Who is David Broll?
By Chemmy
12 years ago
Per the Toronto Maple Leafs press release:
Brian Burke, President and General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, announced Friday that the hockey club has signed 2011 draft choice David Broll to a three-year entry level contract.
David Broll was drafted 152nd overall in 2011 and so I was curious as to why Toronto would spend an ELC on him so soon.
His counting stats aren’t much to look at. At around a half point per game in the OHL we’d expect Broll to chip in about 15 points in the NHL next season if he played 82 games. Doing some Google work led me to Kevin Sellathamby’s draft profile for Broll:
David Broll is a forward for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds,who was acquired in a mid-season trade from the Erie Otters. Broll was selected 10th overall in the CHL entry draft by Erie, which meant he had a lot of promise to begin with. However, all the promise of a monsterous power forward didn’t really come to fruition- with only 34 points on the entire season, Broll looked to be a massive disappointment. Considering his relatively weak skating ability, it only made it worse for Broll, who saw his ranking plummet from 78th to 139th, a drop of 61 places.
Having read that I think we get an idea of what Broll is likely to become: a guy who can punch people up. This isn’t all doom and gloom though; the draft in later rounds is about maximizing your return on your late picks which aren’t worth very much. On the topic of his skating LeafsProspects.com had this say:
When you ask about Broll, you get the term “mean SOB” a lot. A fast skater who will absolutely run people over when they get in his tracks, Broll still has some work to do on his foot work and turning pivots. Many believe he could explode onto the scene offensively next year and play a real role with the Soo. He’s been described as having that “Milan Lucic” mean factor, and others have expressed that he could become a similar player if development goes right for the 6’2, 220 lb winger. This is another project pick with some good upside as a power forward.
David Broll probably isn’t the next Keith Primeau or Milan Lucic but if a 6th rounder plays an NHL game it was a good pick. Broll is a guy who slipped down the rankings and was available well after his projected slot which makes him a bit of a project. Burke obviously sees something in this kid to want to pull him into the Leafs system right now.
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