Harry Nansi is a prospect that I have followed and been a fan of since his days with the Napean Raiders of the HEO, in his OHL draft year. I first saw him while tracking microstats for prospects during my internship with the North Bay Battalion and was pretty quickly enthralled. He showed a lot of high end abilities and looked like a dominant player at that level.
He scored 21 goals and 47 points through 35 games for the Raiders, adding seven goals and 12 points in five games in the postseason. His play was clearly attractive enough to the Owen Sound Attack who selected him in the fourth round, 74th overall at the 2023 OHL Priority selection. He also made the team out of camp, having secured a spot with the Attack for two straight years. Although, has been held to a bottom-six spot with the club, using his 6-3 185lbs frame in a power role.
Since joining the Attack, Nansi has played in 108 regular season games scoring seven goals and 25 assists for 32 points, he also added one assist in six playoff games. These numbers do not jump out and some would even say he was not worth a selection but in order to evaluate Nansi properly, you have to really look at his game and not only his previous production.
This past year I was an OHL scout for the public scouting service RecruitScouting and saw Nansi quite a bit. He finished the year just outside of my top-64 as an honourable mention. I included him in my forward targets for the 2025 NHL Draft piece just before the draft and was over the moon when the team took a swing on him. So, who is arguably the Maple Leafs most underreated prospect, Harry Nansi?
Harry Nansi, RW/C
Team: Owen Sound Attack (OHL)
DOB: September 10, 2007
Birthplace: Brossard, QC
Ht: 6-3 Wt: 185lbs
Drafted: Fifth round, 153rd overall (2025)
Strengths
Some areas that I would consider strengths of Nansi’s game are:
- Motor
- Size
- Brain
- Playmaking
- Shot
Although he was a very skilled player with Napean, he has taken on the grind of a lower spot in the lineup well. This is a very good look, especially for a young player like Nansi. He uses his body to attack players in the defensive zone and on the forecheck. He has a high motor which helps him initiate battles especially along the boards and down low. Even outside of this he shows qualities of a defensively responsible player, who can win pucks inside his own zone and help create offense from there.
He uses his big 6-3 frame and his long reach to close in on and pressure opponents as well as clog up passing lanes and cut off passes. This is used in all three zones with his high motor to break down opponents. Inside of the offensive zone he reads the play well knowing when to hang back, getting ready to backcheck when needed.
On the offensive side of the puck, despite what his production may indicate, Nansi shows off the same good qualities that helped him reach the OHL and get drafted as high as he was. He is able to complete passes and get the puck to his teammates in high danger areas with consistency. Nansi himself possesses a hard and accurate shot that he can get on net. In better deployment situations, Nansi shows the offensive qualities of a player who could be more productive.
Areas to improve
The thing with Nansi is that even with his raw talent and skill, he is just that, raw. There are areas of his game that need to be improved and need to be refined. Like;
- Skating
- Puck skills
- Production
When he gets going, Nansi can move from point A to B but his speed is still a concern and same with his skating mechanics themselves. His agility and edgework needs to be smoothed out and he could even add some explosiveness to his stride. Luckily, these are things that can be worked on and especially with the Leafs investments into their development staff.
In terms of his puck skills, his hands can look a little stiff, this needs to be smoothed out as well. He has troubles settling pucks and using his hands to deceive opponents and typically opts for one-touch puck movements which although are good — Should not be used all the time in place of actually handling the puck. Instead, he should be able to settle pucks to take a shot on goal or make a pass to the slot for his teammate to score.
Finally of course, Nansi needs to improve his production. As much as it is due to a lack of offensive zone deployment and limited time on the man advantage, there are things Nansi can do to improve this area. Of course, the other categories will help with this, being able to add an element of creativity with his hands and being able to transport the puck up the ice easier will help with his skating.
Final Thoughts
Overall, Harry Nansi is tough to project in terms of his potential just due to him being such a raw talent. However, he possesses some high end qualities as a scoring powerforward who can provide some real offensive flair to a line. If I had to gauge, I'd say his ceiling is in the middle-six but it is more likely he makes it as a bottom-six talent. If he can refine some of his game, he can be a really good secondary or tertiary scoring piece with a decent power/two-way game.
The main thing to remember with Nansi is that he is a September 10 birthday and was a week from being eligible in 2026. He has a long runway and fans must be patient with him. He has a lot of raw tools that could help make him a fantastic player in the NHL some day, it will just take time and effort on the part of Nansi and the Leafs development staff. If they can work their magic, Nansi could be a real gem in the fifth round.