Have a Little Patience

Let's get right to the heart of things shall we?

I wondered how long it took the average highly-touted defensive prospect to make the jump to being a top four defenceman, so I went back over the last 10 drafts to see. I looked at every defenceman taken in the top 10 spots in the draft, and counted the years it took for them to be playing top-four even-strength minutes for their hockey club.

..... (it) means that for teams looking to rebuild their blue-line, unless they luck out with a player like Drew Doughty, it will take between three or four years before their lottery selection is ready to make a real impact on their club.

So have some patience with Schenn and the rest of the Leafs' prospects.

Maple Leafs and Brian Burke have to little to show so far - James Mirtle
Introduced as the Maple Leafs GM on Nov. 29, 2008, Burke’s plan to rebuild on the fly can charitably be called a work in progress two years in. The Leafs have yet to make the playoffs, don’t have a first-round pick until 2012 and, after bottoming out in 29th place in the 30-team NHL a year ago with 74 points, are on pace for just 71 this season.

But with regards to Brian Burke, I think our patience is about up.