Kessel, Draft Picks, and Sens Fans. A Monday Morning Trilogy.

A day doesn’t go by without a Sens fan telling Leaf fans that Toronto lost out on their deal with the Bruins for Phil Kessel. This insightful hockey opinion is obviously some kind of genius because the draft hasn’t even happened and Kessel is barely into the first 1/5 of his contract. While most of the women in Ottawa look like witches, I’m quite confident there's no such thing as a crystal ball which means most of these opinions must originate from the lower regions of their digestive systems.

It's a free country however, and the people can type whatever the hell they want. We welcome such thoughts from you Ottawa, no matter what part of your body they come from.

Today, lets change it up. Instead of speculating about the Phil Kessel deal and who won or lost, I thought I would dig up some of the deals the Leafs have made to ACQUIRE draft picks over the past two seasons. Partially out of curiosity to see what the Leafs got and what these players are up to, but also as a thinly veiled attempt to move the conversation towards something actually arguable.

Here they are:


2008
Wade Belak to Florida for 5th round pick.
Who the Leafs drafted: Joel Champagne, C, 6’4” and 210 lbs. One of the Q’s top scorers with 53 pts in 46 games. He has size, grit and scoring touch beyond Wade Belak’s wildest dreams.

Hal Gill to Pittsburgh for a 2nd and 5th round pick.
Who the Leafs drafted: 2nd round: Jimmy Hayes, RW, 6’5”, 210 lbs. Playing in the NCAA for Boston, he’s already surpassed last years output with 16 points in 14 less games than 08/09. Key player on 2009 USA junior team as agitator.
Who the Leafs drafted: 5th round: Jerome Flaake. LW, 6’2” 187lbs. Hard to find recent stats on this guy, but he did score 80 points in 36 games two years ago in Germany.

2009
Dominic Moore to Buffalo for Carolina’s 2nd round pick:
Who the Leafs drafted: Kenny Ryan, RW, 6’, 204 lbs. He left college part way through the season to join the Spitfires where he has 24 points in 33 games. Any relation to Bobby Ryan?

Nik Antropov to New York for 2nd round pick.
Who the Leafs drafted: Jesse Blacker, D, 6’1” 190lbs. Leafs best D prospect. After winning a Memorial Cup last year, now playing for Owen Sound – getting better as we speak w/ 24 points in 33 games.

Jiri Tlusty to Carolina for Phillipe Paradis.
Although this wasn’t a trade for picks, Paradids was the 27th overall draft pick in 2009, meaning the Leafs essentially had two first round choices this past summer. Paradis, who is 6’2” and weights close to 200lbs, has 32 points for Shawinigan of the QMJHL, and leads the team with 72 PIM’s.

Anton Stralman to Calgary for Primeau and a 2011 2nd round pick.
Obviously this has yet to bear fruit, but the Leafs do have this 2nd rounder plus their own in 2011.