The Toronto Maple Leafs have taken Cooper Williams with the 158th overall pick in the fifth round of the 2026 Entry Draft.

Vitals

  • Position: Left-shot center
  • League(s): WHL
  • Height: 6'1"
  • Weight: 163 lbs
  • Birthdate: Feb 18, 2008

Career

Rankings

  • Pronman: 95th
  • Elite Prospects: 122nd
  • Scott Wheeler: 90th
  • NHL Central Scouting: 50th among North American skaters
  • Craig Button (TSN): 31st
  • Tony Ferrari (The Hockey News): 80th
  • McKeen's Hockey: 164th
  • Daily Faceoff: 115th

Who Is Cooper Williams?

Here is Williams' tracking data:

I know two things about Williams. First, he was Zach Olsen's teammate on Saskatoon. Second, he entered this year with some hype but fell off after he seemed to stagnate, but some scouts were critical of what the team tried to do with him and forcing him to play beyond his strengths. Whether the failure of him to do so is on him or the team or a mix of both, you can decide for yourself.

Here are some scouting reports:

Elite Prospects

Entering this season, Cooper Williams was near-unanimously considered a first-round prospect. He had just finished second in the WHL rookie scoring race with 57 points and was only four points back of leading his team overall. This season, he replicated his stat line in two fewer games and failed to take the step many expected. Still, there’s reason to believe the breakout is impending.
A two-way player, Williams makes his impact through safeguarding his team. He’s usually found above the puck, preparing to push rushes outside into his defenders. He supports plays down low, quickly fishes pucks out of battles, and limits turnovers with simple, north-south plays. Plus, he has a knack for interceptions and doesn’t shy away from the net front.
With that two-way impact comes playmaking. Williams makes quick plays off the wall in all three zones and shows high-cycle vision. At times, he even fakes defenders to create a passing lane.
While there are great moments to latch onto, Williams' game suffers from a lack of volume. Some of that’s his lower-paced style of play, but much of it is physical. Even when he has inside position, WHL defenders launch him off the puck. He’s unable to get puck touches through winning battles, relegating him to the passenger’s seat in too many games.
Committed to North Dakota, perhaps the college game will be better suited for Williams’ development. He might be overmatched physically at first, but the lighter schedule will give him more time to fill out his frame. There’s still a potential third-line, two-way forward in Williams, but he’s likely many years out from pressing for a spot.

McKeen's Hockey

Williams is a do-it-all center who stormed onto people's scouting radars last year as a 16-year-old WHL rookie. However, his stock slid continuously throughout this season due to lack of progression, which raised some difficult questions about his value as a prospect.
He is a go-to player for the Blades, someone that his coaches trust to go over the boards and to take key faceoffs in all situations and on both sides of special teams. He's plenty smart, he's responsible with the puck, and he's so steady that you could set your watch to him. The problem with his consistency, though, is that he's not consistently improving. He's almost the exact same player that he was at the start of last season. That's never a good sign when you consider the kinds of adjustments and tweaks that prospects need to make as they develop and move up levels.
Williams is committed to a great program at the University of North Dakota, so hopefully that change will provide a beneficial shake-up for him.

HockeyProspect.com

Cooper Williams is an intelligent two-way centerman for the Saskatoon Blades. He excels as a 200ft responsible centerman who improved his game on the defensive side of the puck greatly from his rookie season as well as his faceoffs. Williams is crafty and can steal pucks in all three zones. Williams uses an active stick and tight pressure to force turnovers. On the penalty kill, Williams was overcommitting to start the year but improved his play on the penalty kill as the season progressed becoming a more responsible option. Williams is still very raw physically and will need to physically mature to become a regular at the pro-level. He isn’t the most explosive and will need to continue building his patience with the puck and acceleration to gain an extra edge in transition.

