What do we know about the Leafs newest prospect Sean Durzi? For starters, he’s a right handed defenseman from Mississauga who went undrafted last year. Durzi’s production exploded this year, scoring 49 points in 40 regular season games, and 16 points in 11 playoff games. That is insane production from a defenseman. It’s rare to see a player undrafted go as high as the second round the following year, but when you see a jump this massive, it makes sense. No one was happier than Sean himself, who went on to post this photo of himself sporting the Maple Leaf at a young age.

Offense

Durzi is a smart offensive player. He is best at getting into shooting lanes and ripping off an accurate wrister, rather than a powerful slap shot. He can score goals as well as he can make nifty passes from the point. Definite power play potential here. Not known as a puck rusher, but rather a smart passer who won’t panic with the puck. Needs to work on his strength to build more power on his shots.

Defense

An excellent gap closer who plays smart positionally. Hard to beat 1v1 as his backwards skating is his best physical attribute. Adding size and strength will help with board battles which are his weakness. That will come with time. Durzi should really be focusing on his defensive game, which will come with time on the Marlies who are known for developing that side of the game of young defensemen.

Skating

A good but not elite skater. His ability to skate backwards so well suits his style of keeping the opponent in front of him with gap control. His forward skating is still decent but not his strong point. He also possesses good agility and pivoting which comes in handy during transition from offense to defense and vice versa.

Overall this is a good pick. People are a little wary due to him being undrafted last year. But think of it this way; if the Leafs selected him last year in the second round, we would be doing back flips with the kind of production he had this year. It’s very promising to see the kind of development he’s had, and you always love to see a Leafs fan come play for his childhood team.