Although he left a sour taste in most Maple Leafs fans mouths Brian Burke did at least 1 thing right and that was drafting Morgan Rielly 5th overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.
Heading into the 2012 draft the talk was all about Nail Yakupov ( we all know how that ended) and how he was the “next” big thing, in the shadows of Nail was Ryan Murray and Alex Galchenyuk respectfully as the expected players to round out the top 3.
Once breaking down the 1st round there are 3 players that stand out, one from each position and surprisingly none from the Top 3:
Forward: Filip Forsberg
Drafted 11th overall by Washington and was later traded to The Nashville Predators. Forsberg is a consistent 30 goal scorer and 60 points producer.
Goaltender: Andrei Vaslievskiy
Now this is where it gets tough, Vaslievskiy much like Rielly has broken out over the last few seasons. Drafted 19th overall in the 2012 draft he has blossomed into one of the top goalies in The NHL however is that team success or Vaslievskiy success?
Defense: Morgan Rielly
Highly touted to start the draft year Morgan Rielly suffered an injury which caused him to miss almost his entire draft year and scared off a lot of teams, however not The Toronto Maple Leafs. Selected 5th overall Rielly has had a career year and has been in The Norris conversation all season.
Fun fact: Fredrik Andersen was also drafted in The 2012 draft ( his 2nd time in) by The Anaheim Ducks and would later be acquired by The Maple Leafs.
With all the information we have now it is easy to say this is how it should have went. With their careers not even half way over things could easily change again however as of right now I ask you, The fans.
Is Morgan Rielly the best player to come from The 2012 NHL Entry Draft?
