Toronto Maple Leafs are No. 28 in 2025 NHL prospect pool rankings

Welcome to Scott Wheeler’s 2025 rankings of every NHL organization’s prospects. You can find the complete ranking and more information on the project and its criteria here, as we count down daily from No. 32 to No. 1. The series, which includes in-depth evaluations and insight from sources on nearly 500 prospects, runs from Jan. 8 to Feb. 7.

After not picking in the second and third rounds in each of the last two drafts, and in the first round in each of the two before that, the Leafs’ pool has taken a hit in both quality and quantity, landing them at No. 28 in the countdown for consecutive years. They’ve got a few prospects with NHL promise and two legit goalie prospects, but their pool lacks upside after Easton Cowan.

2024 prospect pool rank: No. 28 (change: none)

1. Easton Cowan, C/RW/LW, 19 (London Knights)

Cowan is a standout skater who buzzes around the ice, works and plays hard and even thrives on the penalty kill. He emerged as an important player for a strong Knights team (especially in the playoffs where London’s first line — Cowan, Philadelphia Flyers prospect Denver Barkey and Seattle Kraken prospect Ryan Winterton — was relentless) in his draft year and took another giant step forward last season to win both the OHL’s Most Outstanding Player award and OHL Playoffs MVP, registering 138 points in 76 combined games in the regular season, playoffs and Memorial Cup. His play was so strong that it upgraded his projection from an effective third-line contributor to an impactful top-nine player for me. This season has also been another strong one in the OHL and saw him return from whiplash to continue his record-setting OHL points streak. He had a difficult World Juniors, though, displaying some of the bad habits, poor play selection and hockey IQ questions that have followed him.

He plays a fast, clever, determined and consistent 200-foot game, hunting pucks, winning races and then making little skill plays when opportunities or openings in coverage present themselves. He takes or plays pucks into the middle, thrives in give-and-gos playing off his linemate, supports play defensively and can play in a haze/rush but has also shown the ability to use and elevate his linemates. He does a good job holding pucks around sticks at speed. He’s a heart-and-soul guy who I’m confident will take his career as far as it can go. He’ll regularly gain a step on junior defenders and while his effort can sometimes be ineffectively deployed (he’s got work to do on his routes and decisions on and off the puck), he thrives on instinct more often than it burns him. His over-reliance on those instincts will require some coaching in the NHL, though.

He does play with a hunch in his stride, which impacts his game (both positively and negatively). On one hand, he’s always engaged and on his toes because he never straightens up his stance and comes to a standstill, and he’s agile on his first cut/change of direction (less so on his second because of the commitment required). On the other, when he really commits to a position into contact or a reach-in, it can put him off-balance and push him around at his size.

He has really learned how to make his game work on a shift-to-shift basis, though, and now makes better choices on his touches than he used to. He looks like a stud prospect now. It doesn’t hurt that he has considerable experience playing all three forward positions, either.

2. Fraser Minten, C, 20 (Toronto Marlies/Toronto Maple Leafs) 

The production has never quite been there (in Kamloops, Saskatoon and even at the World Juniors he never executed inside the offensive zone at the clip you’d expect out of a player who played in the NHL at both 19 and 20) but there’s a belief — and not just within the Leafs — that his smarts and work ethic will earn him a long career as a third-liner and he has had a strong start to his first full pro season split between the NHL and AHL this year, especially considering his delayed start due to a high ankle sprain. I’ve always viewed Minten as more of a 4C than a 3C and I don’t ever expect him to produce like a high-end 3C, but he might be able to become a serviceable third-liner.

He’s a heady three-zone player who makes smart, calculated choices with and without the puck and can sometimes show secondary skill through decent hands, good sense and a one-touch shot or an accurate and subtle wrister release (which was particularly potent attacking downhill off the flank on the power play in the WHL) when opportunities present themselves, but he’s not a player who makes offense happen individually beyond more than winning battles/forechecking and making a quick play.

