I guess I should start this off by congratulating the Carolina Hurricanes on their Stanley Cup win, but instead I’ll just say that I’m happy Mitch Marner didn’t win. Yeah, I’m petty that way, but of all the players that left Toronto, Marner is the first that I can truly say I don’t want to see win. Phil Kessel, Tomas Kaberle, Tyler Bozak, Nazem Kadri… the list is long, I never begrudged any of them after they left the organization and in most cases was even happy that they did win. However, Marner left and gave his hometown team the middle finger on the way out and that’s simply unprofessional and unnecessary.
I hope him nothing but good health and bad luck on the ice.
Now, on to the main point of this article.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are still in need of potential top 6 centres throughout their organization. The potential departure of Auston Matthews has made the lack of centre prospects abundantly clear to Leafs Nation. So, while Tinus Luc Koblar has given us reason to believe that the Leafs could be developing a centre prospect, he projects as more of a 3-4C and the team could use a little more help up top. Especially if you consider the fact that even if Matthews re-signs long term, John Tavares is aging quickly and won’t be their 2C forever. That hole could be filled by…
Cooper Williams
Position: Centre
Shoots: Left
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 164lbs
The skinny (pun intended) on Williams is that he is a fantastic, high skilled, high IQ and defensively sound two-way centre that could develop into a top 6 forward at the NHL level. Williams is a player that reads the ice extremely well, often jumping into passing lanes to intercept the puck, before turning it quickly up ice to set up a dangerous chance for his teammates. It’s his ability to read the entire ice surface that leads to his coach’s trusting him with heavy PK minutes, while he’s also efficient on the dot and quick on his feet. His puck skills are above average, as is his skating and vision, while he’s heralded as a highly coachable player that is eager to learn. Honestly, he’s everything you want in a centre, as he acts as a 3rd defender, but also has the offensive creativity to make plays that others at this stage of the draft can’t make.
The first knock on Williams’ game is the obvious lack of size. He can get pushed around by bigger defenders and will have to add a lot of muscle if he’s going to hit his ceiling. He’s not consistently engaged, but part of that is the fact that he plays a very patient game, where he’s always scanning to make a strong defensive play. If he can bulk up and turn the extra muscle into confidence and intensity, he’ll be a massive steal for whatever team takes him at the draft. Lastly, he just finished his 2nd full season for the Saskatoon Blades and his point totals plateaued. As a 16 year old he produced 21 goals and 57pts in 68 games, before putting up 23 goals and 57pts in 66 games as a 17 year old (he turned 18 in February). If his point totals had taken a jump this year, we’d be talking about a player that projects to go in the 1st round of the draft and possibly the first half of that round. Instead, the Leafs could have a shot at him at not just pick #60, but possibly #69 as well. Some have him going as late as the early 4th round, but a player with his vision, pure skill, defensive acumen and a height that lends to a frame that could fill out well as he ages won’t likely drop that far. Don’t be surprised if he is chosen above where he is generally ranked, which would mean the Leafs won’t have the opportunity to draft him at all. However, if he’s still on the board when their picks do come up, they’d be remiss to pass on him, as potential top 6, two-way centres are hard to find outside of the 1st round.