Leafs Top 50 Prospects – Will Belle

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’s Kyle Dubas and Brad Treliving, and new GM John Chayka have had different ideas of what kind of prospects they wanted to populate the organization with. 

As we’ve done on a yearly basis, we will be 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 82 NHL games and are 25 years old or younger:

Leafs Prospect List

#50 – Blake Smith – D (Toronto – AHL)

#49 – Henrik Rybinski – F (Hershey – AHL)

#48 – Sawyer Boulton – F (Reading – ECHL, Lehigh Valley – AHL)

#47 – Cole McWard – D (Bridgeport – AHL, NY Islanders – NHL)

#46 – Rylan Fellinger – D (Flint – OHL)

#45 – Sam Stevens – F (Cincinnati – ECHL, Toronto – AHL) 

#44 –  Brody Pepoy – F (Saginaw – OHL)

#43 –   Matt Lahey – D (Michigan State – NCAA)  

#42 –  Yaroslav Fedoseyev – D (Chelyabinsk Clemet – VHL, Chelyabinsk Traktor – KHL)

#41 – Cade Webber – D (Toronto – AHL) 

#40 – Matthew Hlacar – F (Kitchener – OHL)

#39 – Will Belle – RW (US Nat’l Development Program)

The Leafs philosophy under Treliving – especially later in the draft –  appears to be “when in doubt, go big.” In the 2025 Draft class, all but one of the picks was 6’3” or taller, including fifth-rounder William Belle. The Excelsior, MN native is a product of the US National Development Program who is an impressive physical specimen at 6’3”, 219 lbs., but someone who is a work in progress in other aspects of his game.

The 19-year-old winger had 10 points (2 goals, 8 assists) in 28 games and compiled 116 penalty minutes at various levels in his draft year, and as a freshman at Notre Dame had four points (1 goal, 3 assists) in 34 games.    

Elite Prospects Draft Guide describes Belle “as a powerful winger with a strong motor. A hard-hitting forechecker who launches himself into opponents, forcing steals and pushing the breakout back. He’s also a determined defensive player.”

Belle did not take part for Team USA at the World Junior Summer Showcase last month, and barring an offensive explosion as a sophomore, will not be part of their club at the 2027 World Junior in Alberta in December. With three more years of college eligibility, the Leafs are looking for some offensive progress, but more importantly, they would want for Belle’s skating to progress. A player with size and defensive ability could be traits that eventually find him in the NHL as a checking forward.