Bruins goalie Swayman once thought he would be drafted by Leafs
Taken in the fourth round of the 2017 NHL draft, goalie Jeremy Swayman has turned into a steal for the Boston Bruins. But back on draft day, he actually expected the Toronto Maple Leafs to call his name.
As a guest on John Scott’s podcast Droppin’ the Gloves, Swayman — who has been stellar against the Leafs in an ongoing first-round series — explained how multiple conversations with Leafs management had him believing he would be going there.
“I was looking for Toronto to draft me because I was talking to them a ton during the year. And pick 110 and Toronto was up… I was like ‘alright maybe we could do this,'” he explained in the 2022 interview. “They drafted another goalie.”
Once the Leafs decided upon another netminder, the 25-year-old revealed that he had doubts about getting selected at all that year.
“I didn’t talk to too many teams. I definitely had interest by a bunch, but there wasn’t any like Toronto.”
"I was looking for Toronto to draft me because I talked to them a ton during the year… Pick 110…they draft another goalie."
With Pick 111, the Bruins took @JeremySwayman.
Sway tells the story:@hockeyfights #leafsforever #nhlbruins pic.twitter.com/JM34HIMrGe
— Dropping the Gloves (@dropping_gloves) September 23, 2022
Ultimately, Boston selected him with the very next pick —a move that has benefitted the Bruins greatly, with the Alaska native winning the William M. Jennings Trophy last season and finding himself in the running for a Vezina Trophy this year.
So who was the other goalie Toronto settled upon instead?
Ian Scott, of course.
Despite being named CHL goalie of the year in 2019, Scott never made it to the NHL and announced his retirement at age 23 back in July 2022. To be fair, a slew of unpredictable injuries played a major role in that decision.
Still, as the Leafs have struggled to find a consistent starter in recent years, management’s decision to pass on Swayman, who currently boasts a 1.51 GAA and .955 SV% against Toronto in the playoffs, has officially come back to bite them.
With the Bruins up 2-1 in the series, it’ll hurt all the more if Swayman’s heroic help put an end to Toronto’s postseason.
Leafs 2024 first-round playoff schedule
- Game 4: Saturday, April 27, Boston at Toronto, 8 pm ET
- Game 5: Tuesday, April 30, Toronto at Boston, TBD
- Game 6: Thursday, May 2, Boston at Toronto, TBD*
- Game 7: Saturday, May 4, Toronto at Boston, TBD*
*if necessary
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