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)
#37 – Braeden Kressler – C (Cincinnati – ECHL, Toronto – AHL)
#36 – Harry Nansi – C (Owen Sound – OHL)
#35 – Landon Sim – RW (London – OHL)
#34 – John Prokop – D (Union College – NCAA, Toronto – AHL)
Because of Toronto’s penchant for trading future draft picks under both Dubas and Treliving, the club continues to be a big player in the undrafted free agent market, but after years of adding smaller, skilled players, the Leafs are now opting for bigger players with a physical edge, like defenseman John Prokop.
The 6’3”, 195 lb. blueliner had an unusually long stint of four seasons in the USHL with three different clubs before heading to the NCAA and playing at Union College. In spite of not putting up gaudy numbers before college, Prokop posted nearly a point per game for Union as a junior, and 85 points in 107 games over three seasons.
The Wausau, WI native is more known as a shutdown defenseman with a long stick who plays well positionally and does not take a lot of risks. The Leafs signed Prokop to a one-year contract beginning in 2025-26, and on an amateur tryout played three games for the AHL Marlies at the end of last season. It is likely that the 24-year-old will get a long look at Coca-Cola Coliseum this season, with the hope of earning another pro contract.