On the offensive side of the puck, Williams is a primarily outside driven player but he does have some success at gaining the middle of the ice but does not have a high success rate getting to the middle. Williams is a heavy pass first player and can be a bit predictable at times which he can improve upon as with his intelligence he finds soft ice well. He will need to find his soft ice in areas like the slot as he is still getting pushed around a bit by stronger defensemen. The best part about his offense is his playmaking, Williams makes intelligent and accurate passes that put his teammates in good positions to score.

Upside Hockey

Calgary-born C/LW Cooper Williams (6'0.25",166lbs) was sparingly used in last summer's Hlinka by Team Canada, and only played 3 games (3gp/1g/0a/1pt,+1, 0 PIM), but scored the Bronze Medal-winning goal in a 3-0 win over the Finns- an easy tap-in off of a nice pass from Colin Fitzgerald. There isn't a whole lot to go on based on this tournament alone, but based on what I've seen and read of his performance last season with Saskatoon, I would have stated with confidence at the start of the year that he would be a shoe-in to be picked somewhere in the first-half of the first-round of the 2026 Draft- he was that good. First off, his 57 points in 68 WHL games is tied with Brayden Point for the 26th-best season by a U-17 player in that league in the last 30 years. He might've been Rookie-of-the-Year, if it weren't for Landon DuPont. As a 16 year-old, he was second in scoring for the Blades, who finished 10th in the standings, but 13th in goals-for. This season however, he isn't making the expected impact on the offensive side of the puck, posting 18 goals and 44 points in 53 games, which projects to 54 points on 22 goals in 66 contests. The Blades are in virtually the same position right now as they were in 2024-25, sitting 11th in the WHL, with the 13th-best goals-for. Williams is the #42-ranked North American Skater in Central Scouting's Mid-Term List.
Williams' season has been disappointing, not only for his offensive output, but because he's not as physically active as he was last season, isn't as involved or engaged, and seems to be more of a supporter than a driver. He needs to bulk up considerably, but he skates well, although he needs to improve his explosiveness and acceleration a bit- this is most likely due to his lack of strength. He is agile and maneuverable on his edges, handles smoothly in traffic, and protects well against the checkers he can't beat with his quickness and one-on-one skills. Williams is blessed with high-end intelligence and hockey sense that belies his age, and his impact on the ice goes far beyond his offensive output; he would bring a tear to a glass eye with how jaw-droppingly good a two-way player he can be when he's on top of his game. In the defensive zone, he's like another defenseman- he separates man from puck by either skating through hands, intercepting the pass, lifting the stick, poking away the puck, picking pockets, etc. Then he recovers the puck time and again, starts the breakout, rinse and repeat. Amazing stuff. He is usually perfectly positioned, incredibly detailed, and always poised and calculated- he can be found taking away the middle from incursions while scanning for threats, supporting teammates along the wall, subbing in for his D down low, or taking their place battling with aggressors in front of the net. He's like another Point/Cirelli/Bergeron-type with how much of an impact he can make defensively. 
Williams does more of the same in the other two zones with uncanny timing and anticipation- killing rushes coming back through the neutral zone that he then turns into possession for his team, while stuffing breakouts in the offensive zone before they get going to extend the attack. The ice is steeply tilted when Williams is out on the ice- he's tenacious, and active. He works hard, plays with pace, and exhibits plenty of smarts and deception in making plays, with the ability to thread the needle through traffic at times, showing flashes of creativity and high-end vision. He may not be the most physical player out there, but when at his best, he goes to the greasy areas, works the boards, gets inside, and goes to the net. He will use delays or cut-backs to wait for the troops to arrive, or to shift the opposing defense in order to open a passing seam. He has an above-average shot, with a snappy release, and good hands to beat goalies in-tight. Going forward, he will need to bulk up and get a lot stronger, improve his battle level, keep getting faster, and perhaps refine his playmaking skill, but obviously- I like this kid a lot. He needs to regain the compete he had last year, though. Look for him in the second, or third-round. Williams has a long runway, as he's attending the University of North Dakota in the 2027-28 season.
NHL DraftMaple Leafs Prospects