The Toronto Maple Leafs entered the draft with an incredible stroke of fortune after jumping up and winning the draft lottery. And with a little help from Justin Bieber, they took full advantage by selecting this year’s premier winger, Gavin McKenna.

From there, Toronto shifted its focus toward strengthening organizational depth, particularly on the blue line, while adding two goaltenders and a few high-character forwards.

It’s easy to look at this class and immediately focus on McKenna — and understandably so — but the Leafs quietly put together a very solid supporting cast and one of the better hauls among the entire league. Landed several players who are considered good value relative to where they were selected and made good use of the large number of picks they had left themselves.

If we could find any criticism, it’s that Toronto leaned heavily toward safer projections after the first round instead of swinging for more offensive upside. But when you leave a draft with a franchise cornerstone and a handful of players with realistic NHL potential, you can rest easy knowing you did well, and the organization is in a much stronger position as a result.

This pick hardly deserved a letter grade. It was clear. It wasn’t controversial. It was the pick.

Gavin McKenna entered the season as the clear-cut top prospect, and although his projection hit a few speed bumps along the way, he cemented himself with a stellar second half.

His combination of elite hockey sense, incredible creativity and offensive instincts gives him true franchise-player potential. Most shifts at the levels he’s played at to date are dangerous because he processes the game a step ahead of everyone else.

He’s capable of creating offence as both a shooter and a passer, showed much more compete and consistency through the back half of the year and has shown an ability to elevate his play in big moments.

Winning the lottery changed the organization’s trajectory overnight, and the McKenna era has officially begun.

Alexander Bilecki was a strong way to begin Day 2.

He’s a modern defensive defenceman who skates exceptionally well, closes gaps quickly and moves the puck efficiently. While he isn’t likely to quarterback an NHL power play, he projects as someone capable of playing difficult minutes against quality competition. Then again, playing down the defensive pairing on a strong Memorial Cup-winning Kitchener team may still allow the true potential within to show itself.

Landing that profile near the end of the second round is prudent work and a safe bet to make late on day two.

Toronto continued reinforcing its blue-line depth with another dependable defender just nine picks later.

Coming in as an overager, Ethan MacKenzie brings a mature, low-maintenance game. He keeps strong positioning, rarely gets caught chasing plays and consistently makes smart first passes out of his own zone. He enjoyed a breakout season with the Edmonton Oil Kings, firing at a near point-per-game, so you knew this was the hear he’d hear his name called. His offensive ceiling may be somewhat limited, but there is clear NHL utility in his game.

It may not be flashy, but it’s difficult to argue with the process.

Grade: B+

The Maple Leafs did it again just four picks later, selecting Zach Olsen, who brings intelligence and versatility down the middle.

He’s a responsible three zone player, wins his share of puck battles, and consistently supports his teammates. While he doesn’t possess elite offensive tools, his hockey IQ gives him an opportunity to develop into a reliable NHL contributor soomewhere in a lineup.

Every organization needs centres that can be trusted, and Olsen fits that description.

This may quietly become one of Toronto’s sneakier and top selections.

Mans Gudmundsson possesses strong mobility for his size (6-foot-3) and still has significant room to develop physically. His skating allows him to defend with strong gaps, while his puck-moving ability is one of the best among this tier of players.

Many scouts viewed him as a player who could have come off the board earlier, making this one of the better value picks of the third round.

The Leafs addressed the crease back-to-back goalie picks, first electing for one of the more athletic profiles available to them.

Juuso Ainasto remains somewhat raw technically, but his movement, athleticism and natural reflexes provide plenty of reasons for optimism. There’s going to have to be some patience in his development, but that’s also just the nature of the goalie market.

Doubling up on goaltenders is never a bad strategy if you feel the need.

Goalie development is incredibly unpredictable, and selecting two netminders significantly increases the organization’s odds of eventually developing an NHL contributor. Patriks Plumins has intriguing physical tools and is worth the investment.

Cooper Williams plays the type of honest, hard-working game coaches appreciate.

He competes consistently, thinks the game well and brings plenty of energy. While his offensive upside may be somewhat limited, those are valuable traits to bet on late in the draft.

We could easily see Yarolslav Fedoseyev outperforming where he was selected. Especially cosndiering most pundits had him landing somewhere well before the 100’s.

He has intriguing puck-moving ability, good size and enough raw tools to become an interesting long-term project. At this stage of the draft, taking swings on upside is exactly the right strategy.

Brody Pepoy rounds out Toronto’s class with another intelligent, competitive forward.

He’ll need time to develop physically, but he consistently plays the game the right way and gives himself a chance to exceed expectations through effort and hockey sense.

It’s a fine late-round bet.

It’s difficult to lose a draft when you leave with Gavin McKenna. Not to mention a 10-pick haul.

The Leafs added arguably the best prospect in hockey before quietly assembling a strong and balanced supporting class. Bilecki, Mackenzie and Gudmundsson strengthen and improve the defensive pipeline, Olsen and Williams continue building centre depth, while two swings in goal add organizational depth at the game’s most unpredictable position.

There weren’t many flashy selections after the lottery win, but Toronto consistently found value and stayed true to a clear organizational philosophy. McKenna will rightfully dominate the headlines, but the work they did after the first overall pick deserves recognition as well.