He’s got great spatial awareness and understands how to use the sheet and opposing coverage to his advantage both on and off the puck. He’s got some hesitation pre-shot to create that extra second to get his wrister off. He stays with pucks and is active on stick lifts. I like him pushing across the line on entries and carrying pucks in the neutral zone at the junior level. He’s comfortable going to the net to make plays and tipping pucks on screens to create his offense. He’s responsible and detail-oriented on the puck, and has a sixth sense for the way plays are developing and how he can involve himself in them. He’s good on the forecheck and the cycle and enjoys winning battles. His numbers don’t pop but he plays at a very level-headed style game to game, he knows who he is, he plays the full 200 feet, and he knows where to be and what to do when he’s on the ice, especially as a real supportive linemate. He has also added good size to his frame through hard work and is now a pro-bodied player. His game is more about know-how than individual skill, though, and his offensive ceiling will always be relatively low.

3. Ben Danford, RHD, 18 (Oshawa Generals)

Danford doesn’t have the statistical profile you’d look for out of a first-rounder (though it did start to improve as last season progressed and he visibly tried to do more and more as the season went on and into a nice playoff run with Oshawa) and some scouts have been hesitant about his offensive game, but he has the respect of a lot of people around the OHL and the Generals it was no surprise when they named him captain this season (they had considered naming him captain in his draft year).

Danford gets high marks as a person and as a player who takes care of his own end first but is developing his offensive instincts and starting to take more chances off the line and involve himself in more plays around the offensive and neutral zones. He also shows good poise under pressure to hold pucks with players on his back and find ways to spin off and head-man/exit/escape. His skating is average or maybe slightly above. I wouldn’t call it a strength but it’s decent and he’s a strong athlete who performs well in physical testing. More importantly, the details are already there (stick placement, gap control, reads, positioning, etc.). I’ve also seen him show more comfort under pressure to beat the first layer and make better choices atop the blue line to work off his teammates and use space to his advantage. He’s got a strong foundation and has made important progress in key areas. There are many who believe he’s going to make a solid third-pairing NHL defenseman someday. Like Minten, though, I think he’s ultimately a high-floor, low-ceiling prospect.

4. Artur Akhtyamov, G, 23 (Toronto Marlies)

I liked Akhtyamov in his draft year and wasn’t surprised when the Leafs used their then-annual goalie pick on him even though NHL Central Scouting didn’t rank him. His track record in the MHL and then VHL and eventually KHL line up with the Russian goalies that tend to progress up the ranks and that has continued to reveal itself in his excellent start to his career in North America in the AHL. He’s a lean 6-foot-2 (up an inch from his KHL listing) and 170 pounds, but he’s quick in his net, his positioning is sound and aggressive, and he rarely gets beat high glove or high blocker despite that small-ish frame because he’s got good hands and he stays on his feet long enough to make shoulder saves up high. He’s a very good young goalie and has shown nothing to suggest he won’t continue to climb the depth chart. If he can maintain the level we’ve seen over an extended sample size in the AHL, he’ll leapfrog Dennis Hildeby. Save percentages tend to skew toward the higher end in Russia in general, but he looks the part of his numbers and has played really well behind some bad teams over the years. I’m a believer in him becoming a solid NHL goalie.

5. Dennis Hildeby, G, 23 (Toronto Marlies/Toronto Maple Leafs)

Drafted by the Leafs as a double-overager and quickly signed, Hildeby is one of the biggest (6-foot-7), heaviest (220-plus pounds) goalies in the sport. And though his numbers have been just OK this year, he entered this season with a .921 save percentage in 28 SHL games across three years, and an AHL save percentage that hovered above .910. He outplayed veteran Matt Tomkins (who is now with the Tampa Bay Lightning) to go from backup to a tandem role in the SHL two years ago and outplayed all of the goalies who’ve come through the Marlies last year (including veteran Martin Jones). And while he began this year as the Leafs’ No. 3 and got the first call-up, he has ceded starts to Akhtyamov and Matt Murray in an odd three-goalie setup in the AHL. He can look a little sluggish when plays break down and he has to scramble and move a lot, but he makes up for that with his strong tracking, positioning, angles, reads and rebound control. He’s also got good hands for a bigger goalie (sometimes larger goalies lack some coordination), which extends his range in the net even further. There’s a lot to work with there and while he’s not the perfect goalie he represents good organizational depth and there are some who believe he’s going to be a No. 2 in the NHL.

