The Maple Leafs are signing undrafted free agent defenseman John Prokop to an entry-level deal, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The rearguard, who turns 24 in May, is only eligible for a one-year contract for 2025-26.
After spending his major junior career with four different United States Hockey League clubs (Omaha, Muskegon, Green Bay, Des Moines), Prokop jumped to the collegiate ranks with Union in 2022. Since arriving with the Garnet Chargers, he’s led the team’s defensemen in scoring all three years and led the team outright in every season but 2024-25. A 6’3″, left-shot, defensively responsible blue-liner with legitimate offensive upside at the professional level, he posted 20-65–85 with a minus-five rating over 107 games with Union. It’s worth noting he managed at least 20 points in every NCAA season after never recording more than two goals or 15 points in a USHL campaign.
The Wisconsin native is likely ticketed for a role with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies next season and could even finish out the 2024-25 campaign there on a tryout. He will be a restricted free agent in the 2026 offseason. Assuming the deal gets done, the Leafs will now have 28 players under contract for 2025-26, including 13 defensemen (nine on one-way deals, four on two-way deals).
At best, Prokop likely checks in as the fifth-best prospect in Toronto’s system behind 2024 first-rounder Ben Danford, Topi Niemelä, Noah Chadwick, and William Villeneuve.