Last night was the first day of the 2018 NHL Draft, covering the first round. The Leafs came into the night with the 25th overall pick, and there was Joe Veleno tumbling down from his expected draft spot in the 10 to 15 range. But when our turn came Dubas looked at the camera...

QUELLE DRAMATIQUE!

The Leafs wound up trading down with St Louis, so the Leafs moved down four spots to 29 to acquire the 76th overall pick in the third round.

But there was Joe Veleno, still being passed over until he was AGAIN available to the Leafs at 29. Kyle Dubas actually burst out laughing at some point and I thought for sure he was going to trade down again. Instead, he stood up and came up with the whole posse, and announced that they were picking Rasmus Sandin, a LHD from the OHL.

The description of him being small, but a good skater and passer and with a bit of snarl he can’t back up with muscle (yet) reminds me a lot of Travis Dermott. That turned out pretty good too. Want to see him for yourself? You can watch a full game of him playing for Sweden in the Ivan Hlinka tournament:

As for what Leafs Twitter thought? It was either reserved or even a big mad, depending on the person’s respective opinion on passing Veleno and on Sandin himself. I really wanted Veleno, as a highly skilled center that was dropping into their laps and was thought to go much earlier. I’m seeing some good things about Sandin himself, it just seemed like a golden opportunity to go with Veleno as the higher ranked guy. But I’m by no means a draft expert, and Dubas REALLY seemed to like Sandin’s ability at defending, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

You can read what our prospect guru, Kevin Papetti, thinks of Sandin and where he was picked in his profile.

Come day two when the second round of the draft starts at 11 am this morning, we’ll see if the Leafs continue to pull more Swedes out of their homeland.

Random Draft thoughts of my own:

  • Ottawa keeping the pick to take Tkachuk and maybe winning the lottery so Colorado can draft Hughes next year will be hilarious.
  • I thought for sure that Montreal was going to trade up to take Veleno. A high end C, from Quebec? I thought it might even be the Leafs that did it with them.
  • I’m pulling some of this list from Kevin here, but there are still several interesting names going into day two for the Leafs if they fall to 52nd overall: Akil Thomas (C), Jonatan Berggren (RW), Calen Addison (RD), Jett Woo (RD), Jake Wise (C), Jonathon Tychonick (LD), and Filip Hallander (C)./

In terms of guys who will go much later in the draft, there are some interesting stories and/or names that I say the Leafs should go for, just for entertainment! Examples:

  • Liam Kirk, fantastic name that should play among PPP’s Trekkie writers and readers. He’s also British so that’s novel, and a center!
  • David Levin, would be the first player born in Israel ever drafted.
  • Jermaine Loewen, born in Jamaica, came to Canada as a 5 year old. Great story.
  • Jacob Ragnarsson, UNLEASH THE VIKING! Also a LD.
  • Alexander Romanov, because we need some royalty all up in this place.
  • Blade Jenkins. COME ON! BLADE MOTHER FARKING JENKINS!
  • Jackson Leppard, because classic rock.
  • Ryan O’Reilly. No, really, there’s a guy named Ryan O’Reilly in this draft!
  • Ryan Savage. Because the puns.
  • Kristian Reichel, son of former NHLer Robert Rei....chel.... WAIT NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
  • Angus Crookshank. GREAT name on its own right, also has the Harry Potter connection that I will abuse his entire tenure with the Leafs if he’s drafted.
  • Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup. Say his name, Graps. SAY IT!
  • Sam Bitten, if only for the headline we can use if we pick him: Once Bitten, Twice Shy.
  • Cole and Christian Krygier. They’re twins!
  • Rickard Hugg. “Dubas just wanted a Hugg”
  • Leif Mattson. Pretty sure a Leafs/Sundin fan just got cute with his kid’s name./

ONTO THE LINKS!

Miro Aaltonen Returning To KHL For Next Season | by Katya

2018 NHL Entry Draft: Schedule, broadcast and streaming | by Katya

2018 Official NHL Entry Draft Order | by Katya, to get a refresh of where the Leafs are picking today.

Rasmus Sandin drafted 29th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs | MLHS has their take on the pick.

What player still left on day two do you most want the Leafs to pick?

Akil Thomas42
Jonatan Berggren 40
Calen Addison19
Jett Woo67
Jake Wise28
Jonathon Tychonick7
Filip Hallander12
Kristian Reichel 7
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