The 32-in-32 Series is an annual event here at DobberProspects and has been condensed from two articles to one. The article will bring you: The highlighted team’s draft; insights into its off-season moves; looking at prospect risers, fallers and likely prospects to play NHL games; and of course, the writers’ top-20 prospects. Articles may be brought back when an important team update occurs, so check back because we plan to fill your hockey withdrawal needs all off-season!
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Be sure to check out the Toronto Maple Leafs team page here: https://dobberprospects.com/team/toronto-maple-leafs/
To view past 32s go here: https://dobberprospects.com/category/feature/32-in-32-series/
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Another year, another disappointing playoff exit for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Through eight games of the playoffs, it looked like the Leafs were ready to take a massive step forward and make their first conference finals appearance since 2002. Following a six game victory in the Battle of Ontario, the Leafs followed up with two emphatic wins over the reigning Stanley Cup champions the Florida Panthers in round two to take a 2-0 series lead. They dropped the next three contests, took game-six, and a familiar 6-1 beating in game seven on home ice to end what looked like a deep playoff run.
The conversation quickly shifted to pending unrestricted free agent Mitch Marner, who fans had grown a love-hate and somewhat disdained relationship for, and it sounds now like the feeling was mutual. Marner had been a member of the Maple Leafs since the 2016-17 season where he was beloved by fans, but early playoff exits and the lack of a breakthrough performance in the playoffs followed Marner and the other members of the core four rigorously, but most notably Marner took the bulk of the flak, for better or worse.
The team salvaged a sign-and-trade to give Marner the eighth year on his deal with the Vegas Golden Knights where they got Nicolas Roy back in the deal. Since then, the Maple Leafs have effectively spread the depth around their lineup instead of big game hunting. Now, with all the talk we hear at the end of every season with “killer instinct” and “changing the DNA,” it looks like Brad Treliving finally pulled the plug on the core four era, albeit with his hand forced in the Marner saga.
A new look bottom-six leaves a lot of question marks, but an interesting off-season leads us into the season with a potential high ceiling, but a lower floor than before for Toronto. The question will be were the signings enough to mitigate the loss of Marner’s 100 points? And did the culture shift work well enough to truly shift the playoff fortunes for this franchise.
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2025 NHL Draft Recap
Round 2, 64 Overall: Tinus Luc Koblar, C
The Maple Leafs have slowly endured a culture change since Brad Treliving took the helm as the General manager. Tinus Luc Koblar is an example of this shift in full swing now. Often in the Kyle Dubas years, the former Leafs GM would prioritize skill over brawn, but with the selection of the 6-3 centre, those days appear to be over.
Koblar already has a lot of the mechanics that make him a very projectable player at centre. He skates well for a younger player his size and uses his stride to impose himself off the rush and can find softer areas of the ice. He is the type of player the team had been lacking until the arrival of Matthew Knies, but there is always room for more. Koblar stands to improve his offensive game with another season for Leksands in the J20 league in Sweden. If he can show tangible growth in his offensive game, he could make the jump to North America rather soon. If he does, the allure of his projectable game could entice the team to give him a cup of coffee in the NHL sooner than later.
Round 3, 86 Overall: Tyler Hopkins, C
Hopkins finds himself on the incline after logging a 51-point campaign with the Kingston Frontenacs last season. The Maple Leafs continued the trend of selecting hulking centres by drafting Hopkins. His style is very straight forward without any complexities. He lacks the offensive upside to make an impact in a middle-six, so his likeliest outcome is to end up in an NHL bottom-six with potential to become a low-impact low-event type of player.
Round 5, Pick 137, William Belle, RW
Belle is another one of those low-event players with a style served for a bottom-six. His physicality is the bedrock of his game, as he is a buzzsaw in the offensive zone and creates space for his line-mates. He loves to push the play and get in on the rush. Where the Maple Leafs have lacked projectable, yet low-skill, attributes in their system, Belle continues the trend of replenishing that mold of player and should compete for a bottom-six spot in the next few seasons if he shows improvements in his puck handling and skating.
Round 5, Pick 153, Harry Nansi, C
Nansi is the epitome of work ethic. When he shows up, he arrives ready to go. When you watch him play, you can see the foundation for a very complete game. Offensively, he forechecks hard and engages in board battles, while also being an effective support when his teammates engage. He has great vision and a great knack for developing the play and waiting for a chance when necessary. Nansi does not lack on the back check either. He has a never quit mentality when on the back-check, and continuously gets his stick and skates in the passing lanes and isn’t afraid to disrupt a shot and block on here and there. Nansi is one of the rawest most intriguing players in the draft class. With proper development, Nansi could end up being a steal for Toronto in the fifth round. While he likely does not see NHL action for at least three to four seasons, Nansi at his best could see middle-six minutes and be a player of great importance moving forward.
Round 6, Pick 185, Ryan Fellinger, RHD
Fellinger, unlike the other picks, is a tall stationary defenceman with great size. Standing at 6-4, Fellinger is a pure defensive defenceman who uses his reach to get the inside track on defending, making it hard for defenders to take the middle of the ice or cut to the outside without dumping the puck.
Round 7, Pick 217, Matthew Hlacar, LW
Hlacar is your prototypical grinder. He has a relentless forecheck and brings it 100 percent every night. He always shows a willingness to engage in battles and uses his size to force the puck loose. He will drop the gloves if the opportunity arises and does not back down from a challenge. A pure work ethic type of player the organization hopes can be part of the culture and DNA shift in Toronto.
