Top 10 Maple Leafs Prospects to Watch in 2025

Without a first round pick until 2028 and a major change to the top of the roster with the trade of Mitch Marner, the Toronto Maple Leafs come into the 2025-26 NHL season with a very different look, but an uncertain future.

Brad Treliving has signaled Toronto needs to win at all costs, something that has come in the forms of weakening their prospect pool to add NHL talent, in this past season's case, giving up top prospects Fraser Minten to Boston for Brandon Carlo, and Nikita Grebenkin to Philadelphia for Scott Laughton.

The Leafs are banking on finding success later in the draft, both fighting to be a playoff time which comes with consistently drafting later and lessening their chances of a top prospect, and moving away draft picks to win, weakening a prospect pool with a team that keeps struggling to make it in the postseason.

The Toronto Maple Leafs still have a roster than can be postseason contenders, and despite having picked later due to being perennially in the playoff, Toronto still boasts a few promising prospects in the system who could still find a way to make it onto the team's roster both in the short and long-term.

Here are the Toronto Maple Leafs top 10 prospects for 2025-26:

The cream of the Leafs prospect crop, Cowan has become the survivor of a prospect pool that was already light but drained even harder with the team trading away fellow prospects Fraser Minten & Nikita Grebenkin at the NHL trade deadline, and not having a first round pick until 2025.

In other words, they really need Easton Cowan to work out.

There's good reason to think Easton Cowan could really be the type of player the Leafs are looking for.

He's a hard-working forward who consistently is brewing with energy and playing hard even without the puck. Cowan is highly elusive with the puck and showcases good deceptiveness and skating mobility, while having good edgework to fool defenders with the puck.

Cowan has also emerged as a leader on the London Knights, being a key veteran in the team's locker room and showing his maturity as one of the older players on the roster.

Next season headed to either the Leafs or Marlies, Cowan will have to prove he can lead by example against players older than him, with teammates far more experienced in pro hockey.

Cowan's proven playoff track record and ability to play a scrappy, workhorse game are two major pluses for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and two areas they would really love to have in the roster.

Cowan also has one major asset the Leafs really would love to get, and that's playoff success.

Cowan is a two-time OHL champion and CHL Memorial Cup winner, as well as a back-to-back OHL playoff points leader. Cowan was also named MVP of this year's Memorial Cup, leading the tournament with seven points.

Easton Cowan has shown he's a very competent playoff winner, but the same was also able to have been said of a former prospect and London Knight who won both the OHL championship and Memorial Cup, while leading both tournaments in points and winning MVP, a former Leaf named Mitch Marner.

It would not be a shock if Easton Cowan made the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup this season, although if it's not this season, there's a very likely chance it will be next.

After Easton Cowan, most of the Leafs prospect pool lacks impact talent, but there is a lot of reason for the Toronto Maple Leafs to have faith in Ben Danford's potential.

The young defenseman is a defensively responsible player who excels at commanding the blueline and being a highly methodical stay-at-home defender. Danford has a lot in common with one of the best defensive defensemen in the NHL in current Maple Leaf Chris Tanev.

Danford was one of the most reliable shutdown defenders in the OHL this season, both a naturally skilled defender as well as a physical one who has improved playing both smarter and heavier at the same time.

The focus of Danford's game is still on the defensive end and little on the offensive end, but he can still become a player who plays as a secondary defensive player to a puck-carrying offensive pairing mate the way Tanev can be.

Although not an otherworldly offensive player, Danford still does well moving the puck and creating chances for his team while kickstarting the offense, although he often is a bit too separated from his team in the opposing end, and can improve getting in in the action more often.

There's a good reason to believe that Ben Danford could be a player who really has substantial growth in his game thanks to his reliable defensive game that even with a lack of points could transition into a longstanding NHL career.

The massive 6-7 Swedish goaltender really kicked his game up a notch after a quiet early start to the season in which it looked like fellow goalie prospect Artur Akhtyamov may displace him on the depth chart.

