Maple Leafs' No. 8 prospect may be much closer to the NHL than his ranking suggests

Miroslav Holinka ranks eighth on Daily Faceoff's Maple Leafs prospect list, but a strong first full AHL season could move him up Toronto's depth chart quickly.

Holinka, Toronto's 151st overall pick in 2024, had an impressive breakout campaign that saw him score 37 goals en route to an 80-point season with the Edmonton Oil Kings - appearing in only 59 games.

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Impressive enough to earn him a job with the Marlies last season, Holinka only made his way into one game with the AHL squad though did end up scoring his first professional point.

Holinka outgrew junior hockey and is poised for a key AHL role

He currently ranks 8th on the Daily Faceoff's prospect rankings for the Maple Leafs, with them mentioning he needs to be a bit more physical:

Using his 6-foot-2 frame to be physical more is the right path for Holinka. He's demonstrating that he can bring value to the Maple Leafs lineup in a number of ways and that should hasten his path to the NHL if things continue to go well on the Marlies.

But the fact that he already has pro experience under his belt, a Calder Cup, and a breakout season to build off of should lead to great things in 2026-27. Holinka will likely be given a second or third line opportunity with some added power-play and penalty kill time given his two-way skillset.

He can start playing against tougher competition which in turn will hopefully motivate him to get even better. He's a versatile player who can play wing or centre, so it's really where head coach Steve Sullivan feels he'll contribute the most.

With the potential for Tinus Luc Koblar to be the team's 2C heading into the season, Holinka could slide onto his wing as a two-way force who complements Koblar's two-way game, or they could let him run his own line with the third line and give him complements like Ryan Tverberg.

Toronto's thin centre pipeline gives Holinka a faster path than others - after two years though

Holinka's ability to be a defensively sound but offensively potent centre is going to be crucial in how Toronto builds their lineup for the future, though he's going to have a few others like Koblar, Jacob Quillan, and Cooper Williams all fighting for that opportunity.

Though his path to the team is going to be blocked with how the team's currently constructed as they have a slew of bottom-six centres to rotate through over the next couple of years. Though Holinka could be a player in the vein of Nick Paul if the team moves on from him - a big, defensively sound forward who can play in any situation.

It all depends though on how the Marlies want to utilize him, as they currently have Logan Shaw, Bo Groulx. Luke Haymes, Zack MacEwen, Henrik Rybinski, and Quillan all able to play centre so he'll need to show that he's able to translate his talent against NHL players in camp in order to leap ahead of those more established names.

There's a legitimate shot for Holinka to be given the keys to drive his own offensive group and if he can provide that help while being the stable defensive anchor the Marlies need, then his call-up to the Maple Leafs will come sooner than later.

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