Two draft prospects caught Toronto Maple Leafs’ attention
The 2024 NHL Scouting Combine took place last Friday at KeyBank Center and LECOM HarborCenter in Buffalo. It gave NHL teams a chance to interview and assess top prospects for the 2024 NHL Draft. Two players who caught the attention of the Toronto Maple Leafs were Andrew Basha and Lucas Pettersson.
Hockey writer Peter Baracchini shared this information on X, stating:
“Andrew Basha and Lucas Pettersson both spoke with the #LeafsForever #NHLCombine #2024NHLDraft”
Andrew Basha, a center from the Medicine Hat Tigers of the WHL, enters the draft ranked 26th among NHL Central Scouting. Hailing from Calgary, he stands 6 feet tall, weighs 185 pounds and is left-handed. The Maple Leafs are likely impressed by his instincts and passing skills.
Basha’s 3-year junior career reflects his playmaking abilities, with 55 goals and 100 assists in that span. His skills were apparent when he played U15 AAA for the Calgary Royals. In the 2019-20 season, he scored 24 goals and 33 assists in 33 games. Basha,
Swedish forward Lucas Pettersson also met with Toronto at the combine. Standing at 5-foot-11 and weighing 170 lbs, he possesses speed and a scoring touch that could appeal to the Maple Leafs as they seek to bolster their pipeline of young talent.
The 18-year-old played last season with MoDo Hockey J20 in the J20 Nationell league, lighting the lamp 27 times in 44 games.
Petterssoneven skated in 5 games for MoDo’s pro team in the SHL but did not record any points. Pettersson found success for Sweden’s U18 squad, notching 22 points over 18 international games. He is ranked 10th by NHL Central Scouting.
Toronto Maple Leafs face draft challenge with limited picks
The Toronto Maple Leafs are set to have a total of seven picks in the upcoming NHL Draft, although not all of them will be their original choices.
Most notably, the Toronto Maple Leafs is without its next three second-round picks, two of the next three third-rounders, and perhaps most critically, its first-round pick for next year.
While current Leafs GM Brad Treliving has started putting his stamp on the organization since being hired last spring, it’s his predecessor Kyle Dubas who is most responsible for the team’s depleted draft capital.
Dubas traded away six of the 10 picks sent packing by the Toronto Maple Leafs, including the next year’s first-rounder.
With the NHL Draft set for June 28 at Sphere in Las Vegas, the Leafs seem to have identified Basha and Pettersson as potential prospects who could help the team now and in the future.
