The Toronto Maple Leafs are in a weird period, trying to balance the reality that they need to win hockey games right now, but are also preparing to bolster their prospect pool for the future.
With the arrival of 2026 first-overall pick Gavin McKenna and Easton Cowan developing into a true top-six forward, there is a burgeoning young core in Toronto that is extremely easy to get excited about. No one really knows the true potential of either of those players and suddenly we could be talking about the next stars of the Maple Leafs while the previous core starts to age out of the lineup.
Now, they're getting some recognition for this next wave of high-end players, and it doesn't even include Cowan.
Maple Leafs have one of the best prospect pools in the NHL
Over at Elite Prospects, they recently released their ranking of prospect pools in the NHL. They went through hundreds and hundreds of prospects and decided which team has had the best ability to draft and develop talent outside of the NHL, ranked from No. 1 to No. 32.
The Maple Leafs haven't really been thinking about their pool until they hired general manager John Chayka earlier this year, before their 2026 NHL Draft. And suddenly, they find themselves at the No. 3 spot in the ranking.
It's expected that teams like the San Jose Sharks and the Chicago Blackhawks take the top two spots. They have been tanking and rebuilding forever, getting as many prospects in their system as possible with their bevy of draft picks over the last few years.
Now, the Leafs come in, pay attention to their prospects for a couple months, and are now right up there with them and the explanation makes sense:
"In such a ranking, we value top-end prospects far more than depth, as one blue-chip asset is worth more than any number of lower-upside, uncertain assets. This is why the Toronto Maple Leafs are finding themselves in this position. They have Gavin McKenna. Other teams don't, and most would trade their entire pool to get him if it were possible. In his prime, he could become a 100-point scorer and the main quarterback of the Leafs' power play.Elite Prospects
But the Leafs' pool doesn't stop with McKenna. The team added many of our favourite prospects over the past couple of years: Ben Danford, Luke Haymes, Alexander Bilecki and Ethan MacKenzie. Those are all talented players with upside, positioning themselves for a breakout. Bilecki is especially intriguing, having a full NHL package on top of dynamic offensive skills. And there's also Tinus Luc Koblar, who is improving faster than your typical prospect, leveraging his size and physicality to develop an NHL-caliber supportive game. "
That sounds about right.
Elite Prospects also released a full ranking of 350 prospects who have been drafted or signed by NHL teams. The Maple Leafs do have 10 prospects ranked, but it's clear that there is a sizdable dropoff, as they mentioned in the explanation.
Gavin McKenna is the No. 1 prospect across the entire NHL. He's electric. The next prospect on the Leafs' list is defenseman Ben Danford at No. 86. A whole 84 players before there is another Leafs prospect after McKenna.
Then, there's a group and the separation is evident when you look at the ranked Leafs prospects:
1) Gavin McKenna
86) Ben Danford
87) Tinus Luc Koblar
122) Alexander Bilecki
177) Luke Haymes
190) Juuso Ainasto
198) Ethan MacKenzie
200) Tyler Hopkins
252) Mans Gudmundsson
276) Artur Akhtyamov
Just three top-100 prospects is certainly pretty low, but having the top guy helps in their ranking. The Nashville Predators have a total of seven prospects in the top 100, but are ranked as the sixth-best pool because there isn't a true star among the group. A whole lot of solid talent that might end up playing impactful roles in the NHL, but no one is potentially winning scoring titles.
Right now, we're feeling very lucky to have McKenna fall into the Leafs' lap, but without their next two first-round picks, this might be the highest their prospect pool is ranked for a few years.
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