The Toronto Maple Leafs answered a lot of questions at the 2026 NHL Draft. Namely, if new general manager John Chayka could nail as many picks as possible to rebuild this team from the ground up. And, the answer was yes.
Through a series of different trades, the Leafs ended up with 10 total draft picks over the weekend. It was the most since the 2020 draft where they selected 12 prospects. And with those 10 selections, the accumulation of talent and getting players even in later rounds that have some feasible upside, made the Leafs earn the title of the biggest winners on Draft Day.
Prospect experts give Maple Leafs top grades at 2026 NHL Draft
Over at The Athletic, between prospect analysts Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler, they both named the Leafs as the biggest winner of the day, and the former gave Toronto the only A+ grade in the NHL.
The 2026 NHL Draft is in the books.
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) June 27, 2026
Here’s who got the most talent in the draft, according to @coreypronman ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/vcqnfuhl1V
At ESPN, the Leafs also received an A+ grade for their selections, as they cited the Leafs taking way more high-upside swings than they have in the past and really solid, projectable talents all throughout the draft. And even in a completely different article, the Leafs were named the top winner of the weekend.
And at Elite Prospects, the Leafs also finished with an A+ grade. Of course, Gavin McKenna makes it fairly easy but the people over at Elite Prospects loved the Leafs getting a defenseman like Alexander Bilecki near the end of the second round, re-entry blueliner Ethan MacKenzie who had a breakout year in the third, and even a wildcard sixth-round swing on Yaroslav Fedoseyev, a solid 6-foot-1 defenseman to add to their crop.
McKenna was the easy selection. It is the no-brainer of all no-brainers to go with him at first overall. But it was Chayka and director of amateur scouting Mark Leach flexing their scouting muscle to get talent that evaluators really liked in every round where they had a pick.
Now, we just have to wait and see how these prospects turn out, but we're certainly more excited about Toronto's future than we were just a couple days ago.
Add us as a preferred source on Google