Hildeby quickly returned to form and was highly impressive in the second half for the Marlies in retaining his composure in net.

Mobile and with good flexibility for his size, Hildeby has the attributes necessary to succeed but will have to be able to show he can produce at the NHL level, having struggled in six games with the Leafs this season where he got beat on some easy goals and struggled to handle the speed.

With Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll in net, there's no guarantee of what Hildeby's future looks like in Toronto, but there's potential he could be in the Leafs net soon enough, potentially getting the backup role by 2026-27.

There is little need for the Leafs to rush Hildeby so quickly, and there's still some learning to be done in rounding out his form, but Hildeby has shown that there's a very evident chance of him being able to make the jump to the NHL eventually in the next few years.

Despite not being the Leafs first pick of the 2025 NHL Draft, Hopkins is a player who looks to have the highest upside of their 2025 draft class, and a player who has bottom-six potential as a center.

The Kingston Frontenacs center was one of the most reliable draft eligible forwards out of the OHL in the draft, showcasing the ability to be a high-effort two-way forward who plays hard on the defensive end.

Hopkins featured heavily on the Frontenacs power play and penalty kill and also featured in a shutdown role for Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky and U18's. Hopkins has been a bit inconsistent from the faceoff circle but still looks to project as an NHLer.

While defensively responsible, Hopkins offensive floor is a bit of a question mark, not someone who excels at creating his own offense and doesn't show a lot of transition play to become a puck mover for a team.

Hopkins looks a lot more like a secondary player who could, with more offensive assertiveness, be someone who could slot into an NHL lineup as a potential 3C with the ability to feature on the penalty kill.

The Leafs first pick of the 2025 NHL Draft, Tinus Luc Koblar at 64th overall, was a draft choice that was viewed as somewhat off the board.

Unranked in a few major boards, some scouts higher on Koblar were impressed by his untapped upside as Koblar showed good mobility and puckhandling skill while having strong size, but behind his peers in floor.

A lot of what excites people is Koblar's ability to move the puck in transition and generate offense, especially at his size. There's a very real chance Koblar is a breakout player next season.

The Norwegian center is a raw player who has a long runway to get to a potential NHL upside, but with the right development path has the promise to be an NHLer, although it'll take a long time for him to get there.

With both Akhtyamov and Hildeby in net, the Toronto Maple Leafs really have to feel secure in their goalie situation in the short term.

Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll block the duo's path to the NHL, but if one of them falters, both prospects in waiting have shown themselves to be capable candidates for a look with the big club.

While Hildeby has been the one who got the NHL chances, Akhtyamov is a bit more raw in his first year in North America, but showed the ability to adapt quickly to the speed of the AHL game. Akhtyamov played some very good hockey but was blocked by Hildeby & Matt Murray for minutes.

Akhtyamov has to work on calming down his game and puck control, but showed the ability to make big time saves and stayed composed in big moments. Even if he's a backup, he can be a fairly reliant one.

Some feel that it's Akhtyamov who has the higher upside between the two goalies, and with the amount of solid Russians in net over the last decade, it's quite possible.

The Czech center Holinka has improved his stock after a good season in the Western Hockey League with 45 points in 47 games with the Edmonton Oil Kings, more positively than his numbers showing both a physical edge to his game and the ability to translate his game well to the smaller North American ice.

Holinka has improved his defensive awareness a lot. He got typecast as a defensive center by many although it was more his offense that was the star of the show back home in Czechia, showing good flashes of puckhandling and strong skating.

The defensive angle of his game has taken a bit more of a front seat to Holinka's game, but he's still capable of driving the offense and creating scoring chances.

He doesn't play as physical as he should with his size, but Holinka has been an improved forechecker with more intensity battling for the puck.

Holinka's best hockey may have come at the World Juniors where he got to be much more of an offensive catalyst for the Czechs and was a leader in the team's play, showcasing his strong transition game and ability to be slippery with his footwork to get defenders on his game.

