Team Canada Star Anthony Cirelli Was Almost a Toronto Maple Leaf - A Mistake That Still Haunts Them
Toronto Maple Leafs almost came close to the chance of having Team Canada forward Anthony Cirelli in the organization, if things had gone differently.
In the 2015 NHL Draft, it was clear that first and second overall would be Connor McDavid to the Edmonton Oilers and Jack Eichel to the Buffalo Sabres. Dylan Strome was the favorite to go third overall to Arizona, leaving the Toronto Maple Leafs at fourth overall with a tough decision.
At fourth overall, two popular favorites emerged for Toronto at four, defenseman Noah Hanifin, who had been dominant in the NCAA with Boston College and looked like a future top-pairing defenseman, or the elite OHL offensive dynamo Mitch Marner.
The Leafs ultimately went with Marner and after nine seasons and three All-Star games, Toronto can feel it made the right choice.
Although later on in the draft, the Leafs made some choices that may have hurt their roster in the long run, and perhaps could have been avoided altogether .
Leafs 2015 Draft Class Filled With Regret
After hitting a home run with Mitch Marner at fourth overall, the rest of the Toronto Maple Leafs 2015 NHL Draft class was filled with both hits and misses.
At 34st overall, the Toronto Maple Leafs took defenseman Travis Dermott. While Dermott was a serviceable defenseman for a time, a pick later, the Carolina Hurricanes selected Sebastian Aho, who is third all-time in points in the 2015 class behind McDavid & Marner.
Toronto then had three picks in close order at 61st, 63rd, & 68th. With those picks, Toronto selected Jeremy Bracco, Andrew Nielsen, & Martins Dzierkals. None of them played a single NHL game.
Four picks after the Leafs last pick of a trio of selections, the Tampa Bay Lightning struck luck with Anthony Cirelli at 72nd overall.
At the time, Cirelli was not a player expected to be an impact player. OHL prospect analyst Brock Otten ranked Cirelli 29th amongst OHL Draft Eligibles., calling him a "tough player" to get a read on.
Cirelli was ranked 71st by TSN's Bob McKenzie's scouts poll, and 67th amongst North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, both designating a likely third round pick.
What Cirelli lacked was a strong offensive prowess. Although a strong transition player with a well-rounded toolkit, Cirelli had only a modest production total in the OHL with Oshawa, with just 13 goals and 36 points in 68 games played. Not exciting numbers at the time.
What made Cirelli so captivating beyond being a full player was also being viewed as a clutch player thanks to a GWG at the Memorial Cup for Oshawa which helped boost his stock.
Both Bracco and Dzierkals were viewed as offensively skilled players who lacked optimal size and physicality needed at the next level.
What may have clued in Toronto to Cirelli's talent could have been their earlier pick in Mitch Marner, who would have known Cirelli from his time in the OHL and the two being friends.
Nearly a decade later, with Cirelli and Marner leading Team Canada at the Four Nations faceoff, one wonders what would be the case if the Toronto Maple Leafs drafted differently at just a few spots, something that would have changed the team for the better.
