Lack of playoff success aside, the Toronto Maple Leafs are a constant playoff team. They’ve made the playoffs nine years in a row, and in that time they’ve taken multiple swings at the trade deadline and in the offseason to improve their team. As such, the Leafs’ prospect system is, uh, not great. After parting with Fraser Minten and Nikita Grebenkin at the trade deadline this past season, both players who had been top-5 prospects in their system, they have a lack of prospects who are projected to be impact NHLers. Cowan looks like he could be a high-end second line forward at his peak, defenceman Ben Danford looks like a surefire shutdown blueliner at the NHL level, and they’ve got a number of forwards with high floors and unknown ceilings, players to the effect of Alex Steeves, Ryan Tverberg, and Jacob Quillan, to name a few.
This is the reality for contending teams. If you’re a playoff team and routinely part with assets to upgrade your roster, your farm system has likely seen better days. The good news is that multiple first round picks doesn’t equal guaranteed success at the NHL level (just take a look at the Buffalo Sabres). The Leafs don’t have a pick until the final pick of the second round, and from there, they have a third round pick, two fifth round picks, a sixth, and a seventh. With new Director of Amateur Scouting Mark Leach in the Leafs organization, who found lots of gems in the later rounds of the draft during his tenure with the Dallas Stars, there’s lots of room for the Leafs to improve some of their biggest areas of need in their system.
A replacement for Fraser Minten
This is far and away the Leafs’ biggest need in their system, and considering they selected Minten in the second round of the 2022 draft, they could find a similar player here. Minten was never projected to be anything higher than a middle-six centre, maybe a second-line centre if everything goes perfectly. That being said, he was still the Leafs’ best centre prospect by a country mile, and there’s a gaping hole in his place. This is a bigger concern than it was before with John Tavares still without a contract and likely only a few years left in the tank when he does sign, so this should be priority number one for the Leafs.
One player the Leafs could look at drafting if he’s available at 64th overall is Kingston Frontenacs forward Tyler Hopkins. Like Minten, he’s a two-way centre with decent size (6-foot-1 and 181 pounds) with decent offensive upside. He was the fourth overall pick in the 2023 OHL Draft and scored 20 goals and chipped in 51 points in 67 games in his second OHL season. He’s aggressive on the forecheck and took a big step forward defensively in 2024-25, and that kind of aggressive play lines right up with the ‘DNA change’ the Leafs are looking to implement going forward. Hopkins won’t be the saviour, nor should that be expected of him, but drafting him would be a good place to start if the Leafs are looking to pad their centre depth in the system.
A high-upside defenceman
This one will be tough to pull off, because high-upside defencemen are hard to find to begin with, let alone in the late rounds of the draft. But with the recent news of Topi Niemela returning to Europe for a year, the Leafs don’t really have many options for players like this in their system. Danford is going to thrive on the defensive side of the puck, and after that, you have a lot of question marks. 2020 sixth-round pick William Villeneuve took a significant step forward offensively in his third season with the Toronto Marlies, putting up 40 points in 55 games, but whether he can translate that to the NHL is still a question mark. 2022 seventh-round pick Noah Chadwick blossomed as a legitimate two-way defenceman following his draft year, with back-to-back 50-point seasons in the WHL. He’s set to join the Marlies next season, but again, he’s not a sure thing, so there’s still a case to add to their depth in that area.
One player the Leafs could look at drafting at 64th, or potentially with their third round pick, is Slovak-American blueliner Luka Radivojevic. He’s small, so let’s get that out of the way in time for the people who think small defencemen can’t cut it in the NHL stop reading. At 5-foot-10 and 172 pounds, he’s not going to be a net-front bully and won’t be a contender to lay a hit of the year. But, the right-hander had 22 points in 38 games for the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL and has committed to Boston College for the 2025-26 season, so there’s lots of time with his development. His defensive game is aided by his speed and he battles like you’d want a 6-foot-4 bruiser to do, so he’d be a worthy player to consider with one of the Leafs’ middle-round picks.
Depth, depth, and more depth
Depth is never a bad thing in terms of your prospect system nor will it ever be. There have been more than enough first-round picks who haven’t materialized or even made the NHL, and even more late-round players who have turned into crucial members of successful hockey teams. As such, putting an emphasis on not only taking more high-floor players with untapped upside, but shedding players like David Kampf and Calle Jarnkrok who didn’t seem to fit with the team by the end of the season in exchange for draft picks should be a priority.
The Leafs don’t have a specific area where they need depth, they can always use more at every position. The only position they seem to be comfortable at is in net, with Dennis Hildeby getting his first taste of NHL action last season and Artur Akhtyamov impressing in the minors. Padding the depth in their system, ideally with players that have strong work ethics and the attitude the Leafs are hoping to capture in this next era, will be crucial no matter how many picks they have and where they are.
Tune in for The Sheet Draft Special, streaming live on the Daily Faceoff YouTube channel on Friday, June 27th at 7 PM EST. Hosted by Jeff Marek, this live special will cover all the action from the 2025 Draft, including expert analysis of top prospects, team-by-team breakdowns, and real-time reactions to every pick. Whether you’re tracking your team’s future stars or just love the drama of draft night, this is your go-to destination for all things Draft.