At the 2009 Entry Draft, Nazem Kadri received all of the attention from the Toronto media while the remaining picks have been largely ignored. The second round pick last year (58th overall), Jesse Blacker is legitimate prospect.
In 2008-09, Jesse played defense for the Memorial Cup winners, the Windsor Spitfires. This season saw Jesse force a trade. Eager to play a more prominent role and squeezed out by the numbers on a stacked Windsor Spitfires team he headed home early in the season to force a trade. He got his wish and finished the season with Owen Sound. At the end of the OHL regular season, Blacker signed a contract with the Maple Leafs and was assigned to the Toronto Marlies.
Jesse Blacker is considered a good puck moving defenseman who is not afraid to use the body. He is good at moving forwards from in front of his own net. However, he is also been criticized for running around in his own end and getting out of position. He will have to work on his positional play before he gets a chance for a promotion to the big team. At 6'2" and 190 lbs he will also have to put on some weight. His resume is littered with some truculence, testosterone, pugnacity and belligerence which means that Brian Burke will be patient to see how he develops.
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