NHL draft month is upon us and hundreds of NHL hopefuls and their families will soon descend on Chicago to hear their name called by one of the league’s 31 — that feels weird to type still — teams.



Naturally, fans are turning their attention toward public draft rankings and guides to identify the prospects who could be available for their favourite team in the first round and beyond.



Here I’ll break down seven potential options that the Leafs should be keying on with their first-round pick (17th overall).



Best Defenceman Available?



Most Leafs fans realize the team’s pool of prospects lacks depth on the back end. Aside from Travis Dermott, the Leafs don’t have a high-end, inbound defender on the depth chart. (Sorry, Andrew Nielsen.)



While very few teams are ever in a position to draft for need — unless you’re a contender and in possession of a high-end pick when there’s a player who is available and able to immediately step into your lineup, which almost never happens because most good teams don’t also have picks at the top of a class — the Leafs will have kept a close eye on the top defencemen in this class.



Standouts Miro Heiskanen, Cale Makar and Timothy Liljegren are all likely off the board before the Leafs select at 17, but there’s still a good chance at least one of a quartet of other top D are available.