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Off-Season Moves
Incoming (Years Remaining, AAV)
Mattias Maccelli – 1 Year, $3.425 Million
Nicolas Roy – 2 Years, $3 Million
Dakota Joshua – 3 years, $3.25 Million
Henry Thrun – 1 year, $1 Million
Michael Pezzetta – 2 Years, $812,500k
Benoit-Olivier Groulx – 2 Years, $812,500k
Vinny Lettieri – 1 Year, $775k
Outgoing
Mitch Marner
Ryan Reaves
Jani Hakanpaa
Max Pacioretty
Pontus Holmberg
Matt Murray
Alex Steeves
Re-Signed (Years Remaining, AAV)
John Tavares – 4 years, $4.39 Million
Matthew Knies – 7 Years, $7.75 Million
Nick Robertson – 1 Year, $1.825 Million
Dennis Hildeby – 3 Years, $841,367k
Steven Lorentz – 3 Years, $1.35 Million
Comments
The gripe about the Maple Leafs for years has been the lack of ability to fill out the lineup below the top-six with no cheap talent coming through the pipelines. Treliving was creative in his solutions in trying to add a new blend of “DNA” to the team. With Marner now in Vegas, he did not get overzealous in trying to replace Marner tit for tat, but instead tried to replace him in the aggregate.
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In the System
Risers
Easton Cowan
Cowan’s rise within the organization has been astronomical since he was selected 28th overall in 2023. The pick was criticized among draft pundits, as he was excluded from some top-100 lists, and was projected in the second round among plenty of mock drafts. The pick was the first of Treliving’s tenure as the general manager, and Cowan has quickly become the most important prospect, and one of the only ones of consequence, in the system. Cowan has strung together a couple of impressive seasons, posting 93 points in 54 games played in his draft plus one season with two OHL championships and a Memorial Cup to his name.
All the pieces are in place for Cowan to make a run at making the team out of camp. He is likely one who needs more time to marinate with the Toronto Marlies, but he represents an opportunity for the team to use a player on a cheap entry level contract, which they have not had much of in previous years. This makes Cowan a potentially valuable player to the team moving forward, and despite needing to beat someone out to crack the roster, he will almost certainly be given every opportunity to do so.
Dennis Hildeby
Hildeby was drafted at 20 years old by the previous regime. His 6-6 frame and incredible composure have allowed him to become the top netminder in the pipeline for the Maple Leafs, to the point he played NHL games last season, as is the benefit of drafting an older goalie. He has posted back to back sub-three GAA’s with the Marlies and had a 3-3 record with the Maple Leafs last season. He is certainly on an upward trajectory and could find himself in the mix for a spot as the backup netminder as soon as 2026-27. With Stolarz and Woll both having injury history, it is possible that Hildeby will build on his six starts in the NHL last year to more than double that amount if injuries begin to plague the crease.
Artur Akhtyamov
For a franchise who has not developed many goalies through their own system, the Maple Leafs have seen the rise of a few key ones, and Akhtyamov is one of those that could see NHL action sometime soon. He relies more on his reflexes than his composure, but he has slowly been working towards becoming a more conventional goalie with strong positioning and lateral movements. His athleticism is key to his success.
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Fallers
Topi Niemela
Niemela was once hailed as a defenceman with a top-four ceiling, but his fall from grace continued this summer when he refused to sign as an RFA and signed a one-year deal in the SHL with the Malmo Redhawks. He has still yet to make his NHL debut, which likely caused friction between the Maple Leafs and Niemela’s camp.
Nicolas Moldenhauer
In Moldenhauer’s draft year, he looked like a steal for the Maple Leafs after dominating the USHL with 75 points in just 55 contests. He looked to be the 200-foot offensive threat the Leafs were looking for late in the draft, but quickly fizzled out at the University of Michigan with just 31 points in 70 appearances over two seasons.
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Expected to Start in the NHL
Easton Cowan
Likely to See NHL Action
Dennis Hildeby
Jacob Quillan
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Top 20 Prospects
This section is intended to paint a picture of the Toronto Maple Leafs prospects whose current trajectory projects them to make the most positive fantasy impact at the time that they reach the NHL. Arrival date and NHL certainty have been taken into consideration; however, potential upside is the most important factor in determining this list.
- Easton Cowan
- Dennis Hildeby
- Ben Danford
- Artur Akhtyamov
- Noah Chadwick
- Tyler Hopkins
- Miroslav Holinka
- Topi Niemela
- Victor Johansson
- William Villeneuve
- Tinus-Luc Koblar
- Jacob Quillan
- Vyacheslav Peksa
- Ryan Tverberg
- William Belle
- Nicolas Moldenhauer
- Cade Webber
- John Prokop
- Borya Valis
- Sam McCue
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Final Comments
The Maple Leafs finally changed the dynamic of this group, for better or worse. The loss of Marner’s 90+ points will hurt, but something had to give. Marner’s exit opens the door for other players to become viable options on the wing of Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies.
In year’s past, the discussion around changing the DNA of the team involved getting something significant back for a player like Marner, the Maple Leafs are left with Nicolas Roy in the return. While a great piece to have in his own right, he’s not what fans envisioned being a return for Marner a couple of years ago. Now, with Roy, Joshua, Pezzetta and Maccelli making around the $12 Million Marner inked for the sign-and-trade, the depth looks better than ever. But the question remains, can they replace the 100-point Selke finalist presence of Marner in the aggregate?
The team has around $1.9 Million in cap space remaining with 14 forwards and seven defencemen signed. This can accrue in the ballpark of eight million by the trade deadline, so long as they do not go into LTIR. They will likely need to offload one or both of David Kampf and Calle Jarnkrok to make the numbers on the roster work, which could make room for another addition down the line.
This team looks potentially as deep and playoff built as it may have ever been heading into the regular season. But question marks will linger until proven otherwise.
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Be sure to check out the Toronto Maple Leafs team page here: https://dobberprospects.com/team/toronto-maple-leafs/
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Thank you for reading this one, looking forward to another season!
Sean Crocker