Did the Toronto Maple Leafs Waste Their 1st Round Draft Pick? | Hockey Rants with Hockey Illuminati

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are overflowing with top-end talent but still falling short of winning hockey’s ultimate prize, leaving many of their fans frustrated.

And drafting top prospects plays an important role in building a steady stream of talent to fill the holes of the big league roster in their quest for Lord Stanley.

But did the Toronto Maple Leafs just waste their 1st round pick on Rodion Amirov, a player that doesn’t address any of the specific needs of the Leafs roster for winning right now? Hockey Illuminati seems to think so…

And he’s not alone. Check out what NHL-alum Carlo Colaiacovo said…

I don’t know anything about Rodion Amirov other than he’s a forward but I don’t understand how the Leafs make that pick with Kaiden Guhle and Braden Schneider still available and address an area of need

— Carlo Colaiacovo (@CarloColaiacovo) October 7, 2020

And from good old internet meme-trolls alike…

Dubas after taking his 20th Euro player of the day from hockeymemes

But in fairness, Amirov has supporters too…

Central Scouting compares Rodion Amirov to Nikita Kucherov because it's illegal in NHL Draft analysis to compare a Russian to Mitch Marner, even with Marner making the pick.

— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) October 7, 2020

But regardless what us pigeons think, Dubas stands by his 1st round pick of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.

The Toronto Maple Leafs take Rodion Amirov with the 15th pick. Amirov was great in the 2019 U-18 tournament & split time last season between the KHL & junior leagues. The left-winger says he models his game after Auston Matthews – now he's in the same organization. #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/OlqAGqdyVP

— The Point (@ThePointHockey) October 7, 2020

Video Highlights of Each of the Top 10 Picks in the 2020 NHL Draft

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