Although promising, Holinka lacks a standout trait to appear as a potential top-six forward, but could have an NHL role as a bottom-six center if he adds a bit more meanness to his game.

Noah Chadwick had a surprise leap in his game last season, with the 2024 sixth rounder going from 20 points to 56 from his draft year to his D+1, showcasing a jump in his offensive growth with an expanded role with Lethbridge.

This season was a quieter output from Chadwick who regressed slightly in his point production to 53.

The stagnation in his totals aren't too reflective of Chadwick's game taking a step back, he's still a solid defenseman who at 6'4 has shown he can use his size well, but lacks a fluid skating stride and doesn't get much speed going.

Chadwick lacks a strong first step that allows him to make up for being a slower skater. The lack of skating could be a real question at the pro level.

For now, Chadwick has shown himself to be a mature defenseman who can produce at both ends of the ice, although at the pros he looks more destined to be a more defensive-oriented player.

Moments this season have shown that William Villeneuve could very well contend for an NHL roster spot, being a sturdy offensive defenseman who has improved his defensive game, comfortable using his size to win puck battles and has become more aligned with the pro style of play.

It's only small jumps for Villeneuve but he's shown some promising growth in his overall game in fleshing out on some of his weaknesses, although he still struggles with maintaining consistency and avoiding some poor decisions with the puck.

There's nothing that stands out in Villeneuve's game but he's done well improving his game and taking his skill level up a notch, showcasing a higher upside in his play.

If the moments of flash are real, Villeneuve really has room to grow into a potential bottom-four NHL defenseman in the future, but he needs to be more composed and methodical, but there's a real chance he moves up in the prospect rankings in the next few months.

Villeneuve may be the most likely of the bunch to get NHL chances this upcoming season, although he faces a solidified Leafs defensive group standing in his way.

A sneaky underrated signing by the Toronto Maple Leafs from Quinnipiac last season. The 23-year-old has shown himself to be a high-IQ center who is a strong competitor. Quillan has been a capable defensive forward who can play on the Penalty Kill, and is able to shut down plays well.

Quillan had a cup of coffee with the Leafs, appearing in a single game this season, it would not be a surprise if more opportunities come next season, he's a player who lacks a high upside but could very well make his way to an NHL look.

It's a possibility that Quillan becomes a reliable fourth-line center for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a year or two, he's a reliable two-way player who already looks the part of an NHLer, even if his upside is limited.

The Toronto Maple Leafs still hold the rights to Topi Niemela, who signed a one-year deal in the Swedish top flight with the Malmö Redhawks. Niemela is a solid puck-moving defenseman who has struggled to get his defensive game to a level that would be manageable at the NHL.

While Niemela showed he could handle the AHL and was one of the Marlies best offensive defensemen, inconsistency was recurrent in Niemela's game.

Perhaps a return home to Sweden will help Niemela get more comfortable in his game but it's not the progression one would have hoped for what was once a highly regarded NHL prospect.

The Toronto Maple Leafs fifth round this past draft is one of the youngest prospects in the NHL, being less than a week from 2026 NHL Draft eligible. The 6'3 center plays a highly physical and demanding game, not afraid to use his body and deliver hits.

Largely playing in sheltered minutes in Owen Sound, Nansi is a player who could become a breakout option if he gets more ice time and has a longer development growth as a younger prospect.

The Swedish defenseman drew a bit of eyebrows at his selection at just 146 pounds and lacking strong stats. Johansson has shown why he was drafted with a breakout D+1 that showed him becoming more of a puck-moving defenseman who now at 160lbs is a lot more capable of playing a defensive game.

There's still a long way to go for Johansson to develop into an NHLer, but this season has been a positive step in Johansson's game, and he's been rewarded with a call-up to Sweden at the World Junior Summer Showcase.

One of the top free agent prospects out of the NCAA, Haymes has been on the Leafs radar for years, even joining the team at Development Camp in 2023.

The Dartmouth winger had 12 goals and 18 points in 22 games