MAPLE LEAF NOTES: Draft pick Tyler Hopkins already a card-carrying fan
Article content
Picked between two fellow prospects born in China and Slovenia, Tyler Hopkins definitely has the better connections to the Maple Leafs.
The Campbellville native has been to many games at Scotiabank Arena and follows the team religiously, thus the sweater and cap looked perfectly natural when he put them on Saturday at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. Hopkins was at one of the playoff games in the 2023 series where the Leafs eliminated Tampa Bay, their first series win in 2013.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
MAPLE LEAF NOTES: Draft pick Tyler Hopkins already a card-carrying fan Back to video
“It’s every kid’s dream to get drafted and to be drafted by your hometown team is the jackpot,” said the 6-foot-1 Kingston Frontenacs’ center. “Two birds with one stone.”
Waiting in the seats with his parents and relatives as the third round progressed was tense.
“I was checking in on the Toronto picks and knew I’d be in that range (86th overall),” he said. “When that moment happened, it was just pure excitement.”
tap here to see other videos from our team.
READ ALL ABOUT IT
When Mitch Marner’s new address is settled and Toronto’s full free agent situation is settled, general manager Brad Treliving will get down to some book worming .
Specifically, studying the new four-year collective bargaining agreement tentatively approved by the commissioner’s office and the players association last week, completed a year ahead of scheduled talks.
While the basic financial framework of salary cap and most contract language stays in place, changes set to begin in 2026-27 include a playoff salary cap, holding the rights of unsigned players until age 22 and a return to the 84-game schedule of the early 1990s.
“It’s a road map moving forward,” Treliving said. “Before, we’d get to this spot a year out (from CBA expiration) and use assumptions (on what a new pact could contain). This helps you plan a bit, gives you a better idea of what the future holds.”
Treliving didn’t get into whether he was among the majority of 26 GMs who voted for a de-centralized draft. The widely-panned, slow-moving format created some awkward TV moments when the team and its prospects connected for the first time via a live broadcast.
Yet Treliving saw some positives.
“You are able to freely communicate in the (team war room) a little more than be jammed up at tables.
I love the draft. It’s unique in our sport to talk face-to-face with other managers and you lose that feeling. But the benefit of being de-centralized is the calendar. We’d be all scrambling back on planes right now (to cram in meetings for July 1 free agency). That’s the big benefit of being at home.”
LEAFS LIKE LEKSANDS
The Leafs will be paying lots of attention to the Swedish junior league club Leksands the next few years.
They now have two picks on that team, defenceman Victor Johansson, chosen 120th last season, and Saturday’s first selection, centre Tinus-Luc Koblar, who went 64th overall on Saturday.
“It will be a benefit for these kids, it’s a really good organization,” said Mark Leach, director of amateur scouting for the Leafs. “They have a history of developing players and it’s a good spot for our development people to go to.”
Leksands NHL grads include Filip Forsberg, Pelle Eklund and current Leaf defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
MORE DRAFT TIDBITS
Koblar wouldn’t be the first Leaf of Slovenian descent. Both early 2000s’ forward Matt Stajan’s grandparents were from there … The two-day draft’s 224 total picks covered 17 birth countries, the most in 21 years. They included Koblar, Belle from Dongguan, China, Simon (Haoxi) Wang from Beijing, chosen 33rd by San Jose and Jakob Ihs-Wozniak from Adelaide, Australia, a second rounder of the Golden Knights … Kitchener Rangers’ winger Matthew Hlacar, Toronto’s last pick at 217th, has a long road to the NHL from that slot. But another Leaf chosen at 217, Cornwall (OHL) forward Mike Tomlak, played 141 games in the show, albeit for the Hartford Whalers six years after Toronto selected him in 1983 … The lowest drafted Leaf ever to play for the team (285th) was Swedish defenceman Staffan Kronwall, brother of Red Wings’ Niklas, who played 52 games in the early 2000s.
Lhornby@postmedia.com
X: @sunhornby
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.