When Lou Lamoriello and Brendan Shanahan spoke following the end of the first round on Friday, they spoke of their selection of Auston Matthews as just the beginning. After they dealt their 30th overall pick as part of a package to acquire goaltender Frederik Andersen, their first round played out rather predictably.
But they expected Saturday's rounds 2-7 to be busy ones.
"As far as moving picks, I think you'll probably see some of that tomorrow because there will be certain types of players that might be on one team's sort of priority list that is available and they might feel as thought they might lose him," Lamoriello told reporters.
The moves would be calculated, without forgetting the rebuilding process, according to Lamoriello.
"Every decision that's going to be made is going to be for today but with tomorrow in sight," he said.
To kickoff their busy day, with the first of 10 picks in the last six rounds, the Leafs selected Russian WJCs standout Yegor Korshkov.
Korshkov, ranked 102nd by our staff at Future Considerations, is a power forward with some snarl. At 6-4, he adds some size on the wing to a pool of Leafs prospects that is considerably undersized. An overager with a 1996 birthday, Korsakov is a rangy left-handed shot who played the right wing with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the KHL and its farm team in the MHL last season (where he registered six points in four games), registering 12 points (six goals, six assists) in 41 KHL games. After spending the regular season with the KHL club, Korshkov returned to the MHL to post 19 points in 15 games as the playoff's leading scorer, pushing Lokomotiv to an MHL championship.
Internationally, he led Team Russia in scoring at this year's World Juniors with eight points in seven games on route to a silver medal. There's familiarity in North America beyond his stint at the World Juniors too. Korshkov has also played in the CHL Canada-Russia Series.
A strong passer and gifted puck handler for his size, Korshkov is able to play in traffic unlike many players of his size. He could still stand to add considerable of weight -- he's just 185 pounds.
Here's an excerpt from some of our notes at FC:
Korshkov is a big, rangy power winger. He uses his large frame to his advantage in protecting the puck, to create his own working space and also to punish his opponents in the corners. He still has plenty of room to add considerable mass and strength as he is quite wiry. He is very mo- bile on the ice and is able to apply good forechecking pressure deep in the zone. He has great poise and puck control with soft hands; he’s able to push defensemen back on their heels as he challenges them. Korshkov has superior vision that allows him to dish terrific passes, even while at high speed. He is a constant threat around the crease because of his reach and puck skill. His shot is very strong, but he does not use it enough. He has some defensive inconsistencies in his game as one shift he can work hard to separate his opposition from the puck, support his teammates as an option and win board battles, while other times, he looks disinterested in any play inside his own blueline. The big Russian has played a lot of hockey this season and he has done well at every level he has played. Whether it has been with Lokomotiv in the KHL or with their MHL junior team, at the World Juniors, or in other international events, he has made strong offensive contributions in every situation.
More to come from Buffalo. You can follow my coverage all day long @scottcwheeler on Twitter.
