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)
Because of Toronto’s penchant for trading future draft picks, the Leafs have continued to be big players in the undrafted free agent market. Treliving is putting his personal stamp on the club’s prospect pool by adding players if larger stature. One of the first was undrafted NCAA free agent forward Matthew Barbolini, who signed a two-year AHL deal in April 2024.
The Williamsville, NY native spent four seasons at Miami University (OH), finishing his college career with 11 goals in his senior season. Last season, he finished the year playing nine games with the Marlies, and in his first full AHL season, he had 14 points (4 goals, 10 assists) in 51 games.
Elite Prospects says the 25-year-old “became one of the NCAA’s top left wings through his off-puck anticipation and patient transition game. He sees lanes just before they open, both with and without the puck, and has both the shooting and passing skills to take advantage. Barbolini’s defensive engagement, inside play, and flashes of a punishing physical game… are his attractive traits.
