The Toronto Maple Leafs organization has drafted and developed a number of youngsters currently playing in the NHL (Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Morgan Rielly, Matthew Knies), but the club under former GM Kyle Dubas and current GM Brad Treliving had different ideas of what kind of prospects they wanted to populate the organization with. There has been a slow weeding out process of the smaller Dubas prospects in favor of predominantly larger forwards and defenseman that fit the traits that Treliving is looking for
As we’ve done on a yearly basis, we are ranking the club’s top prospects over the upcoming weeks based on their progress in either the NCAA, CHL, Europe, ECHL, or AHL, and their potential to make the Leafs roster and make a contribution in the future.
Players are eligible for the list if they have not played more than 40 NHL games and are 25 years old or younger:
Prospect List
#40 – Matthew Hlacar – F (Kitchener – OHL)
#39 – Rylan Fellinger – D (Flint – OHL)
#38 – Blake Smith – D (Flint – OHL, Toronto – AHL)
The Leafs have adopted a philosophy under Treliving and Director of Amateur Scouting Mark Leach; when in doubt, go big. Toronto again went in that direction with Smith, who was teammates with Fellinger with the OHL Firebirds.
The 6’5”, 225 lb. blueliner has some excellent NHL bloodlines. His father is former Philadelphia Flyer Derrick Smith, his uncles are former Leaf Wayne Primeau and former Flyer Keith Primeau (both were teammates of Leafs head coach Craig Berube in Philadelphia), and his first cousin is Montreal goalie Cayden Primeau.
The Oshawa, ON native played two seasons with his hometown Generals before being dealt to Flint in November 2022. After a pair of unspectacular seasons with the Firebirds and going undrafted, Smith blossomed as an overager, posting 32 points (10 goals, 22 assists), 54 penalty minutes, and a team-leading +15 in 64 regular-season games.
Smith is a classic late bloomer, but a good free swing to give a three-year, entry-level contract to. He has size and strength, he plays with an edge, and according to scouting reports is a good skater for his size. That does not mean he will play for the Leafs anytime soon or ever, but they see the 20-year-old as a promising developmental project who could develop into something in time.
