The 2025 Memorial Cup is kicking off on Friday night to determine the top team in the entire Canadian Hockey League, and Toronto Maple Leafs fans have a few reasons to watch, outside of top prospect Easton Cowan trying to lead his London Knights to glory.
Easton Cowan taking that next leap when it matters most
Easton Cowan is the one name every single Leafs fans will be glued to. The only Leafs prospect that will be involved in this tournament. The electrifying winger has not had the most successful of seasons -- a 69-point campaign gutted by injuries and other absences -- but this is the time to put all of that aside and really turn up.
We all saw it during the disastrous World Juniors tournament for Team Canada. Cowan, and many of his other teammates, just did not look and play like they were acting as a team. Maybe it was the pressure, or maybe it was Hockey Canada leaving about a dozen talented players home, who deserved to be on that roster instead.
Cowan can use the Memorial Cup as a jumping-off point to his professional career. This will be his last taste of junior hockey before he heads to either the Marlies or the Leafs next season.
Landon Sim causing havoc
Well, I guess I lied when I said Cowan was the only Leafs prospect. Technically, Landon Sim is not a Leafs prospect but a Marlies guy. The all-around London forward signed a one-year AHL deal with the Toronto Marlies for next season after scoring a point per game during his final junior year.
We don't have the highest of hopes for Sim but he can be an agitator and disrupt an entire team's defense by being a nuisance on the ice. Maybe, he'll just do some of that up against the best junior teams in the world.
Julius Sumpf is a real option in the late rounds of the 2025 NHL Draft
Here we get into the trenches of the upcoming draft. The Maple Leafs don't have a lot of high-value picks available to them -- a second, a third, two fifths, a sixth, and a seventh-round pick -- but one name that will be playing and could certainly be a decent get in the later rounds for the Leafs is Moncton Wildcats winger Julius Sumpf.
The German forward his second year of North American hockey and has slightly improved his production on the best team in the QMJHL. He has played some minutes alongside projected top-10 pick Caleb Desnoyers. And at 20 years old, he could immediately turn pro and give the Marlies an offensive jolt for nothing but a late-round pick. He would be an interesting project, no doubt.
Gavin McKenna is going to set the hockey world on fire
Gavin McKenna is not going to be wearing the Blue and White, we can almost guarantee that. But, it is always fun to watch players right before they take over the entire sport.
The projected top pick of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft has McDavid-like numbers in the WHL and is able to just bend the entire game to his will. Every single fan of every single team should be excited to watch this player in what could be his final games in juniors, with the rumours circling that he could be heading to college hockey for his draft year.
Alexei Medvedev could be solid goalie pickup in 2025 NHL Draft
Oh, look, another possible target for the Leafs in the upcoming draft. For the Knights, we are more likely going to see 21-year-old netminder Austin Elliott in between the pipes when it matters the most, but the 17-year-old Alexei Medvedev is someone to really keep an eye on.
Teams should never, ever stop drafting goalies. So, even with Dennis Hildeby making his way up the rankings, Medvedev can re-supply that pipeline and should be able to get the starting job in London next season.
The St. Petersburg native has earned a .912 save percentage (fourth-best in the entire league) and a 22-8-2 record through 32 games this season.