Maple Leafs prospect suspended again, and the pattern is getting hard to ignore

Leafs prospect Matthew Hlacar has faced his third suspension of the season, suspended by the Ontario Hockey League for one game.

Hlacar, who plays in the OHL for the Kitchener Rangers, was suspended one game for an 'exceeding check to the head threshold', an automatic penalty for repeated hits to the head area.

Hlacar, who was returning from a prior four game suspension, was penalized in the first period against the Ottawa 67's after grazing 67's forward Teddy Spitznagel in the face with his elbow.

This is the third suspension for Hlacar this season. Hlacar returned from a four-game suspension earlier in February after a boarding hit against London Knights defenseman Caleb Mitchell.

Hlacar was suspended six games back in October for a late hit on Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds defenseman Jakub Winklehofer.

The 19-year-old Hlacar is set to miss his 11th game of the OHL season due to suspension. Hlacar has appeared in 38 games for Kitchener this season, with five goals and eight points.

Hlacar was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the seventh round of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, 217th overall.

According to data from InStat, Hlacar is fourth among all OHLers in penalty minutes accumulated this season with 165, including game misconducts, but with 359 minutes of ice time.

For comparison, all three ahead of him in PIM have played over 800 minutes, meaning Hlacar spends nearly half as much time in the penalty box as he does on the ice, and is one of the most penalized players despite half the amount of ice time compared to other top rule breakers.

Hlacar's 87 PIM's is third in the Ontario Hockey League, and leads the OHL this season in suspensions with three.

if he continues down this path, it will be hard for him to secure an NHL job and until he gets his discipline in check he might be spending more time on the bench than the ice.

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