Maple Leafs select defenceman Matt Lahey with 200th overall pick of 2024 NHL Draft
By Alex Hobson
2 days agoThe Toronto Maple Leafs have selected defenceman Matt Lahey from the Nanaimo Clippers of the BCHL with the 200th pick of the 2024 NHL Draft.
It was their first of three picks in the seventh round of the draft.
Hailing from Victoria, British Columbia, Lahey is a defensive, physical defenceman who recorded 19 points in 54 games for the Clippers, a Junior-A team based in B.C. He is committed to playing for Clarkson University of the NCAA next season.
Standing at 6-foot-4 and 201 pounds, Lahey is a left-handed defenceman who isn’t known for producing offence. Instead, he makes his money in the defensive zone and in front of his own net. Here’s what EliteProspects’ draft guide had to say about him.
Playing an average of 20:07 as a 17-year-old, the Victoria-born left-shot defender regularly ate over two minutes of shorthanded time per game. Lahey is not just a physical force, but a strategic player who intelligently leverages his size advantages. His defensive style isn’t really centred around cataclysmic hits, but about disrupting the game. He excels at sealing the boards, often pinning puck carriers, trapping feet, and forcing pucks to the outside, showcasing his cerebral approach to the game.
After acquiring the rights to towering Boston University defenceman Cade Webber this past spring, the Leafs are starting to show what type of defenceman they like, or more specifically, what kind of defenceman Brad Treliving likes. Can you blame the guy? He’s the same height as Lahey and was a defenceman in his heyday himself.
All jokes aside, Lahey brings those defensive instincts that the team is seemingly prioritizing, shown with the first-round selection of Ben Danford of the Oshawa Generals. He’ll bring some good depth to an organization that desperately needs depth on the back end, both in the NHL and in the prospect system.
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