type of player he is would lead him to being taken a bit "early" compared to those rankings.

Mutryn is a relentless, north-south puck-seeking missile on the forecheck. He uses a combination of size and speed to completely terrorize opposing defensemen trying to retrieve the puck, dominate them along the boards on loose puck battles, come away with the puck and then protect it through high-traffic areas. Beyond his physical strength, Mutryn has a unique tools-skill combination. He has solid vision and processes the play on the ice quickly, then has enough passing ability to thread low-to-high slot passes to his teammates in the slot rather than simply settling for the easiest, perimeter play. In this sense, he projects to be a better playmaker than Knies, but his power-tools will help him pick up goals around the net.

The issues with Mutryn's game are mostly around the perception that he has poor finishing skills, which I don't completely agree with but I would agree it's not a big strength for him right now. He is also like Knies in that he isn't the most dynamic puck handler, which means he also can't create good shot chances for himself. Personally, I don't mind a power-playmaker that can do the dirty work then set up his teammates for scoring chances. I also think his shot can be mechanically improved a bit easier than one can improve their vision and playmaking. There are mixed reviews for his skating mechanics, but it's not something that makes him slow – it likely affects his agility and explosiveness moreso, and again mechanical things like that can be worked on to some degree fairly easily.

William Håkansson

  • Position: Left-shot defenseman
  • League(s): SHL / Allsvenskan / U20 Nationell
  • Height: 6'4"
  • Weight: 216 lbs
  • Birthdate: Oct 8, 2007

Håkansson was the other high end defense prospect from Sweden this year. He's no Gustafsson, but I still like him. Pronman's mock draft had him at 21st, and Wheeler had him at 25th. Sam Cosentino, who also has decently accurate mock drafts, had him 24th. Like Gustafsson, he also mostly played this season in Sweden's pro leagues – but he split it with 22 games in the SHL, and then 16 games on loan in the second tier pro league. He was also often Gustafsson's partner internationally at the World U18s, the WJAC, and other miscellaneous games.

Also like Gustafsson, Håkansson has highly projectable size at 6'4" and 216 lbs but combines that with very strong four-way mobility. In fact, if you want a simple comparison take everything I raved about with Gustafsson and just turn the dial down a bit. He is also an efficient and calm transition driver, he consistently "tilts the ice" by driving clean retrievals and exit rates across junior and professional leagues at solid rates. He has an accurate first pass and (perhaps) underrated puck handling and carrying ability. Defensively, he has an enormous range with his reach and mobility, and a good active stick to play a smothering, swarming style against puck carriers. He protects the front of the net with the leverage he has with his size and physicality, and he's a good shot blocker if you're into that kind of thing.

The main issues with Håkansson is with his projection due to a slower, calculated style of play. The concern is that he may not have the processing speed to make rapid decision-making that is basically required as a defenseman in the NHL. He's already on the older side as an October 2007 birthday, and while in the SHL and Allsvenskan he at times looked hesitant and overly careful. However, I do think that can look worse than it is because he normally plays a "calm and poised" style, so the line between that and looking too hesitant or cautious is a thin one. In addition, his offensive game is even more raw than Gustafsson's. A lot of his passing and shooting in the offensive zone comes when he's stationary, so he really needs to learn to get moving and mobile to get the defense moving and open passing or shooting lanes. I do think he suffers more criticism because he often was playing on his wrong side, especially in the Allsvenskan. Some guys may be good at adapting to that, but he doesn't seem comfortable with it. Especially not while he's also adapting to pro hockey.

For what it's worth, Håkansson did make some noteworthy improvements over this past season. His skating mechanics noticeably improved, helping him with changing directions quickly when he needed to make quick pivots while on defense at the pro levels. His edgework also improved, which helped him on transitions to the greatest extent. His defensive details and positioning got better as he adapted to the pace and skill of the pros. And by the end of the season he was starting to keep his feet moving while handling the puck in the offensive zone. If he makes it to Toronto's pick he'd be a solid player to take and work on as a project.

So all in all, looking at these names, I would have my personal preferences in the following order regardless of ranking:

  • Alexander Bilecki
  • Ryder Cali
  • William Håkansson
  • Mathis Preston
  • Casey Mutryn
  • Niklas Aaram-Olsen
  • Xavier Villeneuve
  • Simas Ignatavicius
  • Adam Goljer

Others who may wind up being taken in the range of Toronto's 2nd and 3rd round picks, since they're so close together:

  • Brek Liske (RD)
  • Rudolfs Berzkalns (C)
  • Adam Andersson (C)
  • Luke Schairer (RD)
  • Ben Macbeath (LD)
  • Olivers Murnieks (C)
  • Jayden Kurtz (RD)
  • Ethan Mackenzie (LD)
  • Charlie Morrison (LD)

The reason why I'm listing all of these guys out is because they add up to 18 players. There are 15 others who are very commonly ranked or mocked higher in the second round, so it's my long way of saying there's a very good chance that one of my preferred options is available for Toronto's 2nd round pick. And that makes me happy!

Thanks for reading!

I put a lot of work into my prospect articles here, both for the draft and Toronto's prospects. I do it as a fun hobby for me, and I'd probably do it in some capacity even if PPP completely ceased to exist. But if you like reading my work, some support would go a long way! I pay for a few streaming services (CHL, NCAA, USHL, the occasional TSN options for international tournaments that are broadcast) to be able to reliably watch these prospects in good quality streams. I also pay for some prospect-specific resources, such as tracking data and scouting reports from outlets like Elite Prospects, Future Considerations, McKeen's Hockey, The Athletic, and more.

Being able to get paid for this helps me dedicate more time and resources to it, rather than to second/third jobs. And whatever money I make here, a lot of I reinvest back into my prospect work through in those streaming and scouting services. Like I said, I'd be doing whatever I can afford for this anyway, so any financial help I get through this is greatly appreciated!

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