Music: {allcanada} Potential Leaf Galchenyuk: 'I love Toronto'

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

{allcanada} Potential Leaf Galchenyuk: 'I love Toronto'

The Toronto Maples Leafs hold the fifth pick in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. Alex Galchenyuk of the Sarnia Sting is has been slotted fifth in many an expert's mock draft.

The Leafs are looking for a talented centre; Galchenyuk is a talented centre.

The pairing makes sense, and although much can happen between now and June 22, when the blue chips start falling at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, hockey fans and analysts are speculating that the 18-year-old forward could wear the white and blue.

In Toronto this week for the NHL Combine, Galchenyuk appeared on The Fan 590's Joey Vandetta Show on Tuesday, alongside Sting teammate Nail Yakupov, and addressed the hearsay.

"Yeah, I've heard a lot of rumours. And I also have a Twitter account, and there's a lot of fans on Twitter, Toronto fans, that keep tweeting me, saying, 'You might end up in Toronto. That's my team,' " Galchenyuk said. "I love Toronto. Obviously it's a great city, and people go crazy about hockey. They're good fans. It doesn't matter where I end up playing, but Toronto would be good."

"Ever since I was a little kid, my dream was to play in the NHL," Galchenyuk said on Tuesday, "so I'm here (at the combine) working hard and we'll see what happens."

A native of Milwaukee, Galchenyuk is the son of Belarusian hockey player Alexander Galchenyuk, who now serves as an assistant coach for his son's Ontario Hockey League team.

The 6'1", 185-pound top prospect was selected first overall pick in the 2010 OHL priority selection draft, after scoring 87 points in 38 games for the Chicago Young Americans, making him the MWEHL's top scorer in 2009-10.

Though he only played two games and didn't register a point for the Sting this season due to an ACL injury, Galchenyuk scored 31 goals and 52 assists for Sarnia in 2010-11.

If centre Alex Galchenyuk is available and the Toronto Maple Leafs hold onto their fifth pick, should they draft him?