NHL Draft

Looking at some interesting players who are not TOO interesting, otherwise they won't be available when Toronto

Kicking off the 2026 draft year with my first watch list, looking at some teammates and re-entry defensemen who have caught my eye already.

With their final pick in the 2025 draft, the Toronto Maple Leafs took a swing on Matthew Hlacar from the Kitchener Rangers.

The first defender taken

The Toronto Maple Leafs have selected Harry Nansi with the 153rd overall pick, a great swing for a long term but interesting prospect in the late rounds.

He's from Minnesota. Sort of.

With their third round pick, the Maple Leafs took a swing on Tyler Hopkins from the USHL

With their first pick in the 2025 NHL draft, the Maple Leafs picked a big Norwegian centre Tinus Luc Koblar

All the picks, trades, and deals from the lead up to pick 32

Where we get to live vicariously.

Bob McKenzie has released his final rankings ahead of the NHL draft tomorrow, so let's look at how realistic the players I profiled will be for Toronto.

Years ago I wrote about age bias in drafting, and I've discovered since that short of how escrow works, it's the most misunderstood issue in the NHL. Yes, even more than what goalie interference is.

Toronto has liked to dip into the re-entry prospect pool at the draft in recent years, and that can be pretty wise for defensemen who are trickier to judge earlier in their development. So here are the top options I've seen.

Looking at the top re-entry prospect options at forward for the upcoming draft, who I think could be interesting as choices for Toronto.

Last year, Toronto drafted three defensemen in the fourth round or later. Brad Treliving seems to like taking swings on certain kinds of defensemen, so I looked at some options that I think could make sense for the Leafs that I also like.

There are several forward prospects not ranked very highly, or at all, by almost any scouting outlet who I think would make for great swings in the later rounds.

Goalies are voodoo, so let's look at some of the top names and more interesting goalie prospects who will be available in this year's draft.

Agafonov is one of the top defensemen out of Russia this year, with very strong defense and physicality but question marks about how good his offense can be.

Annborn is one of the more interesting Swedish defense prospects in this draft, with a more complete all-around game than others I've been profiling but some question marks on how much projection he has in improving his skills.

Limatov is a big, mobile defenseman out of Russia who has a lot of skill as a puck mover but is more of a long-term project to fully realize his potential.

Barnhill might be my favourite prospect in this year's draft who fits Toronto's type of big, physical defensive defenseman since he can also skate well and has intriguing puck moving potential.

Engle is an interesting mix of size, skating, and two-way potential that hasn't been realized to a high level yet, who feels like a great third-round swing to me.

Svrcek may not be the most highly skilled player I am profiling this year, but he is still very fun to watch because of his high speed, pace, energy and tenacity that seems ideal as a third-line play-driver and supporting winger.

Hillström is a player for people who loved Fraser Minten. He's a big, solid, smart two-way pure centre with skill to help facilitate and connect offense even if it doesn't generate goals and points for himself.

Paupanekis seems like an ideal third line centre candidate with a mix of size, physical play on both sides of the puck, and defense that make him seem like a solid bet as a third or even second round pick.