6. Nikita Grebenkin, RW/LW, 21 (Toronto Marlies/Toronto Maple Leafs)

Maybe the best story in the Leafs’ prospect pool the last three seasons, Grebenkin — drafted as an overager in the fifth round in 2022 after he was one of the MHL’s leading scorers — played in the top six for two different KHL teams, scored at the top of his age bracket in consecutive seasons (behind only first-rounders like Danila Yurov, his then-teammate, and Matvei Michkov), and then came to North America and immediately made a strong impression both in his first camp and then early on in the AHL season to position himself as a top call-up.

Grebenkin is a big, strong 6-foot-2 left-shot right winger with an awkward-looking upright stance, decent hands and a good enough feel as a passer. He’s a north-south worker whose game fits on the smaller ice surface, allowing him to stick his nose into dirty areas to try to him things happen. He has really filled out since getting drafted, going from rangy to stocky and has smoothed out his stride (which isn’t slow at all but doesn’t look clean either) and developed his shot into more of a tool (he gets it off really quickly). He’s always going to be a worker first who relies on his instincts and timing, with fall-back skill as more of a secondary or tertiary element, though. He sees the ice better than people think though and does have some skill in possession, though, too. He has started to attack for his own looks and unlock some more potential over the last couple of years. Grebenkin’s got a clear path to becoming an honest, complementary bottom-six NHL winger and fan favorite (which he has already become in Toronto).

7. Topi Niemelä, RHD, 22 (Toronto Marlies)

Niemelä doesn’t seem like a priority for this new Leafs coaching staff and management group, who’ve clearly prioritized length in filling out their No. 5-8 roles. He has even been a healthy scratch at times with the Marlies, putting in doubt any NHL future at all. But I’ve got to rank players where I think they belong and I think this is roughly where Niemelä slots on my evaluation.

After an excellent career as one of the most productive young players (and defensemen, regardless of age) in Liiga and logging 19-20 minutes in a good pro league, I thought Niemelä had a strong rookie season with the Marlies last season and in the year prior’s playoffs. His 39 points in 68 games last season were fourth-most amongst under-22 AHL defensemen behind three players who’ve all played in the NHL since (Logan Mailloux, Brandt Clarke and Jack Thompson). I know he didn’t show well in training camp last year and then was banged up to start this year and hasn’t taken a step with the Marlies, but I still think he should (key word) be playing more for them.

Niemelä is a poised, calculating, one-step-ahead player who can make the game look easy. He can comfortably quarterback a power play, he creates offense consistently at five-on-five, he’s an able defender, and he drives results with the consistency of his execution. Niemelä’s ability to calmly take passes, beat the first layer and then quickly identify a lane or move his feet to create one distinguishes him. His game is detailed but also smooth, driving results with smart decisions in all three zones.

He’s not overly aggressive, so you’ll rarely see him try to beat multiple people to force a play individually (like you might expect out of someone who has been as productive as he has) but he’ll use whatever space he’s given as a tool to get better opportunities for himself or his teammates. While he’s not powerful through his stride or in his board battles, good footwork helps him open up and direct opposing players to the outside, close gaps, recover from mistakes or adjust across the offensive-zone blue line with the puck.

He knows exactly when to move, attack and take space. He’s so smart on exits, where he just makes subtle little plays with the puck on his stick to evade pressure, escape danger and skate the puck out of the zone. Still, while I think he had a chance to become a No. 5-8 D, it’ll almost surely take a change of scenery for that to happen now. Oddly enough, I actually think the Leafs’ pool lacks his player type at the moment as well.

8. Noah Chadwick, LHD, 19 (Lethbridge Hurricanes) 

Chadwick was a difficult player to project in his draft year because while he had some clear tools (not many 6-foot-4, 200-pound teenagers with real smarts), his low-end statistical profile didn’t line up with what looked like a thinking man’s player. Then last year he took the step forward the Leafs likely expected he would/hoped for, emerging as Lethbridge’s No. 1 D, playing close to a point per game (he was an 18-year-old) and winning CHL Scholastic Player of the Year. He reads the game quite well, understands the way plays develop and can play within structure without any real headaches. His skating is a concern (his footwork and backward mobility/pivots can let him down and have been noticeable hindrances at higher paces like the World Junior Summer Showcase) but his athletic tools are slowly catching up. I still think he’s more likely a No. 7-8 type than an everyday third-pairing defenseman when it’s all said and done but there is a path for him as a likeable kid and player to climb through the AHL after this year and begin to work towards and NHL career. He’s a good prospect for a sixth-round pick already though and there’s some NHL upside there if he continues to develop his game.

