Such a long, long list.

Such a long list of defencemen drafted by the Maple Leafs, then hurried to the NHL to sink (usually) or swim (rarely), then deemed to be failures or passed on to other organizations to succeed.

Is it really possible that Morgan Rielly just might be the exception to the rule?

Yes, it is.

With 10 days to the beginning of the 2013-14 NHL season, there’s still time left to evaluate whether Rielly, at 19, is ready for the NHL.

But why wait? It’s pretty clear already he deserves to be on the team.

For those familiar with this space, of course, this might come as a surprise, and there’s no question that this space has been used to repeatedly hammering the Leaf organization for continually making the same mistake with young defencemen over and over and over again.

Well, guess what? Rielly is the exception to the rule. He’s readier than Fred Boimistruck, Jim Benning and Bob McGill were when they were rushed as a teenage trio to the NHL.

He’s readier than Gary Nylund was, or Al Iafrate, or Luke Richardson, or Drake Berehowsky, or Jeff Ware, or Luke Schenn.

For starters, he’s got more raw talent than any of them save Iafrate, and is a far superior skater to them all, save Iafrate. His ability to play with his head up, manoeuvre in tight turns, jump into the play intelligently and make the first pass are striking qualities, all reasons why many NHL clubs suggest he was the best defenceman available in his draft year and only fell to the Leafs because of the knee injury suffered in his second year with the WHL Moose Jaw Warriors.

Against Ottawa on Thursday, he was stronger in the second half of the game than the first, and will probably get at least three and maybe four more exhibition games to demonstrate his NHL worthiness.

But Rielly’s readiness is only part of the equation here.

The Leafs, as a team and an organization, are in a much better position today to both protect and mentor a 19-year-old defenceman at the NHL level.

With almost all of the blue-line failures listed previously, they were shoved into NHL action on struggling Leaf teams, often with coaching staffs or management in transition or on the way out.

Right now, the Leafs aren’t the NHL’s best team, but they are stable. They have added a core of savvy veterans. They have reliable goaltending in place that won’t make every mistake made by a young blueliner turn into a goal.

The Leafs have a good group of viable youngsters, and in particular, good prospects on defence, including Stuart Percy, perhaps better than Rielly against the Senators on Thursday. GM Dave Nonis has a five-year contract. Head coach Randy Carlyle isn’t going anywhere.

So Rielly looks ready, and the team looks ready to help him get his feet wet. Carlyle has experience in this area, having provided the environment that helped Cam Fowler break into the NHL at age 18, and in assistant Dave Farrish he has a specialist in terms of working with young defencemen. Jake Gardiner certainly benefitted from Farrish’s assistance last season.

The question, of course, is whether Rielly will play, and play enough that he’ll learn rather than lose his edge sitting in the press box. The absence of Cody Franson certainly opens a door, and while some are enchanted by the supposed depth of talent on the Leaf defence, this is hardly the NHL’s deepest or most talented group.

Last year with the Boston Bruins, Dougie Hamilton played 42 of 48 games, and then seven more games in the post-season. That looks to be a good model for the Leafs to use with Rielly.

In an ideal world, he’d start with the AHL Marlies. But the rules don’t allow for that, so it’s the Leafs or Moose Jaw. There are cap implications if Rielly stays, but if he’s good enough on merit, it’s hard to imagine he’d simply be a cap casualty.

It’s possible, of course, he could start the year with the Leafs, join the national junior team in December and then finish the season with the Warriors.

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But he should start in Toronto. The biggest challenge for him will be the physical battle level that is required every night, which is also still a challenge for Gardiner. The Leafs have enough depth on defence that both can play some games and if necessary, miss a few as well.

It doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing proposition with Rielly. But he clearly has the skill set to begin competition this season in the NHL, which sets him apart from, for example, Schenn, who could have used a return to junior to develop his offensive abilities and as an NHLer has never found that part of his game.

It isn’t rushing a kid if he’s ready. And Rielly, unless the bottom falls out of his game over the next 10 days, looks ready and, more importantly, able to help.

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