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)
To say that Johansson was a surprising pick in the fourth round would be an understatement. The 18-year-old blueliner has pro hockey bloodlines (his older brothers were drafted by the Minnesota Wild and Detroit Red Wings, and his cousin is San Jose forward Alexander Wennberg), but he was literally absent from all of the pre-draft scouting guides and was not on the NHL Central Scouting rankings.
Drafted at a gangly 6’1”, 143 lbs., Johansson played in Djurgardens junior system for one year before shifting to Leksands in 2022. In two seasons at various levels, the blueliner never achieved double figures in offensive totals. Known mostly for his excellent skating ability and lugging the puck, former Leafs director of amateur scouting Wes Clark recognized his hockey IQ and selected him in the fourth round of the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas.
Part of 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 and surprisingly 113 penalty minutes last season. If that was thought to be an aberration, the defenseman’s impressive performance at this summer’s World Junior Summer Showcase in Minnesota has put him on the radar for making Sweden’s 2026 World Junior squad.
FloHockey’s Chris Peters said of Johansson after the WJSS that “his offensive game has really come along, with solid hands and an ability to get pucks through. He has a deft touch on the puck, making good passes and escaping pressure. He also had several big hits, showing his willingness and eagerness to use his improved strength to make opposing forwards uncomfortable. He said he is motivated to not just be a good defenseman, but to be the best.”
