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)
#7 – Dennis Hildeby – G (Toronto – AHL, Toronto – NHL)
#6 – William Villeneuve – D (Toronto – AHL)
#5 Victor Johansson – D (Leksands Jr. – Sweden)
#4 – Noah Chadwick – D (Lethbridge – WHL)\
#3 – Jacob Quillan – C (Toronto – AHL, Toronto – NHL)
#2 – Ben Danford – D (Oshawa – OHL)
The Toronto Maple Leafs followed the same script at the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas than they did the previous year in Nashville, selecting a late-rising OHL product at the bottom of the first round in Oshawa Generals defenseman Ben Danford. That formula seems to have paid off once again.
The Madoc, ON native, similar to 2023 first-rounder Easton Cowan, is a lifelong Leaf fan who improved his stock in the second half and during a deep OHL playoff run (losing to Cowan’s London Knights in the OHL Final). Danford scored 10 points (4 goals, 6 assists) in 21 playoff games after scoring one goal in 64 regular-season games.
Last season, he was named captain of the Generals and put up 25 points (5 goals, 20 assists) in 61 games, as Oshawa once again lost to Cowan’s Knights in the OHL Final. Known primarily as a physical, right-handed shutdown blueliner, Danford is someone who plays a smart, consistent, competitive, and simple game and has good habits. The 19-year-old was invited to Team Canada’s World Junior summer camp and is on the radar for playing for his country in December in Minneapolis.
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