The Toronto Maple Leafs have made their final pick of the 2009 NHL Draft. Here's what has been added to the Leafs' cupboard:
7th Overall - 1st Round: Nazem Kadri, London Knights, OHL (Hockey's Future)
Once projected as a sure-fire top-10 selection, Kadri's draft status dropped significantly during the regular season, but began to climb back with a strong playoff performance. Offensively gifted and showing a greater appreciation for the defensive side of his game, Kadri could be a wild card in this draft. Teams picking in the latter-half of the lottery may look to scoop him up based on his offensive potential. However, he could just as easily slide into the high teens, early 20s based upon questionable scouting and combine results.50th overall - 2nd Round: Kenny Ryan, US National Team Development Program U18 (The Hockey Writers)
His childhood hockey idol was Darren McCarty because “he played with so much energy and grit”, which tells you something about Ryan’s work ethic. NHL Central Scouting’s Gary Eggleston stated “Ryan is a solid skater who is strong on his skates, has good balance and his hard to knock off his feet. Has good overall speed and works hard in all zones. He is strong in the corners, is aware of defensive responsibilities and backchecks well. Ryan plays a rugged two-way game.” Ryan has good anticipation of how the play will develop. He is definitely more of a shooter than playmaker.58th Overall - 2nd Round: Jesses Blacker, Windsor Spitfires, OHL (Hockey's Future)
Blacker was solid throughout the 2008-09 season, playing a positionally sound game, which helped him make smart defensive plays. He rarely was caught out of position and did not resort to taking reactionary penalties. Has the size to be a solid NHL defenseman, but his overall game could still use some work.68th Overall - 3rd Round: Jamie Devane, Plymouth Whalers, OHL (HockeyFights)
No write-up but a lot of videos of him scrapping are available here.128th Overall - 5th Round: Eric Knodel, Philadelphia Jr. Flyers USMAAA
This guy has a blog. I'm trying to see if I can find out some more about him.158th Overall - 6th Round: Jerry D'Amigo, US National Team Development Program U18
I have some audio to upload so I'll have more to come on this guy188th Overall - 7th Round: Barron Smith, Peterborough Petes, OHL (HFBoards)
Barron Smith's father is former Edmonton Oilers great Steve Smith. Secondly, [he was] playing in [his] first season in the OHL with a fair amount of hype after playing previously in the United States. And lastly, [he] disappointed in [his] play this season...was [not] billed as the second coming of Bryan Fogarty, the fact that [he was] able to make such a small impact on the ice is alarming.Smith was unable to play his way on to a deep London blueline and was eventually traded to Peterborough (as part of the Trevor Cann deal). While [his] bloodline may still get [him] drafted, there is no question that [he] will go a lot lower than [he] would have if [had] had [a] stronger season.