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)
#33 – Seymon Kizimov – RW (Yekaterinburg Automobilist – KHL, Uchaly Gornyak – VHL)
#32 – Matthew Barbolini – F (Toronto – AHL)
#31 – John Fusco – D (Dartmouth – NCAA)
#30 – Semyon Der-Argushintsev – C (Chelyabinsk Traktor – KHL)
#29 – Will Belle – RW (US Nat’l Development Program)
#28 – Nathan Mayes – D (Spokane – WHL)
#27 – Borya Valis – RW (Prince George – WHL, Toronto – AHL)
#26 – Hudson Malinoski – C (Providence – NCAA)
#25 – Ryan Kirwan – F (Arizona State – NCAA, Toronto – AHL)
#24 – Joe Miller – C (Harvard – NCAA)
#23 – Matt Lahey – D (Fargo – USHL)
#22 – Chas Sharpe – D (Cincinnati – ECHL, Toronto – AHL)
#21 – Sam McCue – LW (Owen Sound / Flint – OHL)
#20 – Alexander Plesovskikh – LW (Voskresensk – VHL / Kryiya Sovetov & Moscow Spartak – MHL)
#19 – Ryan Tverberg – C (Toronto – AHL)
#18 – Roni Hirvonen – C (Toronto – AHL)
#17 – Timofei Obvintsev – G (Krasnaya Armiya Moskva – MHL)
#16 – Vyacheslav Peksa – G (Cincinnati – ECHL, Toronto – AHL)
#15 – Cade Webber – D (Toronto – AHL)
#14 – Nick Moldenhauer – C (Michigan – NCAA)
#13 – Topi Niemela – D (Toronto – AHL)
#12 – Tyler Hopkins – C (Kingston – OHL)
#11 – Luke Haymes – C (Dartmouth – NCAA, Toronto – AHL)
#10 – Artur Akhtyamov – G (Toronto – AHL)
#9 – Tinus-Luc Koblar – C (Leksands IF Jr. – Sweden)
#8 – Miroslav Holinka – C (Edmonton – WHL)
Holinka was the first of three Maple Leafs fifth-round picks (151st overall) at the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas. The 6’1”, 185 lb. forward played for Czechia at the IIHF Under-18’s in 2023, scored 20 goals in 29 games for HC Ocelari Trinec juniors, and also played 16 games in the top level of the Czechia Extraliga.
Last season, the 19-year-old came to North America and put up excellent numbers with the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WHL. In 47 games, Holinka scored nearly a point-per-game (19 goals, 26 assists), and also contributed offensively for his country at the 2025 World Junior (1 goal, 3 assists in 7 games).
The youngster signed a three-year, entry-level deal with the Leafs in July, and Holinka is eligible to play in the American Hockey League this season. With the departure of Alex Steeves, Nick Abruzzese, Fraser Minten, Nikita Grebenkin, and Roni Hirvonen, there will likely be an opportunity for the youngster to get some significant playing time with the Toronto Marlies.
