While the rest of the world is writing about Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg, I decided to continue on our path of looking at 2nd and 3rd round selections. Where they will select in the 2nd round is still unknown, due to that pick originally belonging to the Buffalo Sabres, who are still in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, we do know that the Leafs own their own 3rd round pick and that selection is #69 (nice!!). With that selection being so close to a 2nd round pick, it’s possible for the Leafs to add a pair of solid prospect’s to the cupboard outside of whoever they selection 1st overall.
An early favourite of mine to be selected around this area is…
Chase Harrington
Position: Left Wing
Shoots: Left
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 195lbs
The Prince George, BC native lead his Spokane Chiefs offensively this year with 28 goals and 57pts in 61 games, but offense isn’t really his calling card. Harrington doesn’t have the size you’d expect when you hear “power forward” but that’s exactly what he is. Some even say he has the mind of an enforcer, which his 105 penalty minutes can attest to. Harrington loves to land crushing hits and is a relentless forechecker, often combining the two to cause turnover’s at a high rate. Relentless and hard to play against are descriptions that you’ll find smattered all over his draft profiles.
It isn’t just his physicality that works for him though. He’s an intelligent defender that projects to draw in on the penalty kill at the NHL level. He’ll be a player that tops a teams list in hits and blocked shots, while picking up for his teammates and energizing the team in a multitude of ways.
Offensively he’s skilled enough, as he has shown the ability to make plays and find passing lanes, but where he thrives is as a complementary player that digs in around the net and makes goalies pay. His has the ability to withstand the physical toll it takes to score from the tough areas of the ice and has soft enough hands to make moves with the puck in tight when he does find rebounds.
As a skater he may not possess explosiveness, but his speed and agility are solid, if nothing else.
The downside here is his offensive creativity and his ability to drive play on his own. Harrington isn’t a creative player with the puck, so he’ll need somebody with him that can set thing up while he drives the net and creates havoc. He needs to work on his first three steps if he wants to keep up to the play at the NHL level and his shot could use some work as well. While you have to respect his ability to score from in tight, if he wants to be a top 6 forward at the NHL level he’ll need to be able to score from further out as well.
Harrington projects as a bottom 6 energy forward that logs PK minutes and is hard to play against in general, but I see the potential for more. There’s a lot of upside to his offensive game and with the right linemates he could be a 2nd line forward at the NHL level. While he’s a project, just like any other player that will be selected in this range, what he brings to a team is exactly what is desperately missing from the Leafs right now. That fact, combined with his well rounded play and high floor, would have me very interested in his services on draft day.