Chapter 1: What does the Leafs' No. 1 pick mean for their offseason strategy?
Welcome in to a very special edition, a top-rated edition of the Real Kipper and Born Show. I am joined today, we have the background, we've got technical directors Jake Schultz and Derek Brandeo. We are live on Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet 590 The Fan in Toronto and streaming always on Sportsnet+. If you miss our show live, you can always get it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.com.
Going to be joined in a little bit. We're going to try to get a hold of my guy, Nick Kiprios. Kipper is not in the building, but we are going to try to get him on here and have a chat about some very big news in Leafs Nation. But before we get to that, first, a prepared statement for Leafs Nation from Sam McKee. I brought back the book, Forney.
The manifesto book. Finally. Is back. A good chapter.
Chapter 2: How should the Leafs utilize their first overall pick?
Oh, so exciting.
Okay.
Leafs Nation, it's been a long, cold winter. Your escape from every day became a bigger grind than your every day. Turning on the TV to watch our boys in blue became something none of us look forward to. You think this is bad? Wait until you give the Bruins the sixth overall pick, fans of other teams would exclaim with glee. Now all those people can say is rigged. Pathetic.
I, like many of you watching that 12 ball come up last night, 12 in honor of Paul Bissonette, our fallen Leaf fan number in Phoenix. I had a feeling of hope and joy that we haven't felt in a long, long time. A feeling that can only be compared to the first bite of a delicious junior bacon cheeseburger from our beloved Wendy's. Leaf fans, Put on your tank tops. Flip off other fan bases.
Chapter 3: What insights does Nick Kypreos provide on the draft choices?
And light up a dart to smoke that Bruins pack. And let the head scars of a season from hell heal. Matt Sundin is smiling. We don't need ChatGPT to tell us this, baby. Leafs Nation, we are back. Yeah!
Well done. I didn't even think there was a chance you were going to watch that last night. I thought you were disconnected.
No. So I arrived last night at York-Canlon to play hockey. And I said it was going to be a marginal game of hockey. We lost 1-0. It was horrendous. What a grind. The worst game ever played. What a grind.
Chapter 4: What are the implications of the pick for Auston Matthews' future?
So I thought to myself, I have a little bit of time.
Yeah.
And I might as well just put this on. So I sat in the stands alone at York-Canlon, rink two. Very fitting. And just watched it on my phone. And like I said in my statement, you know, it's flip-flopping. You see the point where it's Seattle, potentially. And you're like, not the spot that the Leafs fought so hard to get out of.
Chapter 5: How does Jason Bukala evaluate the trade value of the No. 1 pick?
Not that spot. Any spot but that spot. Don't let that one come up. And... I don't know how to describe the feeling of seeing that 12.
Yeah.
I just, I don't know. I don't like it's, it's a shock for me. It's a different feeling. We're watching it here. Like it's clearly not close to a on the ice moment. It's a different thing. It's a different feeling.
Yeah.
But it was pure joy and elation.
Yeah.
And I was there.
That's awesome.
Look at that screen of mats right there.
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Chapter 6: What are the pros and cons of drafting Ivar Stenberg vs. Gavin McKenna?
You know, all on my team is all hockey guys, some Leaf fans, some not Leaf fans. And I was the second guy there. Yeah. And just to see the boys walk into the room and have the Leaf fans come in, and we're just ā smiles all around. I can't imagine a more insane three days for a hockey. What a tone changer. Like just what a bounce. What a bounce. What a bounce.
What else can you say other than what a bounce? It's, you know, you come fresh off that press conference and obviously there's an adversarial moment. You know, people are, Chica was named GM amidst some confusion and resistance, and it was a lot of noise around it. People weren't sure about the direction of the team.
Mm-hmm.
And then this happens.
Chapter 7: What factors influence the Leafs' decision-making process in the draft?
And I don't know about you, but, like, my Twitter feed is just people. Chyka's the man.
I got to tell you, like, I don't know what piled me. Like, Chyka piled. Like, that's like a big pill or whatever it is. I'm old. People in my group chat, I'm Chyka pilled. I love Chyka. Like, it's just amazing what happens. I don't know. I don't know. I'm bumbling around here. But, like, it's just I can't imagine how good. He feels.
Yeah. No, I know. He had a great celebration, too. Matt's handled it, you know, very diplomatically, but also was thrilled. I think the biggest thing now is what this changes. And if you go online right now on sportsnet.ca, I wrote an article on that very topic, how drafting first overall changes the Maple Leafs outlook.
Chapter 8: How can the Leafs balance winning now with future team-building?
And in it, I highlighted like seven, eight points about what changes. It's everything. Yes. Like, of course, this doesn't fix everything. But, you know, now you just have such clarity of direction. That's the thing.
Obviously, there's going to be a ton of detractors to this. Yeah. There's tons of fan base. What do you mean, like, detractors? Like, people who don't think... No, no, but, like, who want to dunk on the Leafs of other fan bases. And their number one thing is, like, oh, you still suck. You know, you're not going to make... This is not a savior. What this is is a lifeline. Totally.
It's a flotation device. It's some water wings. So that you can just be like... Not drowning? They have a full draft class this year. And next. And next. And, I mean, it's a huge job to go in there and nail these picks.
But one of the big things when you're looking after this deadline, when we were totally underwhelmed by it and the true living ending and how it was feeling and all of that stuff... I just think Leaf fans are waking up today realizing that regardless of what direction you're going to go in here, the options are there. You have different ways you can go.
The rebuild, definitely on the table with a potential taking Gavin McKenna first overall, maybe building around him if you have to trade Matthews or have to trade Neylander, whatever that is. Or the retool where maybe McKenna's playing on Matthews' wing next year. Yeah. Right? Like, it's just the way that changed things.
It's unquantifiable for an entire group of fans that I just can't be happier for.
Well, it is. It's great, you know, considering how often it can be a challenge when your team is not successful. And I think the hardest part is sitting there. They often say, in like the sports media world anyway, that you can sell two things, winning and hope. Yep. And there was kind of neither heading into the summer.
Correct.
You know, where it was like... I just don't see how they get out of this, and I'm sitting here with Kipper every day, and I don't know if we'll get him or not, but I'm saying, you know, yes, they can be okay next year. Yes, there are steps to do it. What are the steps? And it's like, well, they didn't have a lot of tools at their disposal. Correct. And so to now...
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