It's looking awfully likely that Kyle Dubas will be the next general manager of the Penguins, as long as he wants the job.
Earlier this week I reported that Dubas was in town and speaking with the Penguins after being granted permission by the Maple Leafs to do so. Things had even gone so far as for Dubas to meet Sidney Crosby at the Penguins' practice facility.
We already took a look at Dubas' hits and misses as far as trades go during his five seasons as general manager in Toronto. In the interest of diving deeper into Dubas' work with the Maple Leafs, let's take a look at the 35 players that the Maple Leafs drafted in the five drafts under Dubas.
2018
D Rasmus Sandin (first round, No. 29 overall) - Sandin played 140 games over four seasons for Toronto, amassing 10 goals, 38 assists, 127 blocks and 245 hits. The Leafs traded him to the Capitals this past trade deadline for veteran defenseman Erik Gustafsson and a first-round pick. The next few players drafted after Sandin were Joe Veleno (Red Wings), Alexander Alexeyev (Capitals), Mattias Samuelsson (Sabres) and Jonatan Berggren (Red Wings). No complaints with Sandin being the pick here.
D Sean Durzi (second round, No. 52 overall) - Durzi never played for Toronto. He was traded to the Kings in 2019 as part of the Jake Muzzin deal, a trade included in one of Dubas' "hits" in our earlier article on Dubas' time in Toronto. Durzi has been an NHL regular for the last two seasons in Los Angeles.
C Semyon Der-Arguchintsev (third round No. 76 overall) - Der-Arguchintsev was drafted out of junior, and his first pro season was set to be the 2020-21 year. He went to the KHL that year as a result of the delayed AHL season. He's been in North America full-time the last two seasons and made his NHL debut with Toronto this past season, playing one game. He had 40 points in 50 games in the AHL this season.
C Riley Stotts (third round, No. 83 overall) - Never signed with Toronto and didn't sign a pro contract with any team after Toronto relinquished his signing rights. He's been playing Canadian university hockey the last two seasons.
D Mac Hollowell (fourth round, No. 118 overall) - This season was Hollowell's fourth year as a pro in Toronto's system. He made his NHL debut this season and played six games, recording two assists. His regular season ended in January after fracturing his kneecap.
D Filip Kral (fifth round, No. 149 overall) - Kral has been in North America for the last two full seasons. He made his NHL debut this season and played two games.
RW Pontus Holmberg (sixth round, No. 156 overall) - Holmberg stayed in Sweden for a few years after being drafted, this year was his first in North America. He played 37 games in the NHL with Toronto, scoring five goals and eight assists. He played 38 games in the AHL and scored 10 goals and 12 assists.
G Zachary Bouthillier (seventh round, No. 209 overall) - Never signed with Toronto. Bounced around the ECHL for one year in 2021-22 after his junior career ended. Spent last year in the low-level independent league LNAH.
RW Semyon Kizimov (seventh round, No. 211 overall) - He's Russian, so his signing rights never expire, but he's yet to sign with the Leafs. Split last season between the KHL and the Russian second league.
Grade: B+. Dubas couldn't have done much better than Sandin that late in the first round. Durzi was a piece in a big trade. Holmberg was a late-round gem, and there were a few other members of this draft class who made their debuts this season. To draft nine players and get something out of six of them in some capacity is good.
2019
LW Nicholas Robertson (second round, No. 53 overall) - Robertson has split the last three seasons between the NHL and AHL. He seemed primed to grow into a more regular NHL role this season but suffered a season-ending injury in December.
D Mikko Kokkonen (third round, No. 84 overall) - This season was his first in North America and he spent 36 games in the AHL and eight in the ECHL with Newfoundland. Has been a pretty key piece of Newfoundland's ongoing run to the Eastern Conference Final this postseason with three goals and six assists in 10 games so far.
C Mikhail Abramov (fourth round, No. 115 overall) - He played a season and a half in the AHL before being traded to St. Louis this season as part of the deal that brought Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari to Toronto.
C Nicholas Abruzzese (fourth round, No. 124 overall) - He played nine games and scored one goal in the NHL after his last season at Harvard ended in the 2021-22 season. This year was his first as a pro and he scored 16 goals and 32 assists in 69 games in the AHL and earned two games in the NHL, recording two assists. Had two goals and five assists in seven games in the AHL playoffs.
D Michael Koster (fifth round, No. 146 overall) - Koster hasn't signed with Toronto yet -- he was a junior at the University of Minnesota this year, where he finished No. 2 on the team in scoring among defensemen with six goals and 23 assists in 40 games.
D Kalle Loponen (seventh round, No. 204 overall) - Loponen's signing rights with the Leafs expire this summer and he's signed in the Swedish second league for next season. The Leafs will relinquish his signing rights.
Grade: C. Robertson was a decent find in the second round, and could have been more this season had he stayed healthy. Not much else here in the later rounds, but there are at least a couple still in the system who could pan out.
2020
C Rodion Amirov (first round, No. 15 overall) - Amirov was diagnosed with a brain tumor in February 2022 and missed the 2022-23 season as he undergoes treatment. He signed a contract extension in the KHL for next season, though it's still unclear if he will play.
C Roni Hirvonen (second round, No. 59 overall) - Hirvonen has yet to move from the top Finnish league to North America, though he did sign an entry-level contract with the Leafs this spring. He had OK production this year for HIFK with 15 goals and 13 assists in 57 games.
