Maple Leafs Prospect Report: February 24th News and Stars

Tyler Hopkins (C, 3rd rounder 2025)

Since Feb 10: 5 goals, 5 assists (10 points) in 7 games
Season to date: 24 goals, 25 assists (49 points) in 52 games

Getting late in the season, it looks like Hopkins has found some comfort with the team he was traded to and has been on a mini-tear of late. Going back to February 11th (the day after my last update), he has a point in 6 of the 7 games he played, including a big 4 goal, 1 assists game on Sunday where he added 8 shots. He's been shooting more lately, with 24 shots alone in his last 4 games.

Hopkins has been playing as Guelph's top center and getting used in all situations, as they try and build towards being a true contender for next year's Memorial Cup. His season hasn't seen a lot of dramatic improvements, but I'm hoping this is a sign of a late surge that carries him through the end of the regular season and into the playoffs – even though Guelph will be a bottom seed.

Harry Nansi (C/RW, 5th rounder 2025)

Since Feb 10: 1 goal, 7 assists (8 points) in 6 games
Season to date: 10 goals, 12 assists (22 points) in 28 games

After a loooooong dry spell for both Nansi and Owen Sound, Nansi went through constant shuffling in the lineup as the team tried to find something that would stop the bleeding. He played at center and on the wing between the first and third lines. Lately, the points have been coming back for him – he's on a 6 game point streak with 8 points in that stretch.

I honestly haven't noticed a huge difference for Nansi through this season. The big fluctuations have come in his role/ice time and whether the pucks were going into the net or not. What this usually means is that he wasn't as good as we thought he might have been during his hot start to the season, but neither was he as bad as you may have worried during his cold stretch.

Miroslav Holinka (C, 5th rounder 2024)

Since Jan 6: 2 goals, 5 assists (7 points) in 6 games
Season to date: 32 goals, 40 assists (72 points) in 49 games

Once again, Holinka is just chugging along. Edmonton made some deals at the deadline and had a couple of key players come back from injury recently, so they've been experimenting with their lineup. In the end, for the most recent game he was back with his two usual running mates that have seen a lot of success: Gavin Hodnett and Lukas Sawchyn. Holinka still leads the team in goals and is only second in points because he's played in fewer games.

Honestly, there isn't much else new for me to add about him. I'm still a bit worried about his skating and pace for pro hockey, but he definitely has the brain for it. I'll want to see him having a similar impact in the AHL before I start believing he has the necessary combination of skills to make the NHL.

News & Notes

Tinus Luc Koblar (C, 2nd rounder in 2025) – Koblar has continued to get second line center usage, but his ice time has dropped to 13-14 minutes the past two games. His point production went through a dry spell... but it did for the last place Leksands as a whole. He did have the overtime winner, seen below, which is neat!

Victor Johansson (LD, 4th rounder in 2024) – Similar to Koblar, Johansson remains with Leksands in the SHL but his role has dropped. He hasn't been with the team for as long, and after getting into a few games as a third pair/seventh defenseman getting around 10 minutes per game, the past two games he's dressed but not played at all. That's less than ideal, and honestly between his injuries and time missed bouncing between three different leagues and multiple international stints, this season has been disappointing... not in a way that's really his fault, mind you.

Nick Moldenhauer (RW, 3rd rounder in 2022) – Another guy that is continuing a strong stretch, Moldenhauer has had 3 goals and 1 assist in the last four games. He's already smashed his NCAA best season in both goals and points, and cemented a role as a support winger on their top line. Michigan could go on a deep run in the NCAA tournament, so we'll get to see him on a bigger stage.

Hudson Malinoski (C, 5th rounder in 2023) – Malinoski has had a rough season overall, with a reduced role after Providence had a strong group of new commitments arrive that pushed him off of center and/or down the lineup. He's already matched his season total for goals from last season, but he has only 3 assists. He had a big game this past weekend though, putting up a hat trick and peppering the net with 7 shots.

Rylan Fellinger (RD, 6th rounder in 2024) – Our resident Flint expert can add more detail, but Fellinger has just been fun to watch. I'm still not really sold on his upside yet, but he can occasionally do something like the short handed assist below. His role has increased, and his production is double that from last season. I've been impatiently waiting for Mitch Brown to add more drafted prospects to his tracking board so I can get a better idea of how strong an impact he's been having on the ice.

Thanks for reading!

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