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But, for down the road: Why even have the draft at all? The strangest hockey game of this past season was the late March clash at the First Niagara Center between the Buffalo Sabres and the Arizona Coyotes.

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“Let me think about this,” he said. “I want to give a good answer.”

Then, as now, the Leafs held the fourth spot in a year with a generational talent available at the top of the pile, with Mario Lemieux assured to go first. And then, as now, Toronto was in a dark period on the ice. Iafrate, now 49, was asked what advice he would give to whichever teenager the Leafs call to the stage on Friday night.

“What I would say is, embrace it,” he said. “Embrace the unbelievable opportunity of being drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs. It’s life-changing, it’s forever.”

Today, Iafrate works in real estate, based outside Detroit, not far from where he was born and raised. More often than not, someone will recognize him as a former Leafs player and ask him about his time with the team.

It was an unusual time, even by Toronto standards. Harold Ballard, a convicted criminal, was the owner, overseeing the operation with equal parts bluster and bullying. The team was already two decades past its last Stanley Cup win, and it was speeding further away.

Iafrate was a defenceman with the body of a man and the maturity of a teenager. He also had a powerful skating stride and a shot that could demolish buildings. The Leafs were becoming expert at demolition, though mostly from the inside. The new draft pick was largely left to sink or swim.