D Topi Niemela (third round, No. 64 overall) - Niemela also just signed his entry-level contract with the Leafs this spring. He had pretty good production this year for a defenseman in the top Finnish league with eight goals and 10 assists in 58 games. He came to the AHL after his Finnish season ended and fared well.
G Artur Akhtyamov (fourth round, No. 106 overall) - The Leafs hold his signing rights indefinitely because he's Russian, but Akhtyamov has yet to sign. He spent all of this year in the Russian second league.
D William Villeneuve (fourth round, No. 122 overall) - Turned pro this season and spent the entire year in the AHL. He finished No. 2 in scoring among Marlies defensemen with three goals and 22 assists in 54 games.
F Dmitri Ovchinnikov (fifth round, No. 137 overall) - Hey, this Russian actually signed. Ovchinnikov was in the KHL this season and scored five goals and eight assists in 68 games. He signed his entry-level contract after the season ended and played four games in the AHL to finish the season. He came over to the AHL at the end of the 2021-22 season as well on a tryout and had two goals in seven games.
RW Veeti Miettinen (sixth round, No. 168 overall) - Mietten started his collegiate career at St. Cloud State in the season after being drafted. He was tied for No. 3 in scoring on the team with 12 goals and 24 assists in 41 games. He could still potentially go back to school for one more year.
D Axel Rindell (sixth round, No. 177 overall) - Rindell made the move to North America this past season and played five games in the ECHL and six in the AHL before coming to a mutual decision with the Leafs to terminate his contract so he could return to Sweden.
F Joe Miller (sixth round, No. 180 overall) - Miller is a ways off. He was in the USHL for two seasons after being drafted and was only a freshman at Harvard this past year. He finished fifth on Harvard in scoring with 13 goals and 15 assists in 33 games.
D John Fusco (seventh round, No. 189 overall) - Fusco was a sophomore this season, transferring from Harvard to Dartmouth after his freshman year. He had a stronger year this year.
C Wyatt Schingoethe (seventh round, No. 195 overall) - Not much here. He went totally scoreless in 20 games as a freshman at Western Michigan in 2021-22 and was limited to nine games this season, scoring one goal and one assist.
C Ryan Tverberg (seventh round, No. 213 overall) - The Leafs signed Tverberg to his entry-level contract this spring after his junior season at the University of Connecticut. He was No. 3 in scoring for UConn with 15 goals and 15 assists in 35 games.
Grade: N/A. I'm not putting a letter on this one when the main reason the top guy has yet to pan out is cancer. Beyond the first round, though, it's a pretty underwhelming group so far. They at least seemed to find one late-round gem in Tverberg.
2021
LW Matthew Knies (second round, No. 57 overall) - Knies signed his entry-level contract and turned pro this spring after his sophomore season at the University of Minnesota, a season in which he finished No. 3 on the team in scoring with 21 goals and 21 assists in 40 games. He played three NHL games in the regular season and was a regular in the Leafs' lineup in the playoffs, scoring one goal and three assists in seven games before an injury knocked him out of the second-round series against the Panthers. That's a pretty short sample size, but it looks like the Leafs got a good, young player who can carve out a regular NHL role next season.
LW Ty Voit (fifth round, No. 153 overall) - Voit came from the OHL, and the OHL didn't have a 2020-21 season due to COVID, so that surely hurt his draft stock. In the year prior to that missed season he had eight goals and 20 assists in 49 games. Not bad. The year after he was drafted? 26 goals and 54 assists in 67 games. This past season? 24 points and 81 assists in 67 games. His 105 points finished No. 2 in the entire OHL in scoring. He signed his entry-level deal back in 2021 and will turn pro next season. Voit, by the way, is from Wexford, Pa. and played in the Penguins Elite program as a kid.
G Vyacheslav Peksa (sixth round, No. 185 overall) - Peksa hasn't signed yet. But again, Russian players' signing rights don't expire. He spent this season in the Russian second league.
Grade: A+. Look -- they only had three picks this year, two of them were late in the draft, and they didn't have a first-rounder. To have two home runs on three at bats is a good day.
2022
C Fraser Minten (second round, No. 38 overall) - Minten signed his entry-level deal at the start of this season, though he's still in the WHL for at least another year. He made strides offensively this year with 31 goals and 36 assists in 57 games.
C Nicholas Moldenhauer (third round, No. 95 overall) - Moldenhauer also took strides offensively in the year after the draft, albeit in the USHL, with 30 goals and 45 assists in 55 games. He'll be a freshman at the University of Michigan next season, so he's still a ways off.
G Dennis Hildeby (fourth round, No. 122 overall) - Hildeby has also already signed his entry-level contract. After spending the full season in the SHL he came over and finished the year in the AHL.
RW Nikita Grebyonkin (fifth round, No. 135 overall) - Grebyonkin broke into the KHL as a regular this season and finished No. 4 on Amur in scoring with nine goals and 17 assists in 45 games. He hasn't signed with the Leafs yet, but he's Russian, so no rush.
LW Brandon Lisowsky (seventh round, No. 218 overall) - Lisowsky has one more year of junior hockey in the WHL, and he hasn't signed an entry-level deal yet. He had 38 goals and 33 assists in 65 games this season, 13 points more than the previous season in three fewer games.
Grade: Incomplete. It's too early to give any kind of meaningful assessment on this last draft class.
