Fansided

2018 NHL Draft: Report card grades for every team

By Jeremy Lambert

DALLAS, TX - JUNE 22: Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres, Andrei Svechnikov of the Carolina Hurricanes and Jesperi Kotkaniemi of the Montreal Canadians pose for a picture of the 2018 NHL draft on June 22, 2018 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - JUNE 22: Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres, Andrei Svechnikov of the Carolina Hurricanes and Jesperi Kotkaniemi of the Montreal Canadians pose for a picture of the 2018 NHL draft on June 22, 2018 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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DALLAS, TX – JUNE 22: Rasmus Sandin shakes the hand of Brendan Shanahan after being selected twenty-ninth overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs during the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX – JUNE 22: Rasmus Sandin shakes the hand of Brendan Shanahan after being selected twenty-ninth overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs during the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Toronto Maple Leafs – B

First Round Pick: Rasmus Sandin (D) (29)

Kyle Dubas came into this draft saying his reputation for trading down was unfounded. Then he traded down. Dubas is 100 percent going to be the guy who general managers stop trading with in two or three years because he’s throwing fancy words and numbers at them to the point of confusion. Instead of looking foolish in a trade, rival GMs are simply going to hang up the phone and take a cold shower. What I’m saying is Dubas will be Danny Ainge. In this draft, Dubas acquired an extra draft pick just to move down four spots and still get the guy he was going to take all along. This is how it’s done, folks. I don’t even know if Rasmus Sandin is going to be any good. Like 90 percent of defensemen taken in the first round, he’s undersized. But he’s well-rounded and has good upside. None of that really matters. What matters is that the whole world saw that Dubas became the first man in history to openly reveal his plot to stop the hero and then actually stopped the hero. We knew he was targeting Sandin, a player who had ties to in the OHL, and we knew he wanted to trade down. He still traded down and got his guy.

Dear 30 other general managers. Just hang up the phone now.

Other Notable Picks: Riley Stotts (C) (83)

The theme of the Toronto draft was lack of size. Of their nine players drafted, seven of them are 6-foot or shorter. The Maples Leafs had an emphasis on speed and skill, following that blueprint to a tee. Stotts is a great selection in the third round. He can produce if given a chance.

Maybe not a home run draft, but I’m not doubting Dubas.

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