There is one prospect for the 2025 NHL Draft that is quickly slipping down some rankings and plummeting down some mock drafts but it is only because people are assuming that NHL teams will not rush to select this player. They probably should be excited if they got that opportunity, though.
L.J. Mooney was once seen as a major standout as he worked his way up the junior ranks for the past few seasons. He has been electric -- to continue on with the same analogy, he is a sparkplug type of winger -- and with a mix of high-end skill and drive, everyone expected him to go very far and be a lock for a first-round pick when 2025 rolled around.
Well, we're here and the latest ranking from Elite Prospects has him all the way down in the third round at 73rd overall. Why, though?
For all the tools that Mooney possesses -- an upper-tier ability to move around the ice, a great shot, an even better passing game, and the ability to stickhandle his way through traffic with ease -- the hockey sense has not been able to keep up with his physical and gameplay attributes.
""Mooney is – in a word – dynamic. He attacks at a breakneck speed, combining quick-twitch handling with even quicker feet. If the defence doesn’t back off, he powers right through it, occasionally in highlight-reel fashion. More playmaker than shooter,Elite Prospects 2025 Draft Guide
he looks for teammates across the slot, at the net front, and occasionally deceives the defence to secure the lane. A fearless attacker and advanced defensive player, Mooney also surprises opponents with his industriousness. He pulls pucks off the wall with defenders draped on his back, charges the net at full speed, rips away pucks in the defensive zone, and occasionally flattens an opponent with a big-time collision. "
Mooney just plays an entertaining style of hockey. For being 5-foot-7 (oh yeah, we should probably mention that he is short), he isn't afraid to throw the body around, like the time he destroyed some poor Swedish teenager at the Under-18 Worlds. That little ball of energy can fly around the ice and does so much more despite his size than the other typical smaller winger.
Quick hitter mixtape of LJ Mooney's work at the U18's. The Pittsburgh native is only 5'7, but as you get a sense of here, he is very good at using his speed and low base to generate chances all over the ice. Projected 3rd to 5th round. pic.twitter.com/1PK3WPHRmO
— Jesse Marshall (@jmarshfof) May 13, 2025
As it stands right now, the Maple Leafs own the 64th overall pick (if the Florida Panthers end up winning the Stanley Cup), as well as Colorado's third-round pick, their own and Pittsburgh's fifth-round picks, their own sixth rounder, and their own seventh-round pick.
That is a lot of ammunition around the range where Mooney is expected to fall to. The second rounder is a little too rich, but there is certainly a possibility he is there for their taking in the third round and could even possibly slip to the fifth, where Toronto owns two picks.
With almost nothing in the pipeline and the Maple Leafs not even having a first-round pick until 2028, they will need to take some swings. Mooney is that high upside sort of swing that regular Stanley Cup contenders and playoff appearers make to stay competitive. Now, should the Leafs been doing this for the last few years? Probably. But it's better late than never.
Just do it, Brad.