Throughout the season, we will check in on the Toronto Maple Leafs prospects to see how they are progressing. The 2024 Draft in Las Vegas was another where the Leafs expended some of their draft capital to make a run at the Stanley Cup.
Here is how the top half of the players selected in the 2024 did 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 20-year-old played for Team Canada at the 2026 World Junior Championships, and was dealt from the Generals to Brantford last October. Between the two clubs, Danford had 20 points (3 goals, 17 assists) in 45 games, and three points (1 goal, 2 assists) in 13 playoff games. Brantford was eliminated by Barrie last week, and the Leafs have recalled him to possibly play for the AHL Marlies in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Victor Johansson – D – 4th round (120th overall) – Oskarshamn IK (Sweden)
Drafted at a gangly 6’1”, 143 lbs., Johansson’s metamorphosis was him physically building up. Now 165 lbs., the 19-year-old blueliner posted 39 points (7 goals, 32 assists) in 47 games with Leksands Jrs, and surprisingly 113 penalty minutes last season. The slick-skating defenseman impressed at the World Junior Summer Showcase last summer and made Sweden’s 2026 World Junior squad, going scoreless in five games for the gold medal-winning squad. This season, he played briefly at the junior level, was promoted to the second-level pro Allsvenskan, where he scored 10 points (1 goal, 9 assists) in 22 games and was promoted again to the SHL club, where he has three assists in 10 games for Leksands IF.
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. In his final season in junior, Holinka finished 15th in the WHL scoring with 80 points (37 goals, 43 assists) in 59 games, and made his pro debut with the Marlies, registering an assist.
