Mans Gudmundsson

September 2026 – Mans Gudmundsson is a big, physical, right-shot two-way defenseman the Toronto Maple Leafs selected 76th overall out of Farjestad BK’s system. He spent 2025-26 with the club’s junior team, posting 25 points in 35 games plus five more in the playoffs, earned a one-game SHL look, and finished the year on Sweden’s top pair at the Under-18 World Championship on the way to gold. The appeal is the combination of size, a mean physical edge, and a puck-moving game that improved sharply through the season. His breakouts, gap control, and confidence all took real steps, and he owns a good first pass with enough offense to suggest he is more than a pure stay-at-home type. The clear question is skating, where average mechanics and a lack of high-end edges are the thing standing between him and a higher projection. He returns to Sweden for 2026-27 with a chance to earn regular SHL minutes for Farjestad. For fantasy he profiles as a third-pairing, puck-moving defenseman with power-play appeal if it all clicks, worth a dynasty stash, with SHL ice time this season the signal to track before any add. Andrew Epps