Welcome to the Ilia Topuria Era: UFC 317 win cements superstar status

The UFC’s new lightweight champion Ilia Topuria has joined an exclusive group of two-division champions, and appears poised to embark on an historic run.

TORONTO — Size. Toughness. And competitiveness.

The Toronto Maple Leafs certainly prioritized playoff traits in their first draft led by new director of amateur scouting Mark Leach.

This year’s crop of prospects isn’t big in numbers but is formidable in frame.

“We just felt size was a big factor involved, because there wasn’t much difference in their skill set. And that’s one of the elements that I like,” Leach explained Saturday at the club’s east end headquarters. “Yes, I’ve drafted smaller players, but those smaller guys have to be so highly skilled, so highly intelligent, and probably have a knack for scoring. 

“That’s what I defer to size. It’s just, the game of hockey is hard. Two months of playoff grind — it’s a battle.”

The well-respected Leach — who was plucked from the Dallas Stars and three-time GM of the Year Jim Nill after the 2024 draft — estimated a significant drop in the 2025 draft crop following the 15th-overall pick.

The objective, then, is to find diamonds in the rough.

Especially when you don’t make your first selection until the final pick of Day 2, Round 2.

“You take the best available player talent-wise at that pick. When you get down to No. 64 and that area, these players take a little longer to develop. Or it is maybe not a straight line to get where they want to go from A to B,” Leach explains. 

“You just be patient with them. Be patient with the development a