Throughout the season, we will check in on the Toronto Maple Leafs prospects to see how they are progressing. The 2024 Draft was another where the Leafs expended some of their draft capital to make a run at the Stanley Cup.
Here is how the eight players selected in the 2024 are doing so far this season:
Ben Danford – D – 1st round (31st overall) – Brantford (OHL)
The Madoc, ON native, similar to 2023 first-rounder Easton Cowan, is a lifelong Leaf fan who improved his stock in the second half of his draft year and in a deep OHL playoff run. Last season, he was named captain of the Oshawa Generals and put up 25 points (5 goals, 20 assists) in 61 games. 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.
This season, the 19-year-old was dealt to Brantford, where he has 16 points (2 goals, 14 assists) in 23 games and is expected to be a shutdown defender for Team Canada at the World Junior Championships starting Friday.
Victor Johansson – D – 4th round (120th overall) – Oskarshamn IK (Sweden)
Drafted at a gangly 6’1”, 143 lbs., Johansson’s metamorphosis was his physical growth. Now 165 lbs., the 19-year-old blueliner posted 39 points (7 goals, 32 assists) in 47 games with Leksands and surprisingly 113 penalty minutes last season. The slick-skating defenseman impressed at the World Junior Summer Showcase last summer and has made Sweden’s 2026 World Junior squad.
Miroslav Holinka – C – 5th round (151st overall) – Edmonton (WHL)
The 20-year-old center came to North America and played for the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings last season, averaging nearly a point-per-game (19 goals, 26 assists in 47 games), and playing for Czechia in the 2025 IIHF World Junior. This season, Holinka is sixth in the WHL in scoring with 43 points (16 goals, 27 assists) in 29 games.
Alexander Plesovskikh – LW – 5th round (152nd overall) – Moscow Spartak Jr. (MHL- Russia)
The 19-year-old played primarily with the Moscow Spartak Jrs. and scored 38 points (15 goals, 23 assists) in 50 MHL games and eight goals in 21 playoff games. Plesovskikh appears well on his way to surpassing his 2025 totals in the MHL this season, with 28 points (14 goals, 14 assists) in 30 games.
Timofei Obvintsev – G – 5th round (157th overall) – Verkhnyaya (VHL Russia)
The 20-year-old has been in the CSKA Moscow junior system since 2020 and had a 2.96 GAA in 16 starts in his draft year. Last season, he played only 11 games in the MHL, posting a 2.78 GAA and .908 save percentage. This season, Obvintsev has graduated to the second-level pro VHL, but has played only six games as a backup.
Matt Lahey – D – 7th round (200th overall) – Fargo (USHL)
The 6’5”, 203 lb. blueliner shifted from the BCHL to Fargo of the USHL last season, and posted 17 points (4 goals, 13 assists) in 59 games, and was committed to Clarkson University in 2025, but switched to Michigan State University this fall. He has yet to play for the Spartans after suffering an injury at Leafs development camp in September.
Sam McCue – LW – 7th round (216th overall) – Ottawa (OHL)
The 20-year-old blossomed last season with the Owen Sound and Flint. Between the two clubs, he scored 36 goals in 55 games, but after the deal scored at almost a goal-per-game pace with the Firebirds (18 goals in 20 games).
McCue was traded to the Brantford Bulldogs in June, and after putting up 10 goals in 25 games, he was dealt to the Ottawa 67’s for a pair of draft picks.
Nathan Mayes – D – 7th round (225th overall) – Spokane (WHL)
The 19-year-old nearly doubled his regular-season offensive production, with 27 points (6 goals, 21 assists) in 56 games, and added 12 points (2 goals, 10 assists) in 20 playoff games last season with Spokane, but Mayes has struggled in his third full WHL season, posting only two assists in 30 games.
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