9. Miroslav Holinka, C/RW, 19 (Edmonton Oil Kings)

I thought Holinka was the most interesting of the Leafs’ three fifth-round picks in 2024 (he clearly looked to be above his peers at Czechia’s junior level last year and showed some pro tools). He was off to a strong start in the WHL before getting injured on an awkward hit near the end of the first period on Nov. 30, too, but made it back and had a strong World Juniors to help the Czechs to a bronze medal. At the time of the injury, he had the best goal-differential numbers on the Oil Kings, was playing 18 minutes per game and had 10 goals and 21 points in 22 games. He’s got good size and above-average tools in most areas. He understands where to be on the ice both offensively and defensively, and does a good job supporting the puck and play. He’s not a super competitive or scrappy player but he’s got a good stick and habits. And he doesn’t have dynamic skill or skating, but he’s an intelligent offensive player. I don’t know that he’ll be a long-term NHLer (or what role he’d play if he gets there) but I do see a path where he plays games at some point he should get signed.

10. William Villeneuve, RHD, 22 (Toronto Marlies)

For a long time, Villeneuve was one of those players who was at his best when he let the game come to him. However, he could also stray from that and turn into a player you notice for good and bad reasons because he’d try to involve himself a little too much. At the pro level, he has done a better job of finding the balance and has become a quietly effective player but not one that has a clear NHL role. For a while, there were times when he wanted to join every rush and walk every line and you realized that he didn’t necessarily have the skating (though this skill took too much flack coming up and has really smoothed out, even if his feet can still trail his body in straight lines) to be that guy. There were also times when he wanted to close every gap and his crossovers looked smooth. It used to be too much of a roller coaster. Over time, that has been coached out of him. But there are also now times when I wish he were actually a little busier again.

Villeneuve can be a confident, capable playmaker who can lead exits and entries, manage the point and execute through seams. He’s got some vision and creativity in his own right, too. He can sometimes take a split second too long to read and react to the play in front of him, but I think he has made progress on that front and he has plenty of other redeeming tools (soft and hard, including a 6-foot-2 frame). When he plays quickly and trusts his instincts instead of hesitating, he’s an effective defenseman with some new-age traits. I fully understand why the Leafs development team made the investment in what was a quick entry-level deal for a fourth-round pick and while their priorities have changed I think he’d be a fine call-up option today.

11. Ryan Tverberg, RW, 22 (Toronto Marlies)

Tverberg, who first really demanded my attention at the CJHL Top Prospects Game in his draft year and was excellent down the stretch of that season to narrowly earn a seventh-round selection to the Leafs, has followed a good path, though it’s starting to look like may not finish as an NHLer. After a switch from Harvard to UConn during the pandemic, he was the Huskies’ best forward in consecutive seasons for my money and competed to try to make the Canadian World Junior team. Last year, he got off to a strong start in his rookie season with the Marlies before missing six weeks due to injury. Since then, injuries and even a one-game suspension for elbowing have slowed his development. Now he’s about to turn 23 and will age out of this project in a couple of weeks, making next year — the last of his entry-level contract — a critical one for him to take a step and go from middle-six AHLer in role and production to go-to guy for the Marlies.

He plays a consistent shift-to-shift game built upon a good work ethic, a smooth and decently fast skating stride and good overall skill. He can make defenders bite with a shoulder fake at speed, cut past them inside-out or cut through them with an outside-in fake and his hands move in unison to help him position and adjust around coverage. He has also grown rapidly (he’s now 6 feet and 190 pounds) after growing up as a tiny kid. He’s not a dynamic offensive-zone player but he plays to the middle of the ice, works hard, adjusts his speed and tempo effectively, and can finish plays from the home plate area (though he’s still working to get there more often at the pro level). Whether or not he makes it, he was a good value pick at 213th.

