59th overall pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs was Eemeli Rasanen, a 6’7 right shot defensemen who plays for the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League.
The Finnish import spent his first major junior season on Kingston’s top defence pair with over-ager Stephen Desrocher. He was Toronto’s second pick in the draft after being gifted Timothy Liljegren in the first round.
Desrocher himself was former sixth round pick of the Leafs whose rights expired earlier this month. The Leafs decided Desrocher was not worth a spot within the 50 contract list. Playing with the veteran helped Ransanen’s game steadily improve as the season wore on.