Josh Pillar will be a minor name in the big O’Reilly trade that the Leafs just made. He is not a high profile prospect, he was not taken in the first round, and I am just going to guess that most Leafs fans don’t follow other teams’ prospects in depth.
So, I wanted to look into him and find out if Pillar was a hidden gem that Dubas sought in the deal, or if he was a throw in for convenience of either the Wild or the Leafs.
THE BASICS: STATS AND CONTEXT
Position: C/RW
League: WHL
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 172 lbs
Birth date: Feb 14, 2002
Drafted: 4th round, 127th overall in 2021
When Josh Pillar was drafted by Minnesota in 2021, he was taken as an overager — his first year of eligibility was in the 2020 draft.