12. Jacob Quillan, C, 22 (Toronto Marlies)

Quillan, like Tverberg, will soon turn 23 and age out of “prospecthood” under my criteria. He won a national championship at Quinnipiac and made some big plays in big games. There were several NHL teams pushing to sign him when the Leafs landed him last spring, but there were also questions as to whether he’d be more than a solid AHLer. It has been a slow burn for him with the Marlies statistically, though I think he’s been more effective than his production indicates. Quillan’s a good player. He involves himself shift to shift. He’s got well-rounded skill. He’s a competitive, smart kid. And while he’s got average size and doesn’t maybe look it at a quick glance, he’s quietly strong on pucks. He plays to his linemates. I’m not sure what he is up levels, though, and he may just be a guy even if the stats start to come and he gets into the call-up conversation (and I do think the production will start to come in the AHL).

13. Victor Johansson, LHD, 18 (Leksands IF)

The youngest in a line of drafted Johansson brothers after Simon (a 2018 fifth-rounder of the Wild now playing in Liiga) and Anton (a 2022 fourth-rounder of the Red Wings currently playing in the SHL), Victor (who is also a cousin of NHLer Alexander Wennberg) is a slight but competitive 6-foot-1 defender who I didn’t spend much time on in his draft year last year until I was told late in the season to give him a watch. He’s now having a positive post-draft season for a fourth-rounder as well. He has played 21-plus minutes per game at the J20 level, has been one of the league’s most productive D and has made his SHL debut. He’s a heady, increasingly physical two-way type (his underlying J20 results have been really strong this season) with decent athletic tools. He’s still early in his development but he has shown comfort holding and moving pucks, passing and advancing play, and steering opposing carriers into tough spots off the rush. Patience will be important as he’s still got a long way to go but he’s got some tools and is worth following.

14. Nick Moldenhauer, C/RW, 20 (University of Michigan)

After the start to his draft year went about as badly as it possibly could, Moldenhauer overcame illness and serious injury to emerge as one of the best forwards in the USHL, played for Team Canada at U18 worlds and got drafted in the third round by the Leafs. In an effort to play an uninterrupted year before going to college, he then stayed in Chicago post-draft and finished second on the Steel in scoring behind Macklin Celebrini with 75 points in 55 games. His two seasons at Michigan have been unremarkable, though. He was good but not great in a third-line right-wing role last year and hasn’t taken a step this year.

He’s a high-energy worker who combines an engine with an offensive toolbox that lacks dynamism but also gets B grades across the board. His skating, once a cause for minor criticism, is now average (he builds speed nicely through his crossovers). He’s a versatile player who sees the ice well, reads and anticipates play quickly. He can play off his linemates, be in the right place at the right time and facilitate with his solid vision and playmaking instincts. He was known coming up as a good, effective, intelligent player. I still think he’s got what it takes to earn a contract as an upperclassman but his production just isn’t there right now and I wonder if an eventual transfer may be in his best interests.

15. Joe Miller, C, 22 (Harvard University) 

Miller is a unique player type as a 5-foot-9/10, 160/170-pound forward who has risen up levels not because of dynamic skill but through sheer smarts and work ethic.

His offensive game isn’t built upon possessing the puck and making individual plays, it’s built off the puck, finding space, playing in give-and-gos rather than carries and getting open. He hides in coverage and scores tap-in goals, rather than skill plays. His head is always on a swivel. He’s not scoring dancing through holes. He’s reading coverage and spacing. He tracks and plays on timing. He passes on entry and then gets open, instead of carrying on entry like you expect out of a smaller player. And he’ll make plays through layers when they’re there. He’s an agile skater who can beat defenders to spots and turn them around occasionally, too. But his offense comes more frequently from little small-area plays and using his skating and feel for the opposition’s structure to get open and/or play to the inside.

Despite his size, Miller has been relied upon as a top defensive player and penalty killer because of his intellect and sense for prodding pressure points, disrupting passes and breaking up plays. He also uses his size to his advantage in battles, leading with his stick, getting his stick on pucks and then using his feet to gain inside positioning.

In each facet of the game, you get a player who’s effective because of the way he plays more than because of the tools he possesses. Now, is it enough to get signed and become an NHLer rather than an AHLer? I’m not convinced as he’s a pretty uncommon player type (and may not be a Brad Treliving type), but he’s had three decent seasons at Harvard and he’s worth one last mention before he ages out.

The Tiers

As always, each prospect pool ranking is broken down into team-specific tiers in order to give you a better sense of the proximity from one player — or group of players — to the next.

The Maple Leafs’ pool is divided into three tiers: 1, 2-6, 7-15.

(Photo of Easton Cowan: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)