While McLeod’s offensive tools haven’t developed to an elite level to date, at the time McLeod was a near-unstoppable force in the OHL. He added fuel to the fire by elevating his game during a deep playoff run, dominating offensively and playing in all situations. McLeod was a legitimate NHL prospect.

In the three years since his draft he has played a total of 21 games in the NHL, all of which took place during the 2018/19 season. He just completed his first full professional season, where he played a major role for the Binghamton Devils in a year when the AHL roster was decimated due to injuries at the NHL level.

McLeod has turned into a divisive prospect, in part due to the rate of his development. At the time of his draft the only centre prospect that projected to be an impact player for the Devils was Pavel Zacha. McLeod represented the new NHL - speed, two-way play, intelligence. The fact that it took him three years to see any NHL time has soured some fans on his potential. Even members of the All About the Jersey Panel I participate in, which grades players on the Binghamton Devils, have become less confident in his future.

Much of the frustration surrounding McLeod stretches back to who the Devils could have drafted instead - players like Charlie McAvoy and Jakob Chychrun were taking within five picks of the Devils own 12th overall selection. When you rank the 2016 first round in terms of NHL games played (not the best measure, but a decent shorthand), McLeod ranks 18th. If you look at the 2016 draft class as a whole, McLeod has the 28th most games played. In terms of immediate impact, there have been prospects that have become regular NHL players much sooner.

Here’s how I see it:

McLeod still has the potential to be a middle-6 player at the NHL level. It may take some time, but there are elements of McLeod’s game that still hold up at the professional level. He was a highly skilled faceoff specialist in juniors, and he won 64.6% of his faceoffs in his final OHL year. In 21 games at the NHL level, he won 53% of his faceoffs at the age of 21. He can be a tenacious forechecker, and he has learned to use his 6-2, 195 frame to compliment his defensive acumen. He has utility even when he is not scoring.

McLeod’s speed and overall two-way game remind me a bit of Blake Coleman. While McLeod’s top-end speed is higher than Coleman’s, I can picture a future in which McLeod inhabits a similar role on an NHL team - a middle-6 player that can move throughout the lineup, be deployed in dangerous situations, and chip in offensively. McLeod has lots of growing to do before he becomes as useful a player as Coleman, but I think he still has the potential in him.

While the Devils NHL roster seems too cramped to facilitate a spot for McLeod this season, he will likely start the year as a top-6 centre for Binghamton. He’ll start his second professional season as a go-to player for a fairly young AHL team, and will have to prove that he can score consistently at the professional level. While his compete level, speed, and physicality have become apparent throughout his first season, he needs to produce. With Binghamton fully stocked at the beginning of the year - the roster was decimated by NHL injuries and callups throughout 2018/19 - he will have a supporting cast that can actually help him.

2. Reillly Walsh (RD, 2017 3rd Round, #81 Overall)

With Ty Smith likely making the Devils NHL roster out of training camp, and the trade of Jeremy Davies to Nashville, Reilly Walsh will become the Devils’ best defensive prospect this season. Walsh is also facing an opportunity to step into a larger role for the Harvard Crimson this season. Teammate Adam Fox, who recently signed an entry-level contract with the New York Rangers, played higher up the Harvard lineup for the past two seasons. Both are right-handed defensemen. Both are offensively gifted. Both play the powerplay.

John Marino, who was preparing to enter his senior year and also a RD for Harvard, recently signed an entry level contract with the Pittsburgh penguins. This change further paves the way for Walsh to take control of the defensive corps. This summer has been the perfect series of events for those watching Walsh’s progression, as he will now be given every opportunity to take a leadership role for Harvard.