Sports Column: Player development now key in Toronto

The National Hockey League held its annual draft lottery on Saturday night in Toronto.

Fittingly, the Toronto Maple Leafs, who had the worst record in the regular season, held on to the top pick for the NHL Entry Draft, which is scheduled for late-June.

Naturally there was a lot of excitement in the Maple Leafs organization and in the city of Toronto after the announcement.

For a team that is in full-on rebuild mode, this is a huge moment for the team and the excitement of the Leafs having the opportunity to select American forward Auston Matthews with the top pick should be there.

The key for the Maple Leafs will be in the department of prospects development, including those players selected with the teams other 11 picks in the draft.

The top three players available are widely considered to be Matthews and Finnish forwards Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujarvi with Matthews considered to be the front-runner as the top pick.

In addition to the possibility of adding Matthews to a stable of prospects that already includes Mitchell Marner of the London Knights and Toronto Marlies forward William Nylander among others, the Maple Leafs will need to make some of its secondary picks this year count.

For a team that has eight selections in the opening four rounds of the draft and two in the opening round, development is the biggest need for the team in the immediate future.

The Maple Leafs American Hockey League affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, features a group of prospects the team is high on and is coming off a strong regular season under former Soo Greyhounds coach Sheldon Keefe.

The hiring of Keefe helps in the development of players at the AHL level.

Maple Leafs Assistant General Manager Kyle Dubas spoke of Keefe’s role in developing players when the hiring was announced last summer.

“For us, we want to have a coach who can help us to be the best developer of our young players,” Dubas said at the time of Keefe’s hiring.

The fact that the Maple Leafs have placed added focus on player development, fans need to realize there are still some lean times ahead for the organization as these players prepare to make the jump to the NHL.

It’s hard to blame Maple Leafs fans for being excited at the possibility of adding Matthews to the talent pool that’s moving in the right direction but a little dose of reality needs to be mixed in.

If the secondary prospects don’t develop into serviceable NHL players, adding Matthews may not make the different.

Just ask the Edmonton Oilers how things have turned out over the past five years.