The Toronto Maple Leafs have taken Brody Pepoy with the 169th overall pick in the sixth round of the 2026 Entry Draft.

Vitals

  • Position: Right-shot winger
  • League(s): OHL
  • Height: 6'2"
  • Weight: 181 lbs
  • Birthdate: May 16, 2008

Career

Highlights

Rankings

  • Elite Prospects: 109th
  • McKeens: 145th
  • NHL Central Scouting: 124th among North American skaters

Who Is Brody Pepoy?

Here's his tracking data:

I actually wrote a bit about Pepoy earlier in the year on one of my mid-season watch list updates. I really thought about him for the listicle I wrote for late round forwards, but he just missed the cut. Here's the post where I talked about him:

2026 NHL Draft: February Watch List
We’re into the home stretch with some prospects solidifying their draft range, while others turn into late risers or fallers. I’m getting a good idea of who may be available in Toronto’s range.
PPP LeafsBrian S

Here are some more recent scouting reports on him:

Elite Prospects

Few prospects captivated our scouting staff this year the way Brody Pepoy did. His game is, in a word, chaos. He plays at a breakneck pace with a kill-or-be-killed mindset, charging full speed after pucks and looking to pull out a crazy 1-on-1 move every chance he gets. He’s raw but exciting, and plays a style that could lead to rapid improvement.
Pepoy never stops working. If he’s not first on a puck, he makes sure the opponent feels it. He sprints hard into every play. With possession, he’s fearless and inventive, combining with dynamic habits: Feet always moving, attacking at angles, and aiming inside every chance. With spin moves, toe-drags, and more, he has assembled one of the best highlight reels in the OHL.
Pepoy is dynamic, but he’s usually fighting the puck and playing too fast. He passes before looking, mishandles receptions, and handles the puck too much inside his moves. There were many games in which he failed to execute plays repeatedly and didn’t adapt. His confidence is great, as is his willingness to expand his game, but his skill and brain have to catch up to his feet.
While Pepoy does have boom potential, he’ll likely have to re-calibrate his game to fill a bottom-six role. That means picking his spots better, leaning more into his checking side, and adding more details.

McKeen's Hockey

Consistency was the biggest issue for Pepoy this year, as the entire secondary scoring group in Saginaw had a tough time finding rhythm behind the team’s dominant first line. The draw is that he’s both skilled and physically aggressive. He also projects as an above average skater for someone with his frame. Pepoy is most dangerous attacking the offensive zone with speed as he has the creativity and confidence to beat defenders one on one to create scoring chances.
The biggest thing for Pepoy is making more sound decisions with the puck. Turnovers were a bit of an issue for him this year; it’s that classic hero puck mentality. However, more often than not, even after committing a turnover, he’d work to regain possession. Continuing to upgrade his strength and conditioning should also prevent him from disappearing for stretches. While the offensive production certainly isn’t typically indicative of a player selected in the mid rounds, Pepoy passed the eye test enough times to feel confident ranking him where we have. He has significant boom potential as he gains more ice time and responsibility in Saginaw.

Upside Hockey

The "Weasel Boys" is a nickname coined by RW Jacob Cloutier to describe the Saginaw Spirit's second-line, featuring himself, C Carson Harmer, and draft-eligible 17 year-old RW Brody Pepoy (6'2",181lbs), who is a tidy #110 for NA Skaters in Central Scouting's Mid-Term Rankings. Saginaw was just swept from the playoffs by the 2nd-best team in the OHL, the Kitchener Rangers- but they probably had no business being there in the first-place, finishing the regular season 15th, out of 20 teams. Pepoy, who doesn't turn 18 until May.16th, was held pointless in 3 post-season games, after registering 16 goals and 29 points in 63 regular-season contests. The native of Troy, Michigan was never drafted into the OHL, and was instead signed as a free-agent in the summer of 2025 after impressing the Spirit's coaching staff as a training-camp invite; he was playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite 16U AAA in the 2024-25 season, posting 52 points in 55 games. He will be attending Lindenwood University for the 2027-28 season.
Pepoy is a big power-forward who plays a pacey, high-energy game, facilitated by his grit and boundless motor. He's a solid skater, but his explosiveness, top-gear and agility are somewhat limited by hitches in his mechanics- his stride lacks full extension, and he looks a little too hunched-over at times, with a bit of a heel-kick. Still, his intensity and workrate make up for his lack of elite quickness somewhat, and he is still able to push pace and surprise opponents on the forecheck, forcing them into turnovers and uncontrolled play. With plentiful contact-skill, he knows how to leverage his frame to win battles and secure inside-positioning, displaying the ability to barge through congested areas while maintaining control, skate through hands to dislodge pucks, and establish contact early to gain a bit more space to operate.
Pepoy finishes his checks, throws his weight around to separate man from puck, and is willing to absorb contact to make a play. With only 22 PIM on the season, he shows that he uses his physicality with purpose and discipline, and can throw jarring hits while staying within the rules. While he will most likely never be a highly-productive offensive player, and his game looks a bit raw and erratic right now, he is decently skilled and remarkably detailed in all three zones with pro-style habits, and carries an impactful checking game. As the season progressed however, and his responsibilities increased (he spent the first chunk of the campaign on the third-line), he put forth a much higher shot-volume, on top of his already frequent presence in the low-slot; he is fearless in driving the net for rebounds and loose pucks, and competes in all of the greasy areas of the ice.
Pepoy shows craftiness and vision as a playmaker, with intermittent flashes of higher-end creativity, but his best ideas fall short more often than not; scouts give him credit though, for his willingness to try things and experiment on the fly, but his passing-skill may not be as well-developed as his ability to read the play. I believe he has more in his repertoire, and plenty of room to grow his game, but he may have a high NHL-floor anyway, due to his size, defensive acumen, work-ethic, and physicality. Look for him in the later-rounds.

I LOVE that he was called a "weasel boy". Welcome to the Leafs, Brody!

NHL DraftMaple Leafs Prospects