The Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t had many homegrown goalie talent that have ended up prospering in recent years until the arrival of Joseph Woll during the past couple of seasons. But the Leafs might not have to wait as long for the next goaltending prospect to make the next step and join the team in the near future with our No. 3 Maple Leafs prospect Dennis Hildeby waiting in the wings.
Selected in the fourth round by Toronto back in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, Hildeby officially brought his game to North America during the 2023-24 season starring for the Leafs’ AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies. In 41 games played, he posted a stellar 21-11-7 record with a 2.41 GAA and .913 save percentage while helping the Marlies reach the AHL playoffs.
2025 Maple Leafs Prospect Rankings No. 3: Dennis Hildeby aims for big breakout season ahead
More significantly, Hildeby made his NHL debut for the Maple Leafs last year when Toronto was hit with injury woes to their goalies over the course of the 2024-25 season. The 24-year-old goalie was strong in his first official NHL game against the New Jersey Devils on October 10 where he stopped 21 of 23 shots en route to a 4-2 victory and his first ever NHL win.
However, Hildeby would struggle for the most part in the subsequent games that he suited up for the Leafs as he worked to further develop and grow his game. In the end, he played a total of six games with Toronto, compiling a 3-3-0 record with a 3.16 GAA and .878 save percentage. We would later learn about his rollercoaster 2024-25 season and the coping process he went through trying to find his game and see what works and what doesn’t.
Nevertheless, despite some inconsistency, Hildeby still put together a solid year with the Marlies, compiling a 16-9-4 record with a 2.55 GAA and .908 save percentage in 30 games played. Just for comparison, Woll actually posted a plus-3.00 GAA and a save percentage below .907 in each of his first three seasons with the Marlies and look how he has turned out now for the Leafs. So with Hildeby posting back-to-back solid campaigns with the Maple Leafs AHL affiliate with numbers comparably netter than Woll during his time with the Marlies bodes well for his future.
Last year, Hildeby was the de-facto #3/#4 goalie along with Matt Murray in the Leafs system. But with Murray now departed from the organization for the Seattle Kraken and with Hildeby recently signing a three-year contract extension, it makes him firmly entrenched as the organization’s No. 3 goalie behind Woll and Anthony Stolarz. Taking into consideration some of the injury issues that have hit both Leafs goaltenders in recent years, there will be a high possibility we will see Hildeby up with Toronto once again over the course of the 2025-26 NHL season. With another professional year of hockey experience under his belt, look for the young 24-year-old and the potential Leafs goalie of the future to be more hungry and ready this time around.