"You've got a pretty good chance of getting a good player at eight or four," he said. "For us to move up the price tag would have to reflect that fact."
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Nonis went with a hulking, defensively-aware centre in Frederik Gauthier a year ago ? his first draft as the Leafs boss ? but is almost certain to add skill with the eighth pick this time around.
"I wouldn't say it's a priority that we're going to go for the most skilled player," Nonis explained, "but I think the players that are going to be available in the top eight by and large are skill players so because of that fact there's a good chance that's what you end up with."
Lacking in high-end depth organizationally down the middle, the Leafs are likely to miss out on the top-end centres (Bennett, Drasaitl, Reinhart) if they stick with their current pick, but could lean in the direction of Sault St. Marie pivot Jared McCann or a promising bunch of big, high-scoring wingers ? Michael Dal Colle, Nick Ritchie, Brendan Perlini, Jake Virtanen ? not to mention speedy, skilled types in Nikolaj Ehlers and Willie Nylander.
"I think all those guys have ability," Nonis said. "It's not one [of those drafts] where you're going to get a hard-nosed plugger or shutdown defenceman; I think even the guys who are more rugged there's some pretty good players there."