SUNRISE, FLA. - For a moment, it was hard to tell Mitch Marner from the kid volunteer who escorted Toronto’s draft picks to the stage.
Both wore oversized Maple Leafs sweaters and ball caps for the photo op and seemed dwarfed by head coach Mike Babcock and some taller members of the hockey office.
But the 160-pound right winger/centre, listed at 5-foot-11, is now projected as a big part of the Leafs future. Sure, there were larger prospects at forward the Leafs could have chosen, or talented defencemen, another depth-poor area that needs attention.
However, with the fourth pick, the club’s highest since 1989, interim general manager Mark Hunter chose the player he knew best in the NHL draft from his junior powerhouse in London.