Maple Leafs met with Caleb Malhotra, who knows what's going to happen in the NHL Draft
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Maple Leafs met with Caleb Malhotra, who knows what's going to happen in the NHL Draft originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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Caleb Malhotra is realistic.
Yes, he met with the Toronto Maple Leafs at the NHL Draft Combine this week in Buffalo. Yes, the Maple Leafs have the No. 1 overall pick and could take any player they want in this class.
But no, Malhotra doesn't sound like a guy who thinks it'll be him.
Malhotra has a strong chance of going in the top-five picks. But first? That's not the most likely outcome.
The talented winger didn't say that exactly, but he alluded to it on Saturday when asked by the media what he thought of his meeting with the Maple Leafs.
"A very basic meeting," Malhotra said of his time with the Maple Leafs. "Like John Chayka’s talked about, they have a long list of guys that could go 1st. They talked about how they have a long list. Guys like McKenna & Stenberg are at the top of that list & excited to see what happens on draft day."
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Malhotra naming two other forwards, other than himself, suggests he recognizes that Toronto probably isn't where he'll end up.
The Maple Leafs are still favored by most to take Gavin McKenna with the first pick.
Malhotra himself has been most linked to the Vancouver Canucks, because their new head coach Manny Malhotra is his father. Manny was promoted from the AHL gig in their organization to lead the NHL squad now.
It'd be wise for the Maple Leafs not to get too stuck onto one guy and ignore someone who might actually be better.
But this late in the process, it sounds like Toronto is narrowing in, and even a player they met with at the Combine got that same sense.