Maple Leafs add Travis Dermott, Jeremy Bracco, Martin Dzierkals after trading down

For all the tooth-gnashing the London Knights generated with how they ended up with ticketed-for-stardom talents, current Toronto Maple Leafs GM Mark Hunter made his bones by building depth by finding value with lower picks in the OHL priority selection draft.

Point being, the Hunter-led Knights didn't defy the cycle of junior hockey simply because they could get a great player to break a NCAA commitment, or just magically sniff out which highly touted minor midget player was using his NCAA option as a smoke screen. For instance, that's how Hunter and his brother, Knights coach Dale Hunter, turned up contributors such as present-day Leafs farmhand Ryan Rupert.

That approach filtered up to how the Leafs went about stocking the cupboard in their first draft since being part of the NHL's summer of analytics in 2014. The narrative really formed Friday night. The Leafs held the No. 24 overall choice and there was, within the Canadian Hockey League realm, household names on the board still available, such as Ottawa 67's captain Travis Konecny and Portland Winterhawks bulllhunkus Paul Bittner.

The Leafs, though, traded down twice and ultimately parlayed that No. 24 selection into a high second (34th), late second (61st) and early third (68th). If one or two of those selections — Erie Otters puck-moving defenceman Travis Dermott, U.S. under-18 team playmaking right wing Jeremy Bracco and HK Riga left wing Martins Dzierkals — pans out, then the Leafs' calculated risk will be worth it. The Leafs also used its own No. 65 choice on thick-bodied Lethbridge Hurricanes defenceman Andrew Nielsen.

Potentially — key word — Bracco's development alone might justify trading down. In a similar vein to Konecny, the Long Island, N.Y., native is a skill player that has a strong shot for an 18-year-old, the disposition to carry the puck through the heavy going and plays bigger than his listed height of 5-foot-9. Bracco had nearly an assist per game (64 in 65) for the U18 team, but of course, there's always some question about how wings who are passers more than shooters will adapt to the next level.

Bracco is committed to Boston College, but with so much OHL presence in the Leafs' inner circle, one wonders how firm that is. The Kitchener Rangers, now coached by ex-Leaf Mike Van Ryn, have his junior rights.

Additionally:

— Dermott is a mobile puck-moving defenceman who makes relatively few mistakes and, after playing with Connor McDavid and Dylan Strome, et al., in Erie, is seasoned at syncing up with advanced offensive players. He also has a captain's personality. Like 2012 Leafs pick Connor Brown, who just completed his first AHL season, he also became a player in Erie after being taken in the later rounds of the priority selection.

— Nielsen's attributes have been obscured by playing with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. At 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds with a strong skating stride, the 18-year-old (late 1996 birthdate) certainly has the tools to justify the pick. That's the type of choice

— Dzierkals got on the radar after being signed by the Kontinental Hockey League's HK Riga and assigned to its junior team, where he lit it up against same-age competition. Given how Latvian players have thrived in major junior, one would expect him to also be selected in Tuesday's Canadian Hockey League import draft.

— Toronto rounded out its top-100 selections at No. 95 with Jesper Lindgren from the Modo juniors in Sweden. He's an Erik Karlsson-esque 5-foot-11 and 161 pounds, but possesses good vision .

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